{"id":6051,"date":"2017-05-12T09:41:00","date_gmt":"2017-05-12T13:41:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/english\/?p=6051"},"modified":"2017-05-12T09:28:14","modified_gmt":"2017-05-12T13:28:14","slug":"its-tea-time","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/english\/its-tea-time\/","title":{"rendered":"It\u2019s Tea Time!"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/p>\n

Tea is the beverage most closely associated with the English, so it is no surprise that the English language is filled with idioms and terms related to the humble, delicious brew. Let\u2019s explore the curious case of tea and English speakers.<\/p>\n

I am a tea drinker. I rarely drink coffee, never drink sodas (or, as they are called in other parts of the U.S., soft drinks or pop), and I probably only have one mug of hot chocolate a year. But I love my tea. A large mug of black tea cut with a squeeze of lemon begins my day, an even bigger travel mug of it accompanies me to work, and there is bound to be a refill after lunch. I also think that tea is the perfect finish to a satisfying meal. I drink iced tea (cold tea over ice) throughout the late spring and summer, give fine tea as gifts, and I\u2019m always willing to try a flavor or brand that I\u2019ve never had before.<\/p>\n

This obsession began when I took a college semester in southern England. While coffee was<\/u> available, tea was everywhere. If I visited a home, my host always, \u201cPut the kettle on.\u201d<\/em> I was often invited to join someone \u201cFor a cuppa.\u201d<\/em> And I learned the hard way that the British like their tea on the strong side. I once spent hours waiting to see a doctor at the NHS (National Health Service) because of severe stomach pain. Within seconds of finally meeting him, the doctor asked me if I drank my tea with milk.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo,\u201d I told him, finding the question rather odd. \u201cI always drink tea with just a little lemon.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDrink your tea in England with milk and you won\u2019t have stomach problems.\u201d He then indicated that we were done by opening the door for me. \u201cThank you. Good day.\u201d<\/p>\n

And, he was right.<\/p>\n

Tea Comes to Britain and America <\/strong><\/h3>\n

Tea came to England in the 17th<\/sup> century, brought to London by Portuguese and Dutch traders. Oddly enough, it was originally sold in coffee houses, marketed as a more healthful alternative to coffee, ale, and gin. By 1700, tea was considered fashionable and refined, and it soon became a primary commodity for English traders and shippers. By the mid-18th<\/sup> century tea was also heavily taxed, by a whopping 119% at one point, which triggered one of history\u2019s most notable events.<\/p>\n

The British Parliament\u2019s tax on tea prompted colonists in Boston to stage a protest which came to be known as The Boston Tea Party<\/strong>. Outraged by tariffs imposed upon them by a distant government, and without any locally elected representatives of their own, the colonists boarded ships from the East India Tea Company<\/strong> and tossed chests full of tea into Boston Harbor<\/strong>. This act of defiance did not set well with England\u2019s Parliament, which responded with a set of rules in 1774 known as the Intolerable Acts<\/strong>. Among other things, these laws resulted in the closing of Boston\u2019s ports and ending any self-governing bodies in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The American Revolution<\/strong> began shortly thereafter.<\/p>\n

Tea Idioms<\/strong><\/h3>\n

There are several expressions about tea which have found their way to common usage, and one of them refers to the Boston Tea Party and the beginnings of the American Revolution.<\/p>\n