British favorite tea and habits

I want to visit England this year and as a tea lover I would like to know more about British favorite teas. Is it true that most Brits drink strong black tea always with milk? What types of teas you guys prefer? Oolongs, Ceylon, Indian, Chinese etc. Provide me with some informative insights. Thanks.

4 Replies

Stereotypically, British-style common tea is bagged CTC or dust, Ceylon/Assam/Kenyan blends. Look at Fortnum & Mason for upscale-but-accessible British loose-leaf tea. Twinings has more flavored and blended choices in Britain than in America.

Bagged black teas include PG Tips, Yorkshire, Typhoo, and Tetley.

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YatraTeaCo said

The English fascination with drinking tea purely with milk and sugar almost killed Darjeeling tea…

Yes, the British typically like strong black teas like Assams with milk and sugar. In spite of having been born and raised in India, and having drunk more than my share of tea with milk and sugar, I have always preferred to drink tea without additives. And as a vendor, that’s what I sell.

That’s not to say that other types of tea is not consumed. It is, and there is a market for it. But at the end of the day, tea with milk and sugar is big.

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This subreddit appears to be photos of peoples’ cups of tea. It is kind of fun. https://www.reddit.com/r/RateMyTea/

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Fitz said

The brits add milk for historical reasons. Prior to late victorian times porcelain was an expensive chinese and only for the well-off.
British clay pottery cracked from thermal shock if boiling water was poured in – so they put milk in first.

Any thoughts?

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