I can scarcely remember a time before tea: I started drinking it at around four, at home in Belfast, as a reward after school. Before long I was as fiercely protective of my right to a brew as the workers of British Leyland’s Birmingham car plant, who were famously spurred to strike action in 1981
From nobs to navvies, tea is a therapeutic necessity for British palates. How you take your humble cuppa says much about you. Me? White no sugar please, and don’t just show the bag to the water. Give it a proper dunk-and-squeeze in the mug, which should be neither a large thimble nor a small tureen though either is preferable to a prissy cup and saucer. Milk slopped in after but not the whole udder thanks. Oh, and baristas who seem to think tea can brew in milk-cooled water, for the umpteenth ti
New BBC radio programme Empire of Tea delves into how the drink established itself as Britain s national beverage. Above: Workers enjoy a tea break in the 1950s.
Authors, presenters and comedians top the bill for popular Wolverhampton Literature Festival expressandstar.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from expressandstar.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.