What’s your celebri-tea?

“I drink English Breakfast tea… at any time of the day… in a coffee mug! Yeah, you heard me. I don’t live by society’s rules.” Stephen Merchant

Ever wondered how your favourite celebrity likes to take their tea? To support Marie Curie’s Blooming Great Tea Party fundraising campaign a host of famous facesincluding Kate Moss, Dame Judi Dench and David Tennant have revealed just how they like to take their tea.

The revelations come as thousands of people up and down the country are getting together with friends, family or colleagues to host a tea party, bake sale or special tea break in aid of Marie Curie this weekend. The money raised from Blooming Great Tea Parties will help Marie Curie provide vital care and support to people living with a terminal illness and their families.

Dame Judi Dench revealed: “Since being in India in 2010, I now only drink Assam tea in a beautiful porcelain mug, with a spoonful of honey.  The tea has to be very weak so that you can see the bottom of the mug. Delicious!”

Whereas Kate Moss likesa more simple approach: “PG Tips, milk and one sugar in a mug.”

And it’s not just Kate Moss that prefers to keep it simple. ‘Builders’ and Breakfast tea proved popular for many other celebrities including Frankie Bridge, Alan Cumming and Alison Steadman.

Frankie Bridge: “Has to be builder’s tea. Milky. One sugar and first thing in the morning... I take tea bags to every country I go to!”

Stephen Merchant: “I drink English Breakfast tea… at any time of the day… in a coffee mug! Yeah, you heard me. I don’t live by society’s rules.”

Alan Cumming: “My favourite way to have my tea is to get a big pot of builder's and take it into the bath and have a good long soak and sip. It's the ultimate in early morning hydration!”

Cheryl Baker: “I like my tea weak – like my men!!  I actually like English Breakfast Tea with milk and one sugar and unlike the great British public I never drink tea in the morning.  For me, tea is an afternoon drink.  Mike Nolan loves Earl Grey and Lady Grey and is always trying to get me to change but they are too scenty for me.”

Alison Steadman: “I really feel I couldn't live without my cuppa first thing in the morning.  If I've got time, I drink it in bed.  It has to be 'builder's tea' in the morning (no sugar) and Earl Grey mid-afternoon. And my morning cuppa has to be in my favourite mug that has a picture of a fox on it. Same mug every day!  And afternoon Earl Grey has to be in my pretty blue and white flowery china mug. Yes, same one every day.”

Whether the milk should be added before or after the hot water is a note of contention with David Tennant and Stephen Mangan firmly in the ‘after’ camp.

David Tennant: “Builders tea, none of that weird stuff that tastes like shampoo, and the milk in last...obviously.  And cake!”

Stephen Mangan: “It’s tea - not hot water with milk. So the tea needs to brew for AT LEAST 3 minutes and then add a little skimmed milk. Putting milk straight in with a tea bag and squishing it all around a bit should be classified as a crime against humanity. So wrong. I’m from an Irish background so I’ve been drinking tea, whether I wanted to or not, for as long as I can remember.”

Whereas Linda Robson and Martin Roberts like their tea with the milk added before the hot water.

Linda Robson: “Builders brew, none of that perfumed crap. There’s a big debate in my house on whether you should put the milk in before or after – I think before so that you can see what colour the tea should be.”

Martin Roberts: “As a baby I used to bounce in my cot and the first word I said was 'tea'.  I then lost touch with it for 50 years but after my trip to the jungle I re-discovered it and now drink really expensive tea out of a teapot.  And milk first!”

Others prefer herbal teas with Fay Ripley revealing:

“I only drink red bush tea (sounds healthy but terrible for staining your teeth) with a splash of goats milk. Gotta be strong with very little milk.  Just show it the udder don't drown it. I have this first thing in the morning and last thing at night.  Like sex.....”

Chesney Hawkes: “I gave up caffeine a year ago so I only drink herbal tea. Which means I get to change it up - Yogi Tea, peppermint - I'm all over it! And I take my own bags on airplanes.”

Irvine Welsh: “In great quantities. I'm very partial to a cup of the old rosy.”

Louis Theroux: “Mugs of tea are like breasts. Three is too many, but one isn’t enough.”

Sir Ranulph Fiennes “I take my tea really strong but, sadly, without the four sugar lumps I liked for 60 years (due to a diabetic scare!)”

Tara Fitzgerald “Twinnings Everyday, really hot water, keep the bag in, and quite milky. A thin, china cup  and at any time of day.  Tea is the answer to everything!”

Chris Kamara: “Any time of day but it’s got to be Yorkshire Tea!”

Chuckle Brothers – Paul: “I like my tea with two sugars, through the lips, over the tongue and down the gullet... can't beat it.”

Debbie McGee: “I take my tea with a spoonful of honey.  And I won't have a thick-rimmed mug - china only!”

Anneka Rice: “It's got to be Earl Grey with milk, piping hot in a thin bone china mug. And only at teatime. With cake. Can't drink tea in the morning. It tastes like builders' pants then. By 4pm it's become nectar.”

Michael Fish: “I’m not a big tea drinker and it has to be just common or garden supermarkets own label served in the mug I have had since my first day at work in 1962.  My fondest tea memory is sitting on a Russian train from St Petersburg to Moscow outside the stinking loo which was just a large hole onto the tracks and drinking from a samovar.”

Russell Grant: “Milky strong with sterilised milk!”

There’s still time to hold a Blooming Great Tea Party for Marie Curie. Just call 0800 716 146 or visit www.mariecurie.org.uk/teaparty for more information and your free fundraising pack to help you get started.

 

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