Are you tired of the green and white paper cups from Starbucks? Or perhaps you don't like the style of the large china teacups in Costa. Well, now you have a new place to enjoy your hot drinks – The SBC 'English Tea Room'! After a period of trial operation, our tearoom has now officially opened for business. It's not only for staff and students to have some light refreshments and take a break to relax, but also it's a great place for us to experience some real British culture.
The tearoom played an important role in British history. Tea was first brought to England at the time of Cromwell's protectorate during the 17th century. Tea drinking gradually became a national pastime for the English. In 1706, Thomas Twining opened the first known tearoom that still remains today at 216 Strand in London. In 1840, Anna Russell, the Duchess of Bedford, was credited with the invention of the term 'afternoon tea'. In 1864, the female manager of London's Aerated Bread Company opened the first commercial public tearoom. In tearooms, a variety of light snacks are served, some savoury such as sandwiches and crumpets and some sweet, such as scones, cakes and biscuits. Today, there are about 125 famous tearooms in Britain and in London most hotels and department stores have one.
During this semester, the new monthly SBC Culture Evenings will be held in the English Tea Room. These events are designed to develop multi-cultural awareness and help improve communication skills by engaging students in interesting and interactive discussion sessions. The series will cover topics from the areas of sport, music, art, languages and different cultural traditions.
Drinking traditional English black tea (actually, the English like it 'white' with a little milk!) tasting a delicious English scone with butter and jam and talking about 'the weather' is a great British cultural experience. In addition to a range of teas, our tearoom also offers coffee and other drinks and snacks to satisfy different tastes.
A welcome party was held in the tearoom to welcome new staff and international students and all feedback on the tearoom received so far has been very positive.
We welcome you to come and enjoy the English Tea Room at SBC.
