When Sofia is in Italy she does as Romans do, and drinks her tea with lemon.
Picked from the tree outside.
And sometimes, a little sugar.

Like much of the world, Italians do not drink their tea with milk.

They are missing out.

But have you ever wondered why the Brits started putting milk in their tea?

The best known version of events goes like this:

It’s the 18th century.
Tea is hot.
And porcelain cups are fine.
And pricey.
So, milk is added to the cup first.
It cools things down and stops fancy cups from cracking.
It tastes good.
And the rest, is history.

It’s a good story.

But like all good mysteries, there is evidence against.

Here’s more:

Although porcelain was considered fine, it was also tough.
And resistant to heat.
That’s why it was pricey.

So a fancy cup could well withstand hot water.
That was the point.

And before the Brits started drinking tea with milk, they spent 2 centuries drinking tea without it.

Because when tea was first brought to the UK (16^th century), it was green tea.
Lighter. Milder.
No need for milk.

Things changed in the 18th century.
When black teas were imported - from India and Sri Lanka.

These teas were stronger. Sometimes bitter.
And adding milk took the edge off.
Made it smoother. Sweeter.

That’s most likely why the milk went it.
And certainly, why it stayed.
 
Taste.

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Of course, there is no smoke without some fire.

And whilst there’s no hard evidence of tea cracking teacups, it was widely believed.

In fact, pouring milk into your cup after your tea was a sign of status.
It's how the upper classes did it - because it showed they had good china.

The working classes, on the other hand, couldn’t afford the good china.
So their milk went in first.

>>

We don’t know who first tried a splash of milk in their tea.
Or what order it went in.

But we're glad they did.