Australian tea – has its root in England?
Photo courtesy of J.C. Royas
Tea and cultures in Australia are similar to those in England. Due to the influence of Britain to Australia in history, the overlapping customs are unavoidable. However, the similarities between the British and the Australia people are only more obvious in the big cities. In the countryside, there are several quite interesting customs to drink tea.
Australian tea – a farmer’s routine?
Here is one of the interesting customs of tea and cultures in Australia. Every morning, the first thing a farmer does is to boil his water.
He heats the water in a can, which is sometimes called “Billy can”. It’s not certain why it’s called “Billy can” but one thing for sure; it is a very old can. The farmer probably uses this can every day for a long time. Those “Billy cans” are usually covered with smoke ashes.
When the water is boiled, the farmer adds some tealeaves into the can. While the tea is brewed, he prepares his breakfasts. Eggs, bacon, and bread are often made up the breakfasts. When the tea is ready to go, he adds a lot of sugar into the tea. Then the farmer enjoys his tea and breakfast.
Before he leaves for work, he terminates the fire but still leaves the can of tea on the fire pit. When he gets home at the end of the day, he starts the fire again. Then he continues enjoy his tea along with his dinner. The tea somehow helps him relax after a hard day at work.
Tea and cultures are unique and special in each country of the world. There are more interesting customs to come if we look hard enough.