It’s no secret that British people love their tea, so what do they do when they move to Germany or come here on holiday? Where can they get their classic morning cuppa?
Of course, it’s not just Brits who consume vast quantities of tea. It’s popular with the Irish, Turks, Moroccans, Pakistanis, the Japanese, Chinese, Kenyans and New Zealanders, among many others.
So what about the Germans and their tee consumption?
Most people think of Germany as a nation of coffee drinkers rather than tea drinkers.
The German tradition of Kaffee und Kuchen (coffee and cake) is known around the world, and the first paper coffee filters were invented in Germany in the 1920s by a housewife from Dresden called Melitta Bentz, who went on to found the famous company which bears her name.
While it’s true that people tend to choose coffee over tea in the south of Germany, the picture is more complicated in the north. The residents of Hamburg and Bremen are big tea drinkers, partly as a result of historical connections with the tea trade.
And, in turns out, people in East Frisia (Ostfriesland) are actually the biggest tea drinkers in the world. According to Germany’s Records Institute, East Frisians drink six cups of tea everyday on average, far more than their closest competitors in Ireland, the UK, and Libya.
Tea is a religion in East Frisia, in much the same way as it is in the UK. Perhaps inspired by a similarly wet and chilly climate, East Frisians tend to favour a strong, black tea consisting mainly of Assam leaves and served with cream and sugar.
For anyone who can’t get to East Frisia and wants to know what the fuss is about, look for the Bünting or Thiele brands on the speciality shelves at Edeka or REWE.
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What will I get if I order a cup of tea elsewhere?
In most places, the first thing you’ll get if you ask for eine Tasse Tee is an impatient roll of the eyes. Tea might mean tea in East Frisia. Everywhere else, asking for "tea" in a café is a bit like ordering "beer" in a pub in the UK – it doesn’t even begin to answer the question.
Cafes or restaurants which offer Tee will certainly have a few bags of Schwarztee (black tea) on hand, most likely Earl Grey, which you can ask to have with milk (mit Milch) and which will probably come with a slice of lemon if you don't.
Generally, the word Tee in Germany is used as a blanket term to describe every imaginable fruit and herbal infusion. Close ties with Austria and Switzerland are said to account for a marked preference for herbal “teas” in southern Germany – and Germans everywhere swear by their health-giving properties.
Anecdotally, my German wife certainly makes sure that our tea drawer is just as well stocked as our medicine box, and prescribes industrial quantities of peppermint (Pfefferminz) tea, fennel (Fenchel) tea, and rosehip (Hagebutten) tea whenever our children complain about a headache or stomach ache.
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Most cafes in the country will offer a range of herbal and fruit teas, and many newer cafes and brunch spots also offer chai and ginger tea.
Matcha is also having a moment, with many cafes and coffee shops in major cities advertising their version of the matcha latte.
Where to go for an unforgettable tea drinking experience
If you’re in one of the old Hansa cities like Hamburg or Bremen – or if you find yourself in East Frisia – you shouldn’t have to look too hard for a cup of tea the equal of anything you can find at home.
If you’re in Stuttgart, Munich, or Berlin, and looking for a truly unforgettable tea drinking experience, you might want to check out the following:
- The English Tearoom (Stuttgart), established in 1911 and unashamedly in favour of everything to do with British tea drinking culture.
- Victorian House (Munich), which serves homemade scones with real clotted cream and strawberries as well as tea!
- The Tadshikische Teestube (Berlin), not a traditional English teahouse admittedly, but lots of fun, The Tadshikische Teestube is a Berlin institution celebrated for its bohemian ambiance and authentic Russian tea rituals
What if I just want a normal cup of milky English breakfast tea in an ordinary venue?
This is where things get tricky.
Frustratingly, English breakfast always seems to be the hardest to find of all the various varieties of tea on offer in Germany. And when you do strike lucky, the chances are you’ll be offered a bag of Lipton tea, or a German brand such as Meßner or Teekanne – which are fine but tend to lack the kick you get from British brands such as Yorkshire Tea or PG Tips.
Additionally, when you order tea in Germany, the waiter or waitress will typically bring you the glass of hot water and the teabag separately.
There’s a longstanding debate in the UK about whether you should add the teabag or the milk first, which completely misses the point that the only really important consideration is the temperature of the water.
In order to make a good cup of English breakfast tea, the milk and the teabag both need to be added when the water is boiling - or almost boiling - hot.
The German habit of serving the teabag and the water separately means that the water arrives a bit too cool – fine for infusions but a problem for “tea”, especially if you like it strong. So people accustomed to starting their day with a hot, strong and milky cup of tea are forced to rely on their own devices in Germany – and put the kettle on at home.
All German supermarket chains carry at least one range of Schwarztee – and Edeka and REWE carry Twinings – which are all fine in a pinch.
If you’re craving serious English breakfast teas like PG Tips and Yorkshire tea, however, your best bet is to visit your nearest Asian or Afro-Caribbean shop, or a speciality shop like Broken English (in Berlin) or Paper & Tea (across Germany).
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