Drinking tea accompanied by a nice sandwich, what could be more British? But then it gets more difficult. What kind of tea? The regular working class brew in mug, cup of splosh, or Lady Grey in a bone china cup? And the sandwich? Cucumber, ham and cheese, brie and cranberry, sausage or peanut butter? How you take your tea and what you have with it starts to explore another food and identity link. For example, according to the Telegraph the Queen likes 'tiny raspberry jam sandwiches cut into circles the size of an English penny and washed down with Earl Grey tea'. Whereas Elvis Presley was partial to a grilled peanut butter, banana and bacon sandwich with Pepsi iced tea.
We thought of adding in biscuits, but then you have to think about dunking or not, and so on, and then why not cakes. It all gets too complicated. So one of our themes will be exploring the different manifestations of tea and a sandwich and the settings in which they are consumed.
For those worried about etiquette a quick guide to the 'proper' way to eat a cream tea. This raises another question of whether a scone is just a posh jam sandwich?
