老外說的 「low tea」 千萬別翻譯成「低級茶」,否則會鬧笑話

什麼是low tea？

Why are the Brits so obsessed with tea? Let's find out.

英國人為啥對茶如此著迷？咱們就來研究下。

Now one of the first things you'll be asked by most Brits is 'Would you like a cup of tea?' Yes, we're rather fond of our proper brew, which is what we call - a nice cup of tea and it's our go-to solution for almost any scenario.

當你碰上英國人，他們問你的第一句話大多都是："要不要來杯茶呀？"沒錯，英國人實在太喜歡沏好的熱茶了，按咱們英式說法就是"來上一杯好茶吧"。無論碰上任何狀況，一杯好茶就是終極解決辦法。

Want an excuse to gossip with your friends? Invite them over for a cup of tea! Do you have a builder doing some work on your house? It would be offensive not to offer him a cuppa. Going through a personal drama? Yep, you guessed it, a cup of tea will make everyone feel better.

想跟盆友八卦閒聊，但苦於找不到好藉口？邀請朋友來你家做客喝茶呀！建築工人在你家幫忙幹活兒，要是忘了邀他喝上一杯茶那就太不禮貌啦。個人生活出現某些狀況？沒錯，你猜對了，喝上一杯茶會讓所有人感覺舒服許多。

It's hardly surprising then that the UK race through a whopping 165 million cups of tea every day. Seriously, that is a lot of cup lifting, but it's how we stay in such great shape! But how have we become one of the biggest tea drinking nations per capita in the world? Here are a few interesting moments in history that helped make tea a quintessentially British affair.

其實這一點兒也不足為奇，因為腐國人民每天能喝掉1.65億杯茶！講真喝個茶舉這麼多次杯子也真心累人，這就是為啥咱英國人身材都保持得不錯！那麼問題來了，英國究竟是如何變成人均喝茶量超高的世界飲茶大國呢？下面就來講講英國歷史中幾個有趣的時刻，這也讓喝茶成了英國文化生活中不可或缺的一部分。

Our love of tea goes back to the mid-1600s when the British East India Company dominated the tea imported to Britain. We had a constant and growing supply of tea, which was convenient as we had been excluded from the coffee exporting Mediterranean during our wars with France and Spain at the time, whilst our surrounding countries remained hooked on coffee, Britain became a tea drinking nation.

英國人對茶的熱愛最早可追溯到17世紀中期。當時，東印度公司全面控制英國所有的茶葉進口，讓英國擁有持續穩定而又源源不斷的茶葉供應，這大大方便了英國人民，尤其是我們當時遭到排擠，無法享用咖啡，因為英國當年跟法國和西班牙爭搶海上霸主，咖啡進口都得通過地中海，當我們周邊的歐洲國家依然沉迷於咖啡的時候，英國已然變成了飲茶國度。

Tea hasn't always been the innocent drink we know and love today. During the 1700s, increasing tea prices saw a rise in both tea smuggling and fake teas, which were often used tea leaves mixed with other leaves and then dyed. These lower priced teas were sold to the working classes which meant that tea, even if it wasn't the best quality were no longer just for the rich.

英國人熟知並熱愛的茶葉，其實以前並不是如此的天真無邪。18世紀茶葉價格上漲，造成茶葉造假和走私販賣不斷增加。假茶通常會將真茶葉與其他植物葉子混合，並進行染色，這些假茶會以低廉的價格售賣給工人階層，這就意味著雖然並非高品質的優質茶葉，茶終於不再是英國富人的專屬。

Afternoon tea, also known as 'low tea', due to the low tables it was served on. It came about in around 1841, thanks to the very hungry tummy of one woman, Anna Russell, the Duchess of Bedford, who took social convention into her own hands and began enjoying a pot of tea and a light snack to satisfy that sinking feeling in the late afternoon. Before long, afternoon tea became quite the social event.

