A Cup of Tea
By
Debra Waker
November, 2021
Everyone knows that many a good friendship is made over a cup of tea. In fact, a good strong cup of tea is the answer to everything. It can help you cope with disasters, revive you when in a state of shock, or simply sooth and calm the nerves. They even say you can tell a person’s character by the tea they make. And, of course, there is definitely a correct way to make it.
Every English person is well schooled in the art of tea making which begins at an early age. I remember being about seven years old when I made my first cup of tea for my mother. On a tray, with a tray cloth of course, I put the teapot, cup and saucer, milk and sugar and carried it to my mother. I sat anxiously, watching her and waiting for her approval. She took her first sip, then another, and put down her cup. Her face looked serious. I had forgotten to warm the pot. I was mortified. How could she tell? But at the age of seven, I was not yet an experienced tea drinker.
Since that time, I have improved and learnt the well known value of a cup of tea with friends. That was until I came to Canada. My liberal offering of tea to all and sundry was treated with amusement. People came to see me, not for coffee but for tea. I was honoured.
Then came the day when I was offered tea by others. I remember the first time, standing in a friend’s kitchen and watching as she poured hot water straight on to the tea without warming the pot. I stood there aghast, wondering if I should point out her error. But, shocked by the moment, words failed me. Then another time I was offered tea and, to my amazement, the tea was poured into the cup first and then the milk. Surely they knew that this is not the way things are done; the tea just doesn’t taste the same.
Since my time in Canada I have come to realize that the old English adage that ‘all good friends are made over a cup of tea’ cannot be used as a maxim. In fact, it was while a friend was making me a cup of tea and asked how long the tea bag should soak for, that I realized that some wonderful friends are made despite the tea.
©Debra Waker