In which I give my thoughts on what tea to drink when throughout the day...
So as a British person (66% of Britons drink tea daily) I feel the need to consume a good quantity of tea everyday. The average Briton drinks 3½ cups a day - you'll find me at the top of the bell curve dong my best to keep the average up. I normally have around 6 cups a day.
While some people do just stick to their standard brew all day I like to mix it up and traditionally different strength teas were drunk at different times of day.
When I'm at work I find it easiest to make tea with tea bags but at home I try my best to make leaf tea where possible.
The Traditional
This is what might be considered a 'traditional' daily tea regimen:
| Time | Tea |
|---|---|
| Breakfast | English Breakfast or another strong tea to start the day |
| Elevenses | A lighter tea such as Darjeeling or Earl Grey |
| Lunch | A normal strength brew such as Yorkshire Tea or Whittard's 1886 |
| Afternoon Tea | A light tea such as Darjeeling or Earl Grey |
| Pre-Dinner | A normal strength brew such as Red Label or Assam |
| Post-Dinner | Either a light tea such as Darjeeling, Green Tea or a herbal tea like Camomile tea |
The Me
This is my usual workday tea drinking schedule.:
| Time | Tea |
|---|---|
| Breakfast | Sencha Green* |
| Elevenses | Whittard's Green Earl Grey |
| Lunch | Whittard's Traditional/Yorkshire |
| Afternoon Tea | Earl Grey with milk† |
| Pre-Tea ner | White Tea or Green |
| Post-Dinner | Something interesting from my collection |
*Green tea extract can increase metabolic rate, whether the tea does or not I don't know: http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/70/6/1040.full
†I've mentioned this before
The Mother
This is my mum's tea plan for the day. Proof that drinking the same brew the whole time isn't actually a problem:
| Time | Tea |
|---|---|
| Breakfast | Earl Grey with milk |
| Elevenses | Earl Grey with milk |
| Lunch | Earl Grey with milk |
| Afternoon Tea | Earl Grey with milk |
| Pre-Tea ner | Earl Grey with milk |
| Post-Dinner | Earl Grey with milk |
The Weekend
I like to try different things at the weekend:
| Time | Tea |
|---|---|
| Breakfast | English Breakfast or another strong blend |
| Elevenses | Something interesting to brighten my morning |
| Lunch | Yorkshire or equivalent |
| Afternoon Tea | Earl Grey or something interesting and cake flavoured |
| Pre-Dinner | One of my interesting green teas |
| Post-Dinner | A herbal tea or flavoured leaf tea |
Comment with how you drink tea throughout the day!
In other news I'm back from holiday and there are some DSLR, Kickstarter reviews and Tea reviews to come as well as an ambitious cake project next week! :)
Tom Out!
P.S. Hilariously the UK Tea Council has a ticker telling you how many cups of tea have been drunk today in the UK.