Fancy a cup of Rosie Lee? Residents at Orford House Residential Care Home in Coulsdon certainly do as they celebrate National Tea Day

To celebrate the quintessential, classic British tradition of a ‘good cup of tea’ and to mark this year’s National Tea Day, at Orford House, the Coulsdon-based residential care home run by Charity, Friends of the Elderly - which is celebrating its 120th Anniversary this year – residents have taken part in a ‘Tea-riffic’ poll and voted for their favourite cuppa.

“In the United Kingdom, National Tea Day is observed every April to celebrate the time honoured tradition of drinking of tea,”said Michelle Kennett, the Registered Manager at Orford House. “As the residents thoroughly enjoy our regular afternoon teas and like to sit together chatting over a ‘proper’ cup of tea, Mary Bradley our Activities Coordinator and I thought it would be a good idea to do a fun poll to find out, once and for all, their favourite brew, tea likes, dislikes and tea habits.”

Mary asked the residents a series of tea-orientated questions, to put ‘all things tea’ to the vote. “I put together 11 questions for the residents to answer and we had a voting session over, of course, a cup of tea,”said Mary. “The results of ‘The Tea-riffic Tea Poll’ were quite interesting and some, quite surprising.”

All the residents voted English Breakfast Tea as their number one favourite. “Without a shadow of doubt, English Breakfast Tea took the ‘pot’ position, with each resident saying that was their favourite brew. Tea bags were preferred to loose leaf tea, and 99% of the residents agreed that having tea bags in a tea pot achieved the best cuppa.”

“The residents then answered the all-important question of whether it should be milk first or tea first in a cup and, again, it was a full house with all the residents saying it had to be tea first so you could make sure it was the right colour as you added the milk,”continued Mary.

Other answers to the ‘Pot’ quiz included ‘China Cup and Saucer vs Mug?’. “It was no surprise that all bar two residents voted for having their tea in a China cup and saucer,”added Mary. “As they do like their afternoon teas served in the proper way, but what did surprise me was that when it came to a choice of either sugar or sugar lumps, most residents said no to either, with one resident saying she was sweet enough.”

The residents also voted PG Tips™ as their preferred tea brand and that a biscuit was the best accompaniment to go with a cuppa. “Whilst most residents voted for biscuits, surprisingly half the residents who took part in the poll said no to dunking in their tea,” continued Mary. “However, when asked the question ‘When was the best time of day to have a cup of tea – First thing in the morning? At breakfast? Elevenses or at Afternoon Tea?’ First thing in the morning or at breakfast took the top position.

“The residents had a fun time talking ‘Tea Shop’ and did agree that a good, proper cup of tea can really be enjoyed at any time of the day, as long as it’s in good company, having a chat and a giggle, which they like to do every day,” concluded Mary.