Feb 2, 2002
Half (2)
I have only ever been able to drink half a cup of tea.
If you make me a mug the size of a bucket, I’ll only drink half of it. If you make me a dainty little china cupful, I’ll drink half of that, too.
I’ve no idea why, though I suspect it’s got something to do with the temperature of the beverage. When it’s first made, it’s too hot to drink, and by the time it reaches a bearable temperature, I only get through half a cup before it gets too cold to drink – otherwise I’d have to slurp the whole mug down in one, and that’s not really the point of a nice cuppa, is it?
I never used to drink milk in tea, either. I could never quite get my head around the concept of milk and water in the same beverage. Er, what? No thanks. So for years I drank my tea black.
And then, at about half past four in the morning of a day in November of 1996, I was at a friend’s house in Liverpool. We’d been out clubbing all night, and we were coming down from a fun evening. I sat on a beanbag on his floor, and he padded around and made tea. When he handed it to me, in the biggest mug I’d ever seen – a veritable vat – it was milky, and I didn’t have the energy to complain. I took a sip, and tasted a little bit of heaven. I was converted instantly.
Tea. With milk. It shouldn’t work, but it does.
