Before I moved to England I obviously heard about the common stereotype of Brits loving their tea. And well, they do! But in a really weird way. Or maybe just in a way that we don’t do in Germany. Well, that’s also not true – but I’ll get to that. What I did learn over the years though is that lots of Germans don’t know how English drink their tea and vice versa!

What is a British cuppa?

Now in Germany, if someone offers you a hot drink of choice, it’ll 99% be a coffee. Here in the UK, chances are way higher that if you are visiting someone or are somewhere that offers a hot drink as an amenity, it’ll be a cup of tea. But it’s a very specific one. Both drinks obviously exist in both countries and I know lots of coffee drinkers here in England, but the tea still reigns above it.

There is only one tea here in England. And I still disagree with it. If a Brit asks if you want tea, there is no doubt and no question as to what this entails. Because in their mind, there is no other. Anything else would be blasphemous. They look at you irritated if you offer or want something else. It’s just not on the cards. It’s this or nothing: a brew of black tea, milk, maybe some sugar – and definitely a biscuit, if you’re lucky. That’s tea.

I was very curious and also quite sceptical the first time I tried it. I’m a heavy tea drinker (the general leaf juice, not the British type), I specifically love herbal teas – and black tea was always a bit too strong for me, too bitter. But here’s the catch. Do you know why the British put milk in their tea? Because it cancels out the bitterness. That’s right. It creates a lovely mild and warming drink without the sometimes harsh taste of the black tea. It also helped with not cracking the porcelain cups, which isn’t really needed anymore today.

What does a cup of tea in Germany mean?

In Germany, if someone asks if you want a tea, your confirmation is then always answered with: “And which?”

That’s because our tea shelves in supermarkets are as colourful as our selection of bread. And I am not exaggerating when I say that we easily have a good hundred of different types and tastes available when we shop for it. Black, green, white, herbal, fruit – whatever you feel like, you can get in Germany. And things you probably didn’t even realise you wanted. I am pretty sure at some point (not sure if it still exists) there was a chocolate muffin tea. Ah, and the British tea is literally called “English breakfast tea” for us.

We usually don’t put milk in it either (unless you’re from the north of Germany, call yourself an East Frisian, and go as far as to put in cream and rock sugar. They do drink more tea than a Brit per capita, by the way, so who is the tea nation now, huh?), maybe some sugar or honey if you feel like it – but we mostly just brew it and drink it as is.

So you see, it was quite confusing coming into the self-declared nation of tea drinkers only to realise that they only drink one type of tea? I can get other types of tea here as well, of course – but always just the basic ones. I do have to say though, that even here in this black-tea-only nation, there are some fantastic tea shops that provide a much needed break from it. Personally, I am a massive fan of Bird & Blend, absolutely love the White-Tea-White-Chocolate by Whittard – and will always buy lots and lots of bags off independent tea makers on artisan markets. Speaking of which, I really do need to visit another one – my Rice-Pudding-Cinnamon-Black-Tea is almost all gone.

I guess what I am saying is: Brits! There is so much more to tea than you’d think!

[Picture by Thomas Park – thank you!]