You might say that in Ireland all roads lead to tea. From breakfast and lunch breaks to weddings and wakes, a cupán tae (cup of tea) is always a welcome guest. Irish tea is far more than just a hot drink to go with a scone and jam: it’s an important custom that serves as a symbol of hospitality, friendship, and pleasure.
Some say the Irish people have a relationship with tea that “transcends the ordinary” — hyperbole, perhaps, but given that the average person in Ireland drinks four to six cups of tea a day, perhaps not! Tea time in Ireland is actually my favorite time of day. I enjoyed my first official cup at my cousin Kit’s cottage in County Kerry during my first visit there 35 years ago. Within minutes of our meeting, the kettle was on, the teacups were out, and the milk and sugar appeared.
A box of Jacob’s Rich Tea biscuits quickly followed, and Chocolate Kimberley biscuits for my children arrived on a small plate. Our relationship was ceremoniously underway. For years, I had only known Kit as “my Irish cousin”: a distant relative twice, maybe even three times removed whom I’d never met.
Christmas cards were exchanged like pen pals, but this in-person visit with cup in hand closed the gap between cousins from across the pond. Funny enough, we couldn’t actually connect the dots in our ancestry chain — she was an O’Sullivan who dropped the “O” while my grandmother was an O’Sullivan who kept the “O” – but none of that really mattered. W.
