a nice cup of tea

We Brits often use the saying "I'll put the kettle on and we'll have a nice cup of tea". I've tried to find out how the saying came about, but without much success.

We've been drinking the stuff since the early 1600's, albeit at first only the super rich could afford it. But slowly the price came down and it's kept Britain going ever since. It seems to me that it came into it's own during WWII. Addicts can drink as many as 12 cups a day (my mum being one of them) 







George Orwell wrote an essay on how to make a proper cup of tea. Follow his rules and you can't go wrong :~)

But there is still the discussion about whether to add milk first to the cup before pouring the tea or after..

Tea is such a tradition in Britain that there have even been songs written about it.

And even in the worst possible situations 'a nice cup of tea' will come to your aid.