Chapter 193: Afternoon Tea in the Town

At the moment of the great enemy, Jiezi can still enjoy life so easily and leisurely, I really admire this person, and the generosity of being able to take a boat in his belly.

Utako cut a piece of steak, well, the taste is really authentic, unlike the one eaten in China, the grill is very old, and it tastes a bit like an old cow chewing grass.

And this one tastes very tender, the food made in this shop is very particular, and the tableware is also very exquisite, no wonder the things in this café are so expensive.

Europeans know how to live a leisurely life, and they all have the habit of drinking afternoon tea. They like to spend their free time in the afternoon at the café for a cup of coffee and a nice snack for a relaxing afternoon.

Now the café is slowly starting to get more crowded, and sitting in this position of theirs has a great view of the people in every corner.

Utako began to eat absent-mindedly, her eyes fixed on everyone who came in.

"Why are there so many people, it's not time for dinner?"

"It's time for afternoon tea, and Europeans have the habit of drinking afternoon tea."

"Don't be nervous, the time has not yet come, and when the time comes, someone will naturally come." As he ate, he comforted Katsuko because he saw that Kako was already nervous.

"Oh, who do you think they will be?"

"I don't know. We use the code. ”

"Okay." Geko began to bow her head and eat the exquisite Western food on her plate, just now I thought that this black pepper steak was delicious, and it would be like chewing wax in my mouth.

"Eat slowly. There is also a dim sum in the back, which is also the specialty of this one, freshly baked and baked, and the taste is also very good, so I will taste it for a while. ”

Gezi is already nervous and has no appetite, so he can still eat, but he can see that the people around him are leisurely sipping coffee, chatting casually with the people around him, I don't know if they all know each other, and drinking afternoon tea is also an important way of interpersonal communication in the town.

It's melodious and relaxing classical music. Utako eats the Western-style dim sum she just served, which is served on a three-tiered fine porcelain plate, with sandwiches on the first floor and the restaurant's traditional signature dim sum on the second floor. On the third floor, there are cakes and fruit tarts.

Looking at the exquisite dim sum, I thought that this European is really good at enjoying, how can I have the heart to drink afternoon tea in China, and I can't even take care of eating when I am busy, let alone taking up a good time to drink afternoon tea.

"They drink coffee. How do you say it's afternoon tea? ”

"Europeans are accustomed to afternoon tea, and European afternoon tea originated in England.

The British have a 300-year history of drinking black tea and are a country that loves black tea, so black tea is consumed the most in the UK. It can be said that there is no country with the same level of black tea tasting as the British professional. The British, who have never grown a piece of tea in history, have used tea imported from China to create their own unique and gorgeous drinking form, and are famous all over the world for their rich connotation and elegant form of "English afternoon tea". ”

"Is there also an English afternoon tea and a Chinese afternoon tea?" Utako asked mischievously and deliberately.

"Don't interrupt, 1840 A.D. In Victorian times, Anna, Duchess of Bedford, was bored in the afternoon, worrying about how to spend the long afternoon before a formal and ceremonious dinner party. ”

"Storytelling, I like to listen to stories, keep going."

So Ms. Anna invited a few close friends to enjoy a relaxing afternoon with tea and delicate snacks. But unexpectedly, celebrities and ladies flocked to it, and this behavior soon became a fashion in the aristocratic social circle at that time. And it has continued to this day, forming an elegant and comfortable afternoon tea culture, and also becoming the orthodox "British black tea culture", which is the origin of the so-called "Victorian afternoon tea". ”

"You're talking about English afternoon tea. It's all coffee, not tea? ”

"Afternoon tea is also derived from that time, don't interrupt, I'll tell you, when we go to England, there will be no jokes."

"Do you want to go to the UK out there? Thinking about the UK, which is also a country that I aspire to, it is good to be able to go to so many countries when I come out on a mission. ”

"English Afternoon Tea was originally just a way to enjoy tea at home in a high-end, elegant tea set. Later, it gradually evolved into a social tea party for friends to gather, and then derived various etiquette. Authentic English Afternoon Tea is served in an elegant and comfortable setting, such as in the living room or garden of your home. When the guests sat in front of the large round platform, the host instructed the maid to bring a treasure chest containing tea leaves and open it in front of everyone to show the value of the tea leaves.

Prepare a sumptuous hot and cold snack prepared by the hostess and a high-end tea set - fine porcelain cups and saucers or silver tea set. Teapots, strainers, trays, teaspoons, knives, three-tiered snack holders, biscuit tongs, sugar jugs, milk cups, fruit bowls, lemon cutters, all sparkling silver and crystal clear.

In the UK, where sunlight is scarce, silver tea sets often reveal people's desire for sunshine. Dim sum is served on a three-tiered porcelain plate with sandwiches on the first floor, traditional English pastries on the second floor, cakes and fruit tarts on the third floor, and tea accompanied by melodious and relaxing classical music.

Both guests and hosts are expected to dress appropriately, as afternoon tea is an informal social occasion second only to dinners and evening parties. Even ordinary families use the afternoon tea time to visit relatives and friends, often in the best living room of the family, the hostess of the small jasper diligently brews tea, roasts dim sum that is not very elaborate but the ingredients are absolutely affordable, for the guests to enjoy.

Today, in the UK, afternoon tea has been simplified, but the correct way of brewing tea, the elegance of tea and the sumptuous refreshments are regarded as afternoon tea traditions and continue to be handed down. Most families in the UK drink tea every day, and the consumption of tea is very large.

It is much higher than that of tea-producing countries such as India, China, and Sri Lanka. However, because the UK does not produce tea, it mainly relies on imports, and the UK has long occupied the largest country in tea imports. There was a time when 100% of the tea drunk by the British came from China, but with the rapid rise of tea production in countries such as India, Sri Lanka and Kenya, the monopoly of Chinese tea has been broken.

Now, China's tea market share is only 4% left. Among the tea imported from the UK, black tea has always occupied a major position, and green tea is only a supporting role. Later, green tea, white tea, and other specialty teas became more and more popular among young people in the UK. Moreover, young people who like to try new things are willing to pay higher prices for unique high-quality teas, especially Chinese green tea, which is increasingly favored by young people in the UK.

Britain does not grow its own tea, but it exports large quantities of tea every year. After the UK imported a large amount of tea, the tea was reprocessed, and the raw tea was turned into various tea products, which were not only used for domestic consumption, but also exported to all parts of the world, including tea-producing countries. Tea that originated in China evolved into British black tea after crossing the ocean, and then entered the Chinese market, where you can see matcha pastries, matcha drinks, English black tea and other beverages and food everywhere.

The British "teatime" (i.e. tea time) is thunderous, even if you have a big event, you have to wait for the British to finish the afternoon tea. An English folk song goes like this: "When the clock strikes four times, the world ......stops for tea in an instant"

Looking at Gezi's preoccupied eating, Jiezi was very heartbroken, so he explained the origin of afternoon tea to relieve Gezi's pressure, and then the next stop, they may go to the UK.

Jiezi is really an all-rounder, he knows everything, it's "cat" again, it's afternoon tea, it's all he is saying, he doesn't even have a chance to interject, and even this border shop can find bright spots, so I'm really convinced.

ps: In these two chapters, Jiezi gave Gezi a bit of popular science, and readers also followed to see the excitement. (To be continued.) )