It is well known that Germans are great coffee lovers. However, the East Friesians who live on the North Sea coast have been drinking tea for the last 300 years and even have their own quite an original recipe for preparing it. Part of Friesians live on the territory of Holland and the Dutch were the first to bring tea to Europe. So there seems to be nothing unusual in such a passion for tea of this small German nation in XXI century.

However, in the times of King Frederick the Great quite a different attitude to tea prevailed in Germany. The king himself was rather suspicious of tea calling it "the dragon poison from China". For the sake of truth it should be noted that by spreading bad publicity for tea the king was following his own quite pragmatic aim to further increase profits he was making on the import of coffee. Frederick is said to boast that he achieved accord with his people - they could say whatever they liked and he could do whatever he liked.

According to this formula tea was banned on the territory of Prussia on May 20, 1777 by the order of the king. However, the ban did not last for long, it was lifted two years later when some of the noble men came to rescue the Friesians because they feared that the king would become too strong economically. So since that time the Friesