Coffee, Tea & Biscuits

Everyone knows the British love their tea. But it’s not apparent just how MUCH tea they drink until you go to work in an office environment, where they seem to drink tea all day long. It’s so common that they even have “tea stations” with kettles, hot water dispensers, tea bags, tea spoons, etc. set up for making tea.

When you order tea, you ask for it either white or black (meaning with or without milk). If you want sugar, you then also ask for one or two sugars (meaning one or two teaspoons or cubes of sugar).

Thanks to Starbucks and the many other coffee houses that you find on every corner now (Caffe Nero, Costa Coffee, etc.), coffee is quickly taking over as the favorite hot drink, especially among younger people.

Normally you are served “biscuits” with your tea or coffee. Biscuits here, of course, are what I call cookies. But they ARE very tasty and addictive. McVities Biscuits are the most popular in the UK and definitely my favorite. I like the ones that are covered in creamy chocolate.

Traditional English “afternoon teas” are a special treat that you generally only find in high-priced venues, like The Savoy and other expensive London hotels. These teas are normally served with scones (what I call biscuits), teacakes, or cucumber sandwiches, all on fancy English china.