On Coronation Street everyone is always saying 'Put the Kettle On' for practically any occasion when folks get together - or when they come home, etc.

And even the surly teen-agers on the show, like David, are seen putting the kettle on and drinking tea.

I find this hard to be a realistic depiction of English teens, who i would have thought would disdain tea and gulp energy drinks, etc. like their counterparts elsewhere.

so does the typical hip teen still drink tea, like the seem to on Corrie?

Just curious as to how all-pervasive tea is as i think it used to be and still is for older folk???

I'm friends with a bunch of guys in the west midlands aged 19 to 27 and they drink tea like crazy. They also drink huge quantities of wine, a fair amount of beer, Coke and coffee.

You seem to spend an inordinate amount of time musing about Corrie!

I thought you came here a lot Pal?

Pretty much everyone drinks tea. I've even known plenty of babies get warm milky tea in their babies bottles now and then as a treat.

Maybe not little kids so much, but all the teens I know love a nice cup of tea. It's not tea OR other types of drinks, you can drink both. I'm a Pepsi Max addict but I also drink plenty of tea.

In fact my son went through a phase of having tea 'parties' with his best friend (also male) when they were about 18 or so. (yes we did snigger a bit). Proper teapot, and they'd buy little amounts of different blends of loose teas to experiment with, and would sneer at me for my tea bags and lack of distinction. He's still a bit of a 'tea-snob' bless'im. At the moment he is in to Japanese (not Chinese, mother!)green teas. OK, I can't say they were typical, but I would think 90% of Brits are tea guzzlers.

It's certainly not just a drink for older people, any more than coffee is in the US.

Nona1 - well on commuter trains into London recently i noted that under 30 types were more likely drinking Red Bull or other energy drinks than the tea or coffee older folks were sipping - which kind of raised this question in my mind.

But it's refreshing to know that young folk still think taking tea is cool!

English kids don't guzzle much in the way of soft drinks. Last time I looked, their per capita consumption was WAY lower - not just than the US, but than practically every other affluent country, and a few not so affluent, like Mexico.

Like their elders, they just drink less liquid than many other countries: dehydration isn't a big risk in England. They clearly get through a lot more booze than most of their foreign peers. Whether they drink as much tea as their elders, I doubt: their lives are rarely organised that way. But tea's neither the drink for effete snobs it is in the US, nor something only old farts touch, like real ale.

There are times kids want a pick me up with attitude, so they'll drink Red Bull. If they just want a pick me up because they're knackered, they'll get out the PG Tips like the rest of us.

"Tea the drink of effete snobs it is in the US"--talk about stereotypes!

Coffee is the more popular drink in the US, but people of all ages and types drink tea, hot and iced, in all its variations.

As for "put the kettle on" as seen on Corrie, I love the fact that it's usually the first or second thing someone says when you enter a UK home during the day. But, as often as not, instant coffee is also offered.

test

It's practically the law to offer a cup of tea within 10 seconds of someone arriving in your home.

Me and my friends will often text each other when we have nearly arrived with 'get the kettle on, I'm here!'

It's just an automatic thing. On the odd occasion when it hasn't happened I've been left feeling very unwelcome, even if I don't actually WANT a cup of tea. It's part of the hospitality tradition here.

We also believe tea has great curative properties.

Nona,

I have a nice hot cuppa in my hands as I write this--as much to warm my hands as anything--we're under an ice storm warning at the moment, but nothing's coming down yet, hope it stays that way.

I love the offer and always accept--it is so welcoming.

My 16 year old and very hip son drinks tea morning, afternoon and night. Of course we're in Washington State rather than England, but still. Perhaps it's making a comeback among the truly young and hip.

Yes everytime i enter a traditional English B&B the landlady or lord asks me Do you want some tea or coffee?

I find it a great tradition and like nona1 says tea is loaded with anti-oxidants, etc.

And come to think of it my hip as anyone son and his hipper than anyone girlfriend are constantly drinking esoteric teas - and done the right way too - by putting the kettle on.

Do English teenagers drink tea? They certainly do in our family! I mentioned this post to my 19 year old daughter and her boyfriend a moment ago and they laughed since my daughter is - in her words - a tea addict. One of her birthday presents was a special teapot for use in her university room.

My 20 year old son has always been very picky about food and drink and for years would only drink water, milk and TEA (he has now extend this to include beer. Also most of the teenage kids I teach will always drink tea (and coffee) in addition to the carbonated drinks available in the school canteen. So I don’t think the Corrie picture is too far from reality.

As others say we expect to be offered a drink soon after arriving anywhere and one of the most damning statements you can make about someone’s lack of hospitality is “I wasn’t even offered a cup of tea.”

On trains – well there the tea can be so awful that even I would drink Red Bull in preference!

If you have workmen in the house, they have to be plied with tea.
We had builders working for us once and your heart sank if they left and took their tea making equipment with them. It meant that they were off to another job and you might not see them for a while.

My 14 years old DD, who was born and raised in US, drinks her tea at least 2 times a day (we live in London for more than 2 years now). In fact, every Friday, they go to the local cafe after school for " a cup of tea".

I agree with the previous poster about offering tea to anyone who comes to your house as a welcome polite gesture.

Here in Australia, my son is going out with a girl from England. She has been out here about 3 years now and she is 21.

She drinks LOTS of tea! She does drink soft drinks and alcohol but I think her fave drink would be a 'coop o' tea'. My sons do not drink tea or coffee nor do their friends...weird hey...hence I suppose all these caffeine laced energy drinks they prefer instead.

My 18-year-old daughter is a tea drinker. My father who is almost 90 and of Irish descent is a tea drinker. I'm a tea drinker. As dear old dad taught me - never with sugar or cream. Lemon sometimes.

gruezi

"If you have workmen in the house, they have to be plied with tea."

... to the extent that we have the phrase "builders' tea", meaning a good strong cuppa.

There is a difference between drinking at home, in food outlets, on the streets and on the train.

Drinking on the street, eating on the street and picking your nose are the sign of a particular class (oh my god I said it).

Though based on the above I wouldn't know what Corrie is

"Drinking on the street... are the sign of a particular class"

Mostly, if the streets of my nearest town on the last days of Schools are anything to go by, the class that joins the Bullingdon or Piers Gaveston.

But if that class of person wrecks your pub, they hand you a lordly cheque and the police tell them that they are naughty boys and let them go.