To celebrate the quintessential, classic British tradition of a ‘good cup of tea’ and to mark this year’s National Tea Day, at New Copford Place, our Colchester-based residential care home, residents have taken part in a poll and voted for their favourite cuppa.
“In the United Kingdom, National Tea Day is observed every April to celebrate the time honoured tradition of drinking of tea,” said Chelsey Leather, the Activities Coordinator at New Copford Place. “As the residents thoroughly enjoy our regular afternoon teas and like to sit together chatting over a ‘proper’ cuppa, I thought it would be a good idea to do a fun poll to find out, once and for all, their favourite brew, likes, dislikes and tea habits.”
Chelsey asked 20 residents a series of questions. “I put together 11 questions for the residents to answer and we had a voting session over, of course, a cuppa,” said Chelsey. “The results of ‘The Tea-riffic Tea Poll’ were quite interesting and some, quite surprising.”
The residents voted English Breakfast as their number one favourite, with Lemon and Ginger taking second place. “Without a shadow of doubt, bags were preferred to loose leaf tea, with 14 residents voting for tea bags and to answer the all-important question of whether it should be milk first or not in a cup, 13 residents said it had to be tea first so you could make sure it was the right colour as you added the milk,” continued Chelsey.
Other answers to the ‘Pot’ quiz included ‘China Cup and Saucer vs Mug?’. “It was no surprise that 12 residents voted for having a China cup and saucer,” added Chelsey. “As they do like their afternoon teas served in the proper way, but what did surprise me was that when it came to a choice of either sugar or sugar lumps, 11 residents said no to either, with one resident saying she was sweet enough.”
The residents also voted PG Tips™ as their preferred brand and that a biscuit was the best accompaniment to go with a cuppa. “Whilst 11 residents voted for biscuits, surprisingly 13 residents said no to dunking in their cuppa,” continued Chelsey. “However, when asked the question ‘When was the best time of day to have a cup of tea – first thing in the morning? At breakfast? Elevenses or at Afternoon Tea?’, they all agreed on the same answer.
“The unanimous vote was that the best cuppa can be enjoyed at any time of the day, as long as it’s in good company, having a chat and a giggle, which they like to do every day,” concluded Chelsey.
Find out more about New Copford Place care home by calling 01206 210 397 or emailing enquiries@fote.org.uk.