A Nice Cuppa with British Bertie
“What isss this???”
My neighbor, old Bertie from England, was back from her trip. During her absence, my wife and I had thoroughly cleaned her apartment, a decision we took spontaneously after having peeked inside.
After the surprise, self-satisfied and smiling, I put a tea tray on the table. Immediately, Bertie’s facial expression changed from benevolent astonishment to deep shock: “I have nevvver! Evvver! Seen annnything! Like thisss! Befooore!”
She was struggling to find words that expressed her disgust.
“Hot water? Served in cups? With teabags on the side!! Is this how you serve tea??? What aaare you thinking???”
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To Leave Comments - Please SignIn with GoogleHehe! I’m thoroughly unBritish in my tea-making. One mug, add small dribble of milk, chuck in teabag, add boiling water, splash teabag around until required colour achieved (not too weak, not too many bones!), remove teabag and enjoy – unless I’m very well involved with writing or gaming, then the mug gets chucked in the microwave for a one minute blasting to warm it back up at least three times before finally… Read more »
Christer, I enjoyed your funny story. As a Brit, I can see why Bertie was so horrified by the tea making.
Thank you, Margarita. I understand that I have put myself in a bad light from the perspective of British people. To my defense I have to say that I wanted to be nice. I had about 7 or 8 different brands of tea and wanted to give Bertie the chance to choose between them. I took a quick decision to do it this way, before I left the kitchen with the tray… Read more »
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To Leave Comments - Please SignIn with GoogleI don’t know which is funnier, Christer’s story, or Carrie’s comments! Making tea for one person is always going to be different, isn’t it? But Carrie, if you are entertaining guests, do you have a teapot brewing? I’d love to hear from all the other Brits on this extremely important topic. ?
No, Fuji, I’m a complete heathen. Every person gets their own individual dunked teabag, brewed to their individual preferences. When I visit my mum and dad, they use a teapot, but their tea tastes more like it’s had socks brewed than tea, so I always take my own teabags and dunk as normal ?
I am glad to see that you have realized that it is of utmost importance that we find out the truth of this topic, Fuji. How many minutes do you, for instance, let your tea brew? Do you put your milk in the cup before or after the water? How much sugar? It will keep me up at night until I know what’s correct here. And what if I have done it… Read more »
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To Leave Comments - Please SignIn with GoogleBut Carrrrie! What aaare you saying? You heat up your tea?? In the microwave oven?? Well, I have never heard of such…!! I would not even thiiiink of doing such a thing!! Anyway, thanks for your comment and for your tea making instructions. I can sympathize with your opinion about cleaning up another person’s place in general. In this case, however, it wasn’t about putting things in their proper places. The apartment… Read more »
As a Brit, I know I should be a tea lover but I’ve always been more of a coffee person myself, Christer. But I do know how fastidious the English can be about their cuppa so Bertie’s response wasn’t too much of a surprise! A fun story with a memorable character. I hope we hear more of British Bertie!
Thank you for your input, Linda. I’m also most of a coffee drinker myself, but once in a while I enjoy a cup of tea and I usually don’t serve it the way I served Bertie that infamous day. Still, I was surprised by her strong reaction. As for your hope to hear more of British Bertie, I have one more interesting story about her her (beside her reckless driving, which might… Read more »
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To Leave Comments - Please SignIn with GoogleHello, Christer. This story is something unforgettable. I am not a tea lover but I really enjoyed the tea-making and instructions in your story and the comment section. Well done.
Thank you for your positive feed-back, Lotchie. To appreciate the story, you have to know that the traditional way of making tea in English has old roots and strong routines. Tea drinking is so common there that you sometimes can hear the expression I used in the title. Did you know? It’s not necessary to say “a cup of tea”? Everybody understands that you are talking about tea when you say “a… Read more »
You are welcome, Christer. Wow! Thanks for educating me on their traditional way of tea making and drinking tea, Christer. I appreciate it so much.
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To Leave Comments - Please SignIn with GoogleIt is much better to say “a cuppa”. I love it. Thank you, Christer.