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| A typical English Tea Room |
Tea is a drink closely cherished
by millions across the world! Tea drinking is one of those simple experiences
in life that we so often take for granted. You enjoy the tea with your morning news paper
or by the vending machine in your office – chatting with colleagues – enjoying the
small well deserved break from work. However even before the intrusion of
internet and social networking platforms like Orkut and Facebook, Tea rooms
have been change agents in the society for years – facilitating social
networking since time immemorial! Be it China, Japan, India or UK, rest of
Europe and Middle East/ Africa – it has been a national pastime for many – for generations!
In India, the concept of
preparing tea is a tad different than maybe rest of the world. We love to boil
the tea till it can no longer colour the water brown! Add to it a some milk, a
generous dose of sugar and any or all of ginger, cardamom, cinnamon, cloves or
even a tad of green chilli – the tea becomes a magic potion to be devoured as a
“cutting chai” (a cup of tea which is just
big enough for 3 whole gulps and is a tad cheaper than a full cup of tea) across
those millions of tea stalls across India. The experience of drinking tea is
enriched further by having it from a cup made of mud and brick – which gives it
a different, kick altogether! The tea cooked on coal or burnt wood tastes
definitely different than the one cooked on gas stoves and electric cooking
ranges! However the British tea is prepared differently and has been experienced
differently!
The preparation of British styled
tea or “English Tea” which my father so often calls it is not as complicated as
the Indian chai. You have a tea pot – typically made of porcelain or silver/
stainless steel – which has the hot water and tea leaf/ tea bag romancing each
other like a couple on their first honeymoon. A small pot of milk around it
adds some color to the ambience in addition to the sugar cubes which promise to
bring in sweetness to the experience.
Tea drinking has been a national past time in the UK for ages. 
However the invention of having a
tea in the afternoon was by Anna Russell, Duchess of Bedford. Since then,
numerous tea rooms have been opened in the UK since the early 1700’s which
serve of tea, coffee, cakes, scones and other snacks typically had in tea. It
has been a social networking platform surviving for more than 300 years in
England – way before the invention of computers the internet or facebook! Of
course this social networking platform has typically been exploited by women
more than men as the atmosphere is sedated and subdued in a tea room. The men
have been exploiting the other social networking platform – predominantly operating
in the evenings – Pubs! Of course that would be the topic of another blog some
other day! The tea rooms also have been frequented by men – of course. If you
think back at history – the breadwinner in the family were predominantly men.
The women took care of the household chores, kids and other areas. A visit to
the local tea room in the afternoon and enjoying a sip of tea and loads of
gossip before the men got back from work seems a very logical experience for
the continued evolution and sustenance of tea rooms for years. The UK is home
to one of the classic tea rooms – some which survived the test of times and
others which dissolved into oblivion with the advent of Starbucks, Costa Coffee
or other trendy coffee joints! |
| Betty's Tea Room - Parliament St, Harrogate |
Our local expert and friend who
gives these unique insights to experience UK in a British way – Guy Bradshaw
had advised us to visit Betty’s Tea Room in Harrogate. Betty’s tea room was
opened in the early 1900’s and is one of the oldest and successful running tea
room chain’s in the UK. It is predominantly based in Yorkshire – with branches
across Harrogate, York, Northallerton, Ilkley in Yorkshire – though some of the
outlets are also outside of Yorkshire. Today, more than a million customers
visit Betty’s every year – that is almost 20% of the population of Norway! So
on a lazy Sunday afternoon in mid September after a late lunch which got over
at 4pm, we went down to Harrogate to tick off yet another things in our “to do
list of things” in England before we hop back to India or yet another country! The
to do item - to enjoy the weekend afternoon tea at Betty’s in Harrogate.
There
were two tea rooms of Betty’s in the spa town of Harrogate and we decided to go
the one on Parliament Street – the nerve centre of Harrogate city centre. Betty’s Tea room looked pretty upmarket
and chick from the exterior. We were waited to be seated by our hostess and
finally we walked down one or two floors below the ground floor to our part of
the tea room. As we walked down – it was amusing to see so many people enjoying
their lazy Sunday evening tea’s – dressed almost like they would be on their
wedding day.
There was a piano on the ground floor and the pianist was playing
tunes which could make you feel for a moment that you were not in this era –
but in the Victorian era! With the music in the background and tea aroma and
steam sizzling from the tea cups, the audience seemed to be in a magical trance
in their own private conversations in a very public environment! After we were
seated, we were treated to the menu card – rich in the varieties of tea and
light snacks and refreshments like cakes, scones and others. We decided to go
for the Yorkshire cream tea – to have a truly Yorkshire experience!
We spent time soaking in the
ambience – the dim lightings and the surrounding walls with pictures of places
in and around Yorkshire – famous and not so famous. There was a couple – an
Asian lady and her British boyfriend next to ours who were looking very much
like the couple who started dating a week back. The table behind us was again
with a British Asian – maybe a Pakistani or Punjabi gentleman with his mom. The
rest of the room was full of local Englishmen and their families enjoying the
tea. The pianist did make his presence felt even two floors down to this
basement – and unique it was! In between our conversations and comparing it to
the experience of having tea in the tea stalls in India, my wife and I saw our
table filled with a gleaming silver cake stand laden with freshly baked miniature
scones, fresh cream and homemade strawberry jam. Not to miss the gleaming
silver tea pot puffing magical steam in the air!
We had ordered for two tea
pots – and through those 90 minutes we were there at Betty’s – we ended up
sipping at least half a litre of tea each – while enjoying the peace and
quietness. It was very relaxing to enjoy
this experience!
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| Betty's Tea Room - from the outside |
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| Tea Room in the village of Dent, Yorkshire Dales |
Hopefully the tea rooms in
England will definitely be there for years to come! Its traditional,
historical, cultural significance and role as a social networking platform for
centuries will never be undermined!
