Proper English Tea

Last week, we enjoyed a short visit with a young student from England who will be starting her Ph.D. studies in the Classics at Cal Berkeley this fall - turns out, Cal has a world-renowned Classics department. Who knew?

The girlfriend of an old friend's son, Naomi was coming with three gigundous suitcases full of her worldly goods and, although she claimed she could use BART to schlep all those bags from the airport to Berkeley, we were happy to spare her that particular joy by picking her up by car.

We drove her home, fed her roast chicken and poured her into bed, dizzy with jet lag. The next morning, she remembered she had brought us gifts from England, a box of real Scottish shortbread (how did she know it's my favorite?) and a packet of tea from her home in Cambridge.

I warmed my mother's wedding present teapot and Naomi showed me how to make proper English tea for breakfast. She filled my tea ball nearly full and poured boiling water into the pot, leaving it to steep until it was a rich, almost rosy brown. We poured the tea and added a little milk, sipping and nibbling on American English muffins.

My Beloved and I enjoyed having her youth and shy charm with us until she moved into her rented room to begin all the bureaucratic nonsense involved in getting settled in the U.S. and enrolled in classes. I'm happy to know how to make proper English tea to drink with my shortbread; Naomi came to learn but ended up teaching instead.