Discover the Top 6 Fun Facts About Tea Etiquette You Never Knew!

1. Milk Before Tea: A Classist Conspiracy

Talk about a real tempest in a teapot: rumors once swirled that putting milk into your tea before pouring in the hot water would prevent delicate china cups from cracking under the heat. But hold onto your top hat, because this gossip is steeped in class-based snobbery, not fragility: in truth, upper-class folks in the early 1900s brewed this assumption in order to distinguish themselves from the working class, who they claimed were the only ones to put milk in first. So feel free to indulge in your milky before tea-y ways without worrying about shattered porcelain – your true preference in tea order has nothing to do with safety concerns!
Source => bshistorian.wordpress.com

2. Pinkie-Raising: A Handleless Relic

Much ado about pinkie: From signaling secret society memberships to warding off evil spirits, people have devised various reasons to lovingly lift their littlest finger while enjoying a steaming cuppa. But here's the tea: Pinkie-raising is merely a historical relic from the days of handleless porcelain teacups, when all fingers – pinkie included – were essential for maintaining a firm grip and preventing spillage. So let the pinkie rest and dive into that delightful Earl Grey without fear of etiquette faux pas.
Source => twinings.co.uk

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=> Fun Facts about Tea

3. Biscuit Dunking: Office Controversy

Breaking biscuit news that's destined to crumble the cookie aisle: office politics have taken a dip into the world of teatime, ready to sink their teeth into unsuspecting, soggy biscuits! The sober reveal: A McVitie's study disclosed that a whopping fifth of British employees frown upon biscuit dunking in office meetings, while 71% are staunch soggy soldiers. This leaves Bourbons taking the biscuit as the unsung hero, with their biscuit layer holes acting as the ultimate dunking defense. Pro tip: avoid a crumbly catastrophe on coworkers' desks; 38% of respondents are silently judging you.
Source => metro.co.uk

4. The Pinky Faux Pas Slayer

Think your pinky posh and proper? Not for tea time, darling! Those who raise their pinky while sipping their Earl Grey are quite ironically being a faux pas slayer: The truly refined way to imbibe tea is to place your index and middle fingers behind the handle, your thumb securing the front side, with your fourth and pinky fingers supporting the cup. And remember, no slurping, folks!
Source => teabloom.com

5. Stirring Tea: A Tranquil Glide

Do not get “lost in the sauce(r)” while stirring your tea! Remember, no racing laps around your teacup just a gentle glide across time like a sip of a tranquili-tea: To maintain proper tea etiquette, one should stir their tea in a "6-12" motion on a clock, rather than swirling it round and round. Avoid tapping the spoon on the side of the teacup, and instead, let the teaspoon drip-dry over the cup before placing it gently behind the teacup on the saucer.
Source => misssueflay.com

6. Pinkie Sipping: Teacup Downer

Pinkie swearing may work wonders, but pinkie sipping is a teacup downer: Lifting your pinkie finger while sipping tea is actually considered impolite, stemming from an old trend to balance handle-less porcelain cups, and even though handles are now a staple of teacups, proper etiquette calls for all fingers to remain wrapped around the handle.
Source => twinings.co.uk