A cuppa — and the ritual of tea drinking

Press, 19 April 1980, Page 16

A cuppa — and the ritual of tea drinking

By

ANN MORROW,

“Daily Telegraph,” London

A guest staying with the late James de Rothschild told a story of being woken by a manservant, who drew the curtains and the conversation then went something like this: “Good morning. Tea, coffee, or chocolate, sir?” “Tea, please.” “Indian, China, or Ceylon tea, sir?” “Indian, please.” “With milk, cream, or sir?” (A touch of exasperation in the voice) "Oh, milk.” “jersey, Hereford, or Shorthorn, sir?” ...

.. Cynics might say. that the choice offered today, even quite high up the social scale, would be “One teabag or two?” As a nation, Britons still drink more tea than anybody' else in the world: it ’works out at about the equivalent of the Serpentine — 80 million gallons — each week. But Britain’s average of 4| cups a day each is rarely what a ’.bygone', generation of ady'e r t is i n g copywriters called “imperial Assam,” “enigmatic Darjeeling” or “inscrutable Lapsang.” Most prefer what the experts call the “dust” of the convenient teabag. The poorest Indian drinks more of the quality grades like “Flowery Orange Pekoe.” The Queen Mother, although expert-on the subtleties of tea blending, was once found by a friend making tea, and immediately confessed that . she. was. using, teabags. “Don’t tell my.daughter” she saidi “She’s very puritan about these things.” ’ The Queen observes what..is in. effect., a ritual at -. Buckingham ..’ Palace every afternoon when she stops work and relaxes in her study or small sitting..,‘rodm at 4.30 for afternoon •tea. A page wheels in a trolley with Crown Derby china,' an old veneered wooden.-tea caddy or a jade ..container which once belonged to Queen Mary. The milk is in a silver jug in the shape of a cow — and it has great sentimental value for the Queen. As a girl she remembers this jug, which has been in the family for six generations. - The Queen warms the

teapot and always puts milk in first. Her tea, from Darjeeling, is left to brew for three minutes if it is small-leaved and six minutes for the larger leaf. One teaspoon is allowed for each person and one for the pot. Thin white bread and butter, plain home-made biscuits or shortbread, is served.. Prince Charles has inherited his mother’s appreciation of tea. Princess Anne and Prince Andrew prefer coffee. (The tea experts say that young people generally prefer coffee if only to be differ-

ent from their parents.) On tours, the Queen tries to keep this pleasant ritual going. A china tea service travels with her in a rather nice old fitted leather case. It has been going overseas for 150 years. Among the rest of us, few probably imagine that we. can ever return to afternoon tea as invented .by the .Duchess, of Bedford . in.; the eighteenth century, with its bone china, sugar tongs and embroidered cloths, designed to fill in the longeurs between lunch and dinner. ’ British tea consumption has gone steadily downwards over , the last decade. Britain’s place at the top of the world table has been taken by Ireland, at 91b of tea per head a year, compared with their' 1 7Jlb. The Russians are buying fine-quality tea. So are the

West . . Germans. ’ The Americans are predictably buying the best .-- they put it in teabags.'Mr Raj Puri, a former director of the Government of India Tea Board, says that the poorer the world gets, the more tea we will drink. A day may come when we go to a party and the choice will no longer be “Red or white” but “Green (tea) or black?”

This is the background for the tea trade’s advertising campaign on television, ...reminding .us that

“tea is the best drink of the day.” The Indian tea industry is healthy enough but there is concern about the old prestigious “champagne tea” of Darjeeling with its rich muscatel flavour. The bushes imported from China a hundred years ago are reaching the end of their lives. The Indian Government is subsi- • dising a heavy replanting programme involving $lOO million over the next 10 years. Another problem is that recently the conditions of tea workers have been a target for a group of agitators who have chosen to put the industry under the microscope. Many of those making the most noise may never have been to India, Kenya, or Ceylon — let alone seen a tea estate. I recently visited a few of India’s 13,000 tea gardens. Obviously we were shown some of the best. It would have been naive to expect Western standards. But good . plantations like Keyhung in Assam and Craigmore in the Nilgiris' provide respectable housing, well equipped hospitals, schools, canteens, cinemas, and social clubs. Average earnings are between five and 10 rupees . a day (there are 17 rupees to the pound). This compares, with the two rupees an agricultural labourer may get. The British legacy of fine plantations was perhaps a bit feudal. But the Indian planters today say the best estates rely on the same benevolent paternalism. A good example of this can be ■ seen at the Lingia estate in Darjeeling. It is run by a young planter called Vishnu Lail, son of an Indian diplomat. By 7.30 every morning, he .is on his way to the bleached wood estate office to. sort ' out .problems. . You can also see Lail’s golden labrador chasing pheasant through the tea bushes, whisking off the waxy white camellia blooms with his tail. At a disciplinary case, the foreman — the “munshi” — and two witnesses tell Lail how one of the workers had been seen the night before peeing recklessly into a tar barrel. Lail found it hard to keep a straight face but he imposed a small fine all the same.

It is not always so easy to settle a case. “Sometimes a fellow will run off with somebody else’s wife and refuse to return her. The husband may settle for compensation — but he may want to take his dagger to the chap.” Compensation for an erring wife may' be about 60 rupees. Occasionally a bottle of. strong spirit is thrown in. Better than any spirit is tea made by Lail’s. wife Nirmla. Without milk, cream, lemon or sugar, it is so good you vow never to use a. teabag again ...