Soda - Keeping Curious

Although we usually live in a glorious ‘Tea-mocracy’ here at Together every now and again one poor mug seems to be lumbered with the role of making tea after tea after tea…

Sadly, for one reason and another, today that said mug appears to be me.

But as I stood stirring endless steamy cups and quietly grumbling I decided to put a positive spin on my demotion to the role of office tea monkey. Frankly it was either that or spike everyone’s tea with some kind of powerful cleaning product.

So, having put my new found appreciation for the art of the beautiful brew into practice I’ve come up with…

The Tea Commandments
(There are 14 of these. Moses was more concise than me)

Thou shall not dunk in another’s brew

Scalded shall be the fingers that try to retrieve fallen biscuit from hot tea

Thou shall dunk quickly the biscuits that crumble easily

Blessed are those who serve chocolate biscuits with their tea

Those who dunk baked goods other than biscuits are heretics and should be shunned

Thou shall honour thy duty on the tea rota or be cast out into the lonely wilderness

Thou shall not leave brown stains in the sugar bowl

A biscuit loosely gripped is a biscuit quickly lost

Bovril is a sin

Those who stir tea with a biscuit should be made to eat a teaspoon

Thou shall not covet another man’s Jammie Dodger

Those who do not blow on hot tea will suffer a tongue of a thousand burns

Beware the bubbles in the tea – they herald grave danger

Thou shall sniff the milk before pouring

I’m also fully aware that tea-making is a highly personal affair and many of you may now be seething like a freshly boiled kettle at the omission of your ultimate commandment.

So in the spirit of making the tea-drinking word a better place for all who brew there, please feel free to comment with your own commandments.