page_title: Tea culture
section_title: United Kingdom
hierarchical_section_title: Tea culture / Europe / United Kingdom
caption_attribution_description: A photograph of a cup of orange pekoe tea with the milk not yet stirred in, so forming "clouds".
context_page_description: Tea culture is defined by the way tea is made and consumed, by the way the people interact with tea, and by the aesthetics surrounding tea drinking.
  Tea plays an important role in some countries. It is commonly consumed at social events, and many cultures have created intricate formal ceremonies for these events. Afternoon tea is a British custom with widespread appeal. Tea ceremonies, with their roots in the Chinese tea culture, differ among East Asian countries, such as the Japanese or Korean versions. Tea may differ widely in preparation, such as in Tibet, where the beverage is commonly brewed with salt and butter. Tea may be drunk in small private gatherings or in public.
  The British Empire spread its own interpretation of tea to its dominions and colonies, including regions that today comprise the states of Hong Kong, India, and Pakistan, which had pre-existing tea customs, as well as regions such as East Africa and the Pacific which did not have tea customs. The tea room or teahouse is found in the US, the UK, and Ireland.
context_section_description: The British are one of the largest tea consumers in the world, with each person consuming on average 1.9 kg per year. Tea is usually black tea served with milk and sometimes with sugar. Strong tea served with a small amount of milk and rarely a teaspoon of sugar, usually in a mug, is commonly referred to as builder's tea for its association with builders and more broadly with the working class. Much of the time in the United Kingdom, tea drinking is not the delicate, refined cultural expression that the rest of the world imagines—a cup (or commonly a mug) of tea is something drunk frequently throughout the day. This is not to say that the British do not have a more formal tea ceremony, but tea breaks are an essential part of the working day. The term is often shortened to 'tea', essentially indicating a break. This term was exported to the game of cricket and consequently to most other countries of the former British Empire.
  History
  The popularity of tea dates back to the 19th century when India was part of the British Empire, and British interests controlled tea production in the subcontinent. It was, however, first introduced in the UK by the Portuguese Catherine of Braganza, queen consort of Charles II in the 1660s and 1670s. As tea spread throughout the United Kingdom and through the social classes, tea gardens and tea dances developed. These would include watching fireworks or a dinner party and dance, concluding with an evening tea. The tea gardens lost value after World War II but tea dances are still held today in the UK.
  Some scholars suggest that tea played a role in the Industrial Revolution. Afternoon tea possibly became a way to increase the number of hours labourers could work in factories; the stimulants in the tea, accompanied by sugary snacks, would give workers energy to finish out the day's work. Further, tea helped alleviate some of the consequences of the urbanisation that accompanied the industrial revolution: drinking tea required boiling one's water, thereby killing water-borne diseases like dysentery, cholera, and typhoid.
  Tea as a meal
  In the United Kingdom tea is not only the name of the beverage, but also the name of a meal. The kind of meal that a person means depends very much on their social background and where they live.  The differentiation in usage between dinner, supper, lunch and tea is one of the classic social markers of British English (see U and non-U English).
  Commonwealth countries
  Afternoon tea and its variants are the best known "tea ceremony" in the Commonwealth countries, available in homes and commercial establishments. In some varieties of English, "tea" refers to a savoury meal. Taiwanese bubble tea, known locally as pearl milk tea, has become widely popular in urban Australia and New Zealand, with multiple chains in every major city.
caption: Black tea with just added—and not yet stirred in—milk
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