A cloud of milk in your warm water ?

August 26, 2012
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Some purists may wish to abstain. The next blog will focus on the 'alteration' of the precious brew with its most famous additive: milk.

The tradition of adding milk to tea is not English. In fact, this tradition was practised in Mongolia before tea was brought to Britain. Among the Mongols, they made tea with milk and salt to add nutrients. Later, when the British began to drink tea, they began without milk. The exact 'why and when' of the start of adding milk to tea in England is unknown. One theory is that this tradition appeared when green tea was widely consumed in Britain and that this additive was an effort to hide the astringency and bitterness of the tea.  Great Britain also had large herds of dairy cows and an abundance of milk at the time. Some suggest that the addition of cold milk or warm water in the cup would have appeared in the 17th or 18th century to protect fine china from heat shock and to avoiding cracking the cup. Like the traditions in Asia of the origin of tea, the truth is lost in speculation and legends. Anyway, back to milky tea English as we know it.

This practice, though possibly older, began to spread widely around 1750. The custom was so strong that it was gradually exported to the English colonies, so much so that today in producing countries dealing directly with England, tea professionals test tea blends with milk even before the exporter knows if the teas are likely to be enjoyed in this way in Britain.

A with most good traditions, its variations lead to the creation of different schools of thought and, consequently, of endless debate. The most famous in this regard is that between putting the milk before the tea or vice versa. In England, the tradition is to put the milk first, protecting the porcelain from thermal shock and preventing the milk fat from being scorched giving it a bad taste. Opposing this are those who think that mixing milk and tea is best when the milk is poured after the tea - and the cloud thus formed is much 'prettier'. The debate rages on, but the goal here is not to take a position, but rather to expose both sides so that when the choice presents itself, you can make an clearer decision!

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