文化

British Culture

Afternoon tea is a very British affair. People in Britain have been observing the culture of drinking afternoon tea since around 1840. It was at about that time that Duchess Ann Maria, wife to the 7th. Duke of Bedford, unwittingly began what was to become a very fashionable daily routine around the U.K. In those days, in polite society, lunch was traditionally served at 12 o'clock and dinner, or the evening meal, at 8 o'clock. Duchess Ann Maria began asking for tea and light nibbles, such as cucumber sandwiches, scones, and small cakes to be served in the afternoon to ward off hunger pangs. She began inviting her friends to join her. Soon, polite society began mimicking this new way of eating and before long, tea shops were opening up all over the country to cater for the newly created social fad.

Quaint tea shops, such as these, can be found on almost every High Street, in every city, town, and village in the U.K.

Come and join me in さくら茶屋 in 西柴　for afternoon tea and perhaps some light nibbles, but certainly in the art of polite conversation. A one-hour, free and friendly conversation lesson is offered at さくら茶屋 from 2:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m., on the third Monday afternoon of each month, in a group of no more than four or five people. Anyone is welcome to come and take part or observe while enjoying a cup of tea at　さくら茶屋. Hope to see you there.

Read the さくら茶屋 blog here.

It's not my cup of tea.

This idiom expresses a mild way of saying that you don't like something. It is often used as a polite way to say that we don't like the thing that another person likes.

My friend likes jazz music, but it's not my cup of tea.

My colleagues invited me to the karaoke bar after work. I made an excuse not to go because karaoke is not really my cup of tea.

Not for all the tea in China.

This idiom expresses a refusal to do something or a refusal to contemplate doing something.

My friend asked me to go on the roller coaster with him. I told him I wouldn't go on the roller coaster for all the tea in China.

My boss wants me to work in the company's Hokkaido office. I hate the cold and the snow, so I don't want to work in Hokkaido for all the tea in China.

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