Steep standards

"Would you like an adventure now, or shall we have our tea first?"

So goes a famous line from Scottish novelist JM Barrie's Peter Pan, written more than a century ago. And though some traditions may die, Britain's national drink is going as strong as ever.

The British drink more than 60 billion cups of tea a year: more than 900 cups a year for every man, woman and child. It is a morning tonic, an afternoon pick-me-up, even a night cap. And though it is the second most popular drink in the world, many associate it with that classically British saying: "Fancy a cuppa?"

So insulting the great British brew is the easiest way to shame in the eyes of the English. When Professor Michelle Francl, a chemistry professor at Bryn Mawr College in Pennsylvania, recommended adding salt and a spritz of lemon to your tea, the outrage it stoked was far from unforeseeableNot able to be imagined in advance. .¹

The controversy was even enough to prompt a diplomaticNon-violent peacekeeping. Diplomatic means keeping good relations between the governments of different countries. intervention from the US embassyThe workplace of a group of government officials who represent their country in another country. , which clarified that adding salt to Britain's national drink "is not official United States policy".²

Though the Brits wax lyricalTalk in a highly enthusiastic way. about the best way to make a brew, tea did not originate in Britain. The oldest discovered tea is from China's Han DynastyThe golden age of Ancient Chinese civilisation lasted from 202BC to 220AD. Among their world-changing discoveries, the Han invented paper, the suspension bridge, the wheelbarrow, stirrups for riding horses and rudders for directing boats., dating 206BC to 220AD. 

According to legend, in 2737BC the Chinese Emperor Shen Nung was thinking under a tree when a leaf fell from the sky into his servant's cup of hot water. Shen Nung decided to taste the mixture, found he rather liked it, and the rest is history.

In fact, the Brits did not get a taste for tea for many more centuries, when tea fan Portuguese Catherine of Braganza married England's King Charles II in 1662. And afternoon tea was invented by the seventh Duchess of Bedford, Anna Russell, who liked a snack between lunch and dinner.

Today, research by PG TipsA brand of tea in the UK, introduced in 1930. has found that people spend fewer than 60 seconds letting their tea brew - some even fewer than 30.³ Do Britons really still have the right to be pretentiousTrying to sound more important or clever than you are. about tea?

For some, it is a matter of national pride. It is like adding ketchup to beans on toast. Taking the crust off a pork pie. Serving fish and fries instead of fish and chips. Perhaps cuisine is the only true British value left.

Is this a diplomatic incident? 

Yes: There are few things as sacred as a good British cup of tea. If Britons fail to defend it against corrupting forces, there will be nothing left to defend.

No: This kind of light-hearted humour between countries actually helps to improve diplomatic relations. We could all use something to laugh at in these dark times.

Or... Tea does not even belong to the Brits! They have some cheek trying to dictate how other people drink it when it came from halfway across the world.