It's tea time! How the Germans pour the black brew
Courtney Tenz
October 23, 2018
While the British may be famous for their tea rituals, one part of Germany overtakes them when it comes to consumption. But just what is an East Frisian tea ritual? A look at how the Germans imbibe.
Image: picture alliance/dpa/K.-J- Hildenbrand
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The world's top tea drinkers are in Germany
While the British and the Turks may be famous tea drinkers, a coastal region in the northwest of Germany, East Frisia, now holds the world record in tea drinking.
While Germany itself ranks as number 84 on the list of tea-drinking countries, with a per capita consumption of 28 liters, the natives of East Frisia drink, on average, more than anyone else in the world, as now confirmed by the Records Institute for Germany. Annual tea consumption there is about 300 liters per capita—a whopping 100 liters more than the average consumption in the UK.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/H. Lossie
East Frisian tea culture
In East Frisia on Germany's North Sea coast, a tea ritual for staving off the rainy cold has developed over the years. A strong black mix consisting mainly of Assam leaves, the tea is brewed in a pot and served in porcelain cups with a piece of white or brown rock sugar (known as Kluntje) in the bottom. Add a spot of cream afterward for a milky effect — though be warned, stirring is not allowed!
Image: Imago/Imagebroker
Waffles and tea as a substitute for cake and coffee?
The common Sunday ritual of enjoying a leisurely chat over coffee and cake can also include a pot of hot tea and waffles. With tea the leading drink the world over, it's no wonder coffee isn't on the menu for everyone. In East Frisia, where the tea ritual is strong, it is said to be rude to your host if you walk away after having anything less than three cups.
The Hamburg-based German Tea Association holds an annual Tea Tasters' Panel to assess tea samples for their characteristics and verify the claims on the labels as regards origin and quality. If you're not a part of the panel, you can book your own tea sampling at the Bünting Teemuseum in Leer.
Tea is the most popular drink in the world—even beating coffee. Worldwide consumption is forecast to reach to 297 billion liters by 2021. According to the German Tea Association, Germans prefer black to green at a ratio of nearly 3:4. They're more evenly divided about whether loose or bagged is better, with 60% preferring loose leaves to tea bags.
Image: Colourbox
Cornish cream tea
While British people take their tea and scones very seriously, the notion of putting cream into your black tea turns off many Germans, who prefer their tea black or with a lump of sugar.
Image: Imago/UIG
Peppermint, ginger and other assorted 'teas'
In cafes around the country, menus include fresh ginger and fresh peppermint herbal teas—a hot drink that many have come to love, but which the German Tea Association does not count as tea. For a drink to be considered tea, it needs to contain black or green tea leaves—something these homeopathic cold remedies do not do.
Image: picture-alliance/Arco Images/O. Diez
Herbal teas abound
A cure for what ails you. Whole supermarket aisles are dedicated to a diverse assortment of teas with names that might astound you. While some prefer to refer to the herbal concoctions by the names of their ingredients—a la cinnamon or sage tea—marketing brains have begun labeling tea according to ailments. There's now digestion tea, liver detox tea, post-partum tea and even sleepytime tea.
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Germans are well-known for their fruity Rieslings, liters of beer and coffee and cake traditions. But according to the German Tea Association, one region of the country consumes per capita more tea than any other country in the world.
East Frisia, in the rainy coastal northwest, takes the crown for amount of tea drunk per person, with an estimated 300 liters each year, just ahead of Kuwait and Ireland. Yet the East Frisian tea ritual is hardly known outside of the area. (The rest of Germany sips just one-tenth that amount, preferring coffee instead.)
A strong black mix
Visiting the sparsely-populated towns, you might get the sense that hot tea serves as an ideal way to ward off the cold and damp when the sea breezes roll in. Yet according to folklore, the tea was simply a more economic choice for the fishermen and farmers than the more exotic coffee tradition that took over the coffeehouses across Europe in the 19th century.
One important element is heat: small cups keep the tea from growing coldImage: Imago/Imagebroker
To pour a proper cuppa, it's important to get the right blend of loose leaves. East Frisian tea is a dense black tea, comprised mainly of Assam leaves, with a touch of Ceylon mixed in. What makes it extraordinary in taste is the soft water of the region, but if you can't partake of a tea ritual in northern Germany, brewing your own will do.
Proper pouring is key
In Germany, tea is served in porcelain teapots that are kept warm by a small candle resting beneath. To ensure it's drunk hot, the thick liquid is poured first into small porcelain cups with a piece of rock sugar at the bottom. From there, a dash of heavy cream is poured inside — although stirring is verboten. The cloud of milk that rises to the top is part and parcel of the East Frisian offering.
