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!
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 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!
Betty's Tea Room - from the outside |
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!
1 comment:
@Deepak. Very beautifully written article and very informative. This article has true mark of the writer and traveler in you.
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