So I just started rewatching the show. Many of the gentle jokes about Britishness work, but they drop a huge clanger in episode 1 that, if I recall, continues.
Rebecca offers Ted tea, the joke being his sequence of coffee requests are ignored. The owner of a football team would absolutely have the means to provide someone with a cappucinno. We drink a ton of coffee here.
What’s worse, however, is that they repeatedly show Rebecca drinking black tea out of a glass. Anyone who has spent any time in the UK would know that this practice, while not unheard of (drinking black tea is a bit more common in other parts of Europe) would be extremely unusual.
I like the show a lot, but feel a bit sad that jokes about the British drinking tea, such low-hanging leaves (hur hur), were bungled.
Just thought I’d mention this!
i’m not bri-ish (though i know yall don’t like pronouncing consonants!), please elaborate why black tea isn’t the right one and why you don’t drink it out of glass cups? what else have they gotten wrong? i’m super intrigued
If anything else comes up during my rewatch I’ll let you know! A big one that you may have already seen is the association of Richmond and the ostensibly working class sport of football (I know, football is super corporate and bloated with money- it is weird). Richmond doesn’t have a culture like that and would favour rugby.
I also find it strange that Richmond seems to have about 8 people living there, who all know each other and see each other regularly. It is a London borough- they’re not small!
Well, the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea doesn’t have a culture like that either, yet Chelsea FC is pretty popular (albeit Stamford Bridge is a gnat’s whisker over the border in Fulham).
As for the tea: there are a few black tea varieties that Rebecca might drink without milk (like Earl Grey, Lady Grey, Lapsang Souchong and Darjeeling; although green tea more so).
Black tea usually has a splash of milk, and served in a china cup (or mug)
There’s no reason- not one that I know anyway! But tea is traditionally served with milk. Sugar is down to choice. Black tea with maybe some lemon or honey would be associated with being a cold remedy.
As I mentioned, black tea is more common on the continent, though I’m no expert!
The glass cup thing is just…odd; again, I can’t tell you why. Tea and mugs are inextricably linked. Even coffee in one of those glass cups would be rare in my view.
Sorry I can’t elaborate more!
I’m pretty sure she’s drinking from a clear mug, not a regular glass. I was in the Netherlands this weekend and drank a lot of tea…in restaurants it was always served in a clear mug.
Could be Earl Grey tea? Usually drunk black (and tastiest that way), and common enough - feels quite posh which I think would suit Rebecca. But it is still weird that she never specifies and serves Ted the same without a warning!
see i would be worried that putting tea in a mug/cup would be too much
of a cliche…
btw… what are you favorite teas? mine is … chamomile, mint, bee balm, oregano, agrimony, limetree leaves… and all of these together in one mix are great
I’m pretty boring when it comes to tea- English breakfast tea is standard, perhaps the odd Earl Grey (milk or no milk with EG, folks?).
Herbal teas can be okay. Often, however, I find the smell fruity and delicious- only for the tea to taste like slightly rank water.