Although East Frisia is but a small section of a very large country, the East Frisian tea has found its way to supermarket shelves across Germany, lined up alongside the more popular herbal varieties.
While tea has not reached the popularity levels of a Japanese tea ceremony or created any legends like the soothsaying ritual in Turkey in which your fortune can be read in the way your leaves fall from the glass, tea time is a central figure in German culinary culture.
Your tea traditions?
How do you take your tea? Follow us at Twitter under @dw_culture and let us know using the hashtag #MeettheGermans. You can find further information about the Germans and their culture and language as well as their traditions on our dedicated site: dw.com/meetthegermans.
In case you fancy something sweet, here's a bit of inspiration for pairings with your next cuppa: Germans' favorite cakes.
Yummy German cakes with unusual names
Germany is known for its impressive cakes. Not only are the sugary creations delicious, but some of them also have remarkably odd names. Here, you can eat a bee sting - and enjoy it, too.
Image: picture alliance
Bienenstich
Don't let the name - "bee sting" - scare you off. This fluffy, creamy dream topped with sliced carmelized almonds will tempt anyone with a sweet tooth and isn't as dangerous as it sounds. According to legend, two young bakers in the 15th century threw bee hives at intruders, rescuing their city. To celebrate the victory, they baked this cake, as the story goes.
Image: picture alliance
Kalter Hund
A beloved treat at (younger) kids' birthday parties is the "cold dog," which is sometimes also known as "cold snout (Kalte Schnauze). The cake is not baked, but refrigerated and made of layers of square butter cookies and a mix of cocoa, sugar and refined coconut oil.
Image: Fotolia/tinadefortunata
Donauwelle
Riding the "Danube wave" is an experience that's not to be missed! A layer of vanilla and chocolate marble sheet cake is covered first in sour cherries out of the jar, then topped with buttercream and coated in chocolate. When baking, the cherries sink to the bottom, creating the wave-like appearance that gives it its name.
Image: cc-by/Hannes Grobe
Gugelhupf
What looks like a marble Bundt cake, the "Gugelhupf" comes in a variety of incantations. In Viennese coffee houses, it may be made with rose water and almonds; in Central Europe, it can serve as a wedding cake decorated with seasonal fruits and flowers. Its name is said to derive from Middle High German and would translate as "jumping bonnet" - an ability the Brothers Grimm attributed to yeast.
Image: Imago/SKATA
Zwetschgendatschi
A standard yellow cake topped with sliced plums takes on a silly name in southern Bavaria, where the "Zwetschgendatschi" has its origins. While "Zwetschen" is a commonly used word for plums, "datschi" is likely derived from a very old German word referring to the act of pressing the plums into the cake. The result is certainly a tongue twister - and tongue pleaser.
Image: Imago/Chromorange
Herrentorte
This not only may look like the big brother of the "Bienenstich," its name also has a royal ring to it. The "Herrentorte" literally translates as "gentlemen's cake." It's made of numerous Viennese cake layers "glued" together with wine cream and covered with dark chocolate - and is enjoyed by all genders.
Image: Imago
Prinzregententorte
Known as a "prince regent cake," this one seems to be the royal version of the "Herrentorte" and is very time consuming to make. Common in Bavaria, it consists of seven thin layers of cake held together by a chocolate butter cream and topped with a smooth chocolate glaze. Eating it could just make you feel a tiny bit royal.
Image: CC 2.0 by Sven
Königskuchen
Royalty seems to be a common theme among German cake names, including this "Königskuchen" or "king's cake." Apparently, anything as luxurious as cake must be fit for a king. It's baked in a Bundt pan and filled with raisins (which are sometimes soaked in rum), almonds and lemon flavoring. Though this one is topped with fruit, the more traditional version is dusted with powdered sugar.
Image: DW
Frankfurter Kranz
A "Frankfurter Kranz" (literally, "Frankfurt wreath") is a layered sponge cake shaped like a wreath and assembled with layers of buttercream. Caramel-covered brittle nuts and toasted almonds provide the cake's signature taste. Rumor has it that during World War II, a shortage of butter had bakers coating the cake in kogel mogel, a sweetened paste made of egg yolks.
Image: AP
Lebkuchen
In Germany, not everything called a cake, is a cake. Often found in grocery stores at Christmas time, "Lebkuchen" translate roughly as "bread cake," but are actually a cookie. Similar to gingerbread, they are usually made with spices like cloves, ginger and cardamom. They are sold at Christmas markets and - in heart-shaped form - at Oktoberfest and other fairs.
