By+Aoife+Inman

A brew， a cuppa or a “rosy lee”； the vernacular variation and inventiveness when it comes to naming the humble mug of tea in England is exhausting.1 We have developed our own colloquial language surrounding the culture of the common cuppa， mostly because of its intrinsic role in our daily lives.2

Whilst in China I established a love of the wide variations of new tealeaves available at every corner. Moreover， the culture of preparation was new， the leaves were loose， brewed in a special filter pot and served in small dainty glasses.3 The delicacy and simplicity of Chinese tea was something I instantly became attached to and developed a yearning for upon arriving back in the U.K.4

For most of us in England， “tea” is usually associated with teabags， but more specifically， bags of English breakfast tea. I realized， upon arrival in China， that this is not “real” tea. I struggle to remember a moment in my entire stay that I encountered tealeaves in an individual baggy.5

Moreover， for most English tea drinkers， a brew is not complete without a dash of milk and a spoonful of sugar.6 Yet tea in China was a simple combination of leaves and boiled water， never sweetened or diluted with other ingredients.7 When I returned home even I had begun to find our obsession with milky， sweet tea a little insane.8 Chinese tea was， I decided， refreshingly simple and I returned home with a taste for beautiful fragrant green teas， jasmine flowers and chrysanthemum.9

Yet despite the obvious differences， tea served a similar purpose in both cultures.

Mugs and cups of tea are a tradition in England amongst friends， for people of all generations. We will almost always reunite with friends and peers “over for a cuppa” and it is most definitely the drink of friendship， family and reunion， as well as being tightly engrained in everyday culture.10

Yet whilst tea is primarily a casual， social convention11， offered to you at every doorstep whether you are family， guest or the local builder， it can also， on occasion， become a formal event. The English tradition of “afternoon tea” appeared around the year 1840. The cultural history of the ritual of serving afternoon tea stems from a rather simple but interesting source.12

Amongst the high classes of the 19th century， it was particularly fashionable to take your evening meal at around 8 p.m. in the evening. However， this left a large gap of time between the second and third meals of the day. Afternoon tea， consisting of a small platter of cake， sandwiches and scones，13 and of course tea， was introduced by upper-class women who complained that they often got hungry at around four oclock in the afternoon.

Although the tradition of afternoon tea has somewhat died out as an everyday occurrence， it has now become a luxury indulgence14 with many hotels， teahouses and restaurants offering the “afternoon tea”experience. In these you can partake in what seems an archaic piece of Victorian culture.15

Unlike in Shanghai where tea， chá， simply means the drink itself， afternoon tea in England is an entire social occasion with a mixture of patisserie， finger sandwiches （cut into long rectangular “fingers”） and cups of breakfast tea.16

The “tea” is brought out to your table in a three-tier tray.17 Each layer is a delicate porcelain plate suspended in a wire frame.18 The contents of each section are different， organized in layers of sweet and savory19 offerings.

Arranged on the bottom plate is a variety of small finger sandwiches， bite-sized savory offerings of smoked salmon20， cream cheese and cucumber. Above it lays a handful of scones， miniature jars of jam， butter and cream.21 Finally on the final layer are fresh cakes，éclairs， and Victoria sponges with delicate layers of piped cream and strawberry jam.22 There are also， of course， pots of earl grey and breakfast tea brought to the table， but they rather take a second seat next to the extravagant display of food.23

The humble tealeaves seem to transcend24 21st century cultural boundaries. During both my time in Shanghai and England tea was drunk and enjoyed as a simple， social activity between friends， a method of reconnection. However， beneath its role in everyday lives exists finesse and formality in the way tea is prepared， poured and enjoyed， emerging in beautifully preserved social traditions that capture our love of the simple cuppa.25

1. brew， cuppa或rosy lee，在英國，僅僅一杯茶就發(fā)明了好幾種地方說法，這著實令人頭疼。brew， cuppa， rosy lee：〈英〉茶，一杯茶；vernacular： 方言，本地話；inventiveness： 發(fā)明， 創(chuàng)新；humble： 簡單的，普通的；mug： 圓筒形帶柄大杯，馬克杯；exhausting： 使人精疲力竭的。

2. colloquial： 口語的，會話的；intrinsic：內(nèi)在的，固有的。

3. loose： 散裝的；brew：（此處作動詞）泡，沏；filter pot： 帶濾網(wǎng)的茶壺；dainty：精致的，考究的。

4. delicacy： 微妙，精美；（be） attached to：喜愛；yearning： 渴望，向往。

5. 回想起待在中國的那段日子，我?guī)缀跤洸坏梦以?jīng)見到過茶包。

6. a dash of： 一點兒，少許；a spoonful of： 一匙。

7. dilute with： 用……沖淡；ingredient：成分，配料。

8. obsession： 迷戀；insane： 瘋狂的，愚蠢的。

9. refreshingly： 令人精神振作地，使人耳目一新地；a taste for： 對……的喜歡；fragrant： 芳香的；jasmine flower： 茉莉花；chrysanthemum：菊花。

10. peer： 同事，同輩；engrain： 使根深蒂固。

11. convention： 傳統(tǒng)，習俗。

12. ritual： 慣例，老規(guī)矩；stem from： 源于。

13. platter： 淺盤；scone： 烤餅，司康餅（一種源出英國的茶點）。

14. indulgence： 嗜好，愛好。

15. partake in： 參與；archaic： 古代的；Victorian： 維多利亞時期的。該時期一般認為是1837—1901年，即維多利亞女王的統(tǒng)治時期，被認為是英國工業(yè)革命和大英帝國的巔峰時期。這個時期英國盛行下午茶，并形成了多彩的茶文化。

16. patisserie： 法式糕點；finger sandwich：“手指”三明治，指便于手抓的長方形小塊三明治；rectangular：長方形的。

17. three-tier： 三層的；tray： 托盤。

18. 每層都有一個精致的瓷盤，用鐵絲架固定住。porcelain：瓷制的；suspend in： 懸于。

19. savory： 可口的。

20. smoked salmon： 煙熏三文魚。

21. miniature： 小的；jar： 罐子，廣口瓶。

22. the final layer： 這里指三層塔茶點的最上層；éclairs：〈法〉（手指形）巧克力泡芙；Victoria sponges：維多利亞海綿蛋糕（一種果醬夾層蛋糕）；piped cream： 奶油裱花。

23. earl grey： 伯爵茶（一種紅茶）；extravagant： 奢侈的，這里指極為豐盛的。

24. transcend： 超越。

25. 然而，在茶的日常角色之外，體現(xiàn)的是備茶、斟茶和用茶過程中的細致與正式，這成為保留完好并沿襲至今的社會傳統(tǒng)，使簡單的一杯茶俘獲了我們的芳心。finesse： 精細；capture： 捕捉，俘獲。