"A Nice Cup of Tea" is an essay by British writer George Orwell, first published in the Evening Standard newspaper of 12 January 1946. It is a straight-faced discussion about the craft of making a cup of tea, including the line: "Here are my own eleven rules, every one of which I regard as golden."
Orwell's rules cover such matters as the best shape for a teacup, the advisability of using water that is still boiling, and his preference for very strong tea. He also considers what he calls "one of the most controversial points of all" - whether to put milk in the cup first and add the tea, or the other way around. Orwell says tea should be poured first because "one can exactly regulate the amount of milk whereas one is liable to put in too much milk if one does it the other way round." "I maintain that my own argument is unanswerable," he writes.
Famous quotes containing the words cup of tea, nice, cup and/or tea:
“I know it does make people happy, but to me it is just like having a cup of tea.”
—Cynthia Paine (b. 1934)
“If you have this enormous talent, it’s got you by the balls, it’s a demon. You can’t be a family man and a husband and a caring person and be that animal. Dickens wasn’t that nice a guy.”
—Dustin Hoffman (b. 1937)
“In poorer lands
No one touches the water of life.
It has no taste
And though it refreshes absolutely
It is a cup that must also pass
Until everybody
Gets some advantage....”
—John Ashbery (b. 1927)
“An old man drinks tea and reads the newspaper—forgetting age for a moment.”
—Mason Cooley (b. 1927)