Storm in a Teacup

Published: Aug. 12, 2020, 6:03 a.m.

An American makes tea badly and suddenly the British are up in arms. What does the way you make tea tell someone about you? This podcast addresses the information we obtain from little shibboleths such as making tea, and discusses whether it is accurate, valid and useful. Does it merely foster class and cultural exclusion, or do these ceremonies and their preservation still serve a valuable social purpose? A few things we mentioned in this podcast: - Michelle on TikTok explains how to make ‘British Tea’ https://www.standard.co.uk/insider/living/american-tiktok-user-brits-tutorial-hot-tea-british-tea-a4463126.html - The original ‘shibboleth’ https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Judges+12%3A5-6&version=KJV - Tea and class https://thedailytea.com/travel/british-tea-classes-masses/ - Historical shibboleths https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_shibboleths Find more Cognitive Engineering episodes here https://link.chtbl.com/SQeIgc44 Image via PublicDomainPictures.net