Tea in the United KingdomFrom Wikip

Tea in the United Kingdom
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Teapot, milk jug and teacup full of tea with milk
Since the 18th century, the United Kingdom is one of the world's greatest tea consumers per capita, with an average per capita tea supply of 1.9 kg (4.18 Ibs) per year.[1] The popularity of tea occasioned the furtive export of slips, a small shoot for planting or twig for grafting to tea plants, from China to British India and its commercial culture there, beginning in 1840; British interests controlled tea production in the subcontinent. Tea, which was an upper-class drink in Europe, became the infusion of every class in Great Britain in the course of the 18th century and has remained so.

In Britain, the drinking of tea is so varied that it is quite hard to generalise. While it is usually served with milk, it is not uncommon to drink it black or with lemon, with sugar being a popular addition to any of the above. Strong tea served with milk (and usually one or two teaspoons of sugar) in a mug is commonly referred to as builder's tea.