Why Are Brits So Obsessed with Tea?

- Anglophenia Ep 30
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BigKlKrY0B4
1 Match the pictures with the words from the box:

cup of brew tummy scones hot meal pastries cupper

finger sandwiches

2 Answer the questions:

Have you ever died your hair?
Do you get hungry just a few hours after youve had a hot meal?
What do you eat to satisfy that sinking feeling?
What do you know about the British?
What time do the British have their tea in the afternoon?
Are there the same habits in Brazil?
What hot beverage do you prefer drinking?
Are you fond of coffee?

3 The video we are going to watch is about a very popular British habit drinking tea.
Watch the first part (0 - 0:50) and guess the meaning of the words based on the
context.
a) Now one of the first things youll be asked by most brits is

a) Do you want a cup of tea?

b) Would you like a copper?
c) Do you fancy a cup of tea?
d) Would you like a cup of tea?

b) Yes, we are rather fond of a proper brew, which is what we call a nice cup of
tea.
In the sentence above, rather can be replaced by:

a) A little
b) Very
c) Less
 c) And its our go-to solution for almost any scenario.
a) What do you think is a go-to solution?
b) Do you like gossiping with your friends?
c) What do you do when someone tries to tell you some gossip?
d) Have you ever needed to hire someone to work in your house?
e) Did you offer them a cup of coffee?
f) What makes you feel better when youve had a hard day?

d) Its hardly surprising that the UK race through a whooping 165 million cups of
tea every day.

What does whooping mean?

a) Surprising
b) Amazing
c) Unbelievable

e) At the end of the first part, Kate makes a joke: Seriously, that is a lot of cup
lifting. But its how we stay in such great shape. Do you understand it? Can you
explain why it is funny?

4 Watch the next part (0:50 1:25) and fill in the gaps. Then, number the historical
facts in the correct sequence.
But how have we become _________________________ tea drinking nations per
capita in the world? Here are _________________ interesting moments in History
that helped make tea a quintessentially British _________________________.

( ) The surrounding countries got hooked on coffee and Britain became a tea
drinking nation.
( ) The British East India Company dominated the tea imported to Britain in the mid-
1600s.
( ) Britain had been excluded from the coffee exporting Mediterranean because of
the war.

5 (1:25 3:05 ) Write T for true and F for false.

1. The British love for tea dates back to 1650s.

2. The British had been excluded from the tea exporting in the Med during the war
with France and Spain.
3. Due to the high tea prices, there was a rise in fake teas in the 1700s.
4. Fake teas consisted of tea leaves mixed with other leaves.
5. Tea was once the privilege of the rich people only.

6. Afternoon tea is also known as high tea.

7. Queen Victoria made the afternoon tea popular.
 Match the teas with their descriptions.

A Afternoon tea 1 It is a hot meal of meat pies,

vegetables and bread, eaten at
the end of the day.
B Cream tea 2 Came about in around 1841
thanks to the Duchess of
Bedford. It is made up of a
selection of finger sandwiches,
scones, pastries and home-
made cakes.
C High tea 3 It is served with scones, clotted
cream and jam

6 Watch the last part of the video and fill in the gaps.

In the _________________ tearooms became fashionable with women as

respectable places they could go _______________________________ for a
discrete chat and even discuss politics. Eventually tearooms became an integral part
of the womens liberation movement.
Tea was ______________ used as a morale boosters to soldiers during the second
world war, with the Prime Minister Winston Churchill stating, The tea
_______________________________bullets. Hear hear.
Interestingly, ________________________ of tea consumed in Britain comes in the
form of ____________________, which just so happens to be an American
invention. During the early ______________________, tea merchant Thomas
Sullivan sent out tea samples to his customers in silk sachets. Americans were
naturally enthusiastic about these new-fangled, super convenient tea bags,
______________________ catch on in Britain until the 1950s, but boy do we love
them now.
Match the words to their meanings.

1. Tearoom ___ newly come into existence or fashion; excessively modern

2. Booster ___ a small part of or a selection from something, intended to

show the quality, style, or nature of the whole;
3. Merchant ___ To become popular.
4. Sample ___ A restaurant or shop serving tea and other refreshments
5. New- ___ An enthusiastic promoter, as of a sports team or school.
fangled
6. Catch on ___ One who runs a retail business; a shopkeeper.