英式下午茶，又名"低茶"，因為下午茶會在起居室的矮桌上享用。下午茶誕生於1841年左右，而下午茶的誕生都得歸功於一位吃貨女士，那就是貝德芙公爵夫人安娜·拉素爾，她常常在家舉辦各種社交聚會，慢慢就變成與賓客一起享用一壺好茶搭配精緻點心，為滿足意興闌珊、百無聊賴的午後時光，沒想到一時之間，下午茶在貴族社交圈內蔚然成風。

Queen Victoria, a friend of the Duchess's, formalised afternoon tea with her Buckingham Palace tea receptions. I think my invite may have got lost in the post. Today, afternoon tea is enjoyed at around 4 o'clock in the afternoon and is made up of a selection of finger sandwiches, scones, pastries and homemade cakes. Cream tea is a simpler version, with scones, clotted cream and jam, and of course, a pot of tea, and it's my personal favourite.

而維多利亞女王也是貝德芙公爵夫人的摯友，她在白金漢宮內舉辦茶會，更是讓下午茶變得愈發正式優雅。他們寄給我的邀請函估計在郵寄過程中弄丟了吧。而如今，英國人通常在下午4點左右享用下午茶，一般會由迷你三明治、司康餅、各類酥餅和自製小蛋糕組成。奶油茶點，是下午茶的簡易版本，只需司康餅搭配凝脂奶油和果醬，自然也少不了一壺英式紅茶，這可是我最摯愛的下午茶點哦！

什麼是high tea？

Not to be mistaken for afternoon tea,high tea, also known as meat tea, was in fact a hot meal of meat pies, vegetables and bread, eaten at the end of the day with a cup of tea by factory workers during the Industrial Revolution. It was called 'high tea' due to the high tables it was served on, but these were just regular-sized tables. Today, in many parts of the UK, the evening meal is often referred to as 'tea' which can be a tad confusing if you're expecting sandwiches and a slice of cake.

千萬別把高茶和下午茶弄混啦！"高茶"，又叫"肉茶"，其實是指一頓熱乎乎的正餐，比如肉類餡餅、蔬菜和麵包，再配上一大杯熱茶，通常在每日工作結束後享用。工業革命時期，"高茶"都是為工人們補充體力，之所以命名為"高茶"，是因為工人坐在飯廳較高的餐桌上享用，其實 也都是些普通大小的桌椅啦。而如今在英國的許多地方，吃晚餐也經常會被稱作"喝茶"。如果你原本期待著享用幾塊三明治和小蛋糕的話，這估計會造成一點小困惑吧。

In the 1880s, tea rooms became fashionable with women as respectable places they could go to meet their friends for a discreet chat and even discuss politics. Eventually, tea rooms became an integral part of the women's liberation movement. Tea was also used as a morale booster to soldiers during the WWII, with the Prime Minister Winston Churchill stating ,"The tea is more important than bullets!" Hear! Hear!

19世紀80年代，茶室在英國女性中變得流行起來，優雅體面的環境，姑娘們可以在這裡約見閨蜜好友，進行一番謹慎私密的談話，甚至可以探討政治。最終，茶室也逐步演變為婦女解放運動的組成部分。二戰期間，茶甚至還被視作鼓舞英軍士氣的秘密武器。當年的首相邱吉爾曾高喊："茶比子彈更重要！"沒錯，確實如此！

Interestingly, 96 percent of tea consumed in Britain comes in the form of a tea bag, which just so happens to be an American invention. During the early 1900s, tea merchant Thomas Sullivan sent out tea samples to his customers in silicon sachets. Americans were naturally enthusiastic about these newfangled super convenient tea bags, but they didn't catch on in Britain until the 1950s. But boy, do we love them now!

有趣的是，英國人所飲用的茶有96%都是茶包的形式，而茶包卻是美國人的發明。20世紀初，美國茶商託馬斯·蘇利文用絲袋將茶葉包裹，這樣方便向顧客展示樣品，美國人民對這種非常新奇又超級方便的茶包自然是愛不釋手。不過直到20世紀50年代，茶包才在英國流行起來，天吶！可沒想到咱們現在對茶包愛到何種程度。

So, there you are, just a few examples of how tea has become part of British culture and society.

就是這樣啦，茶，就這樣成為了英國文化和社會中不可或缺的一部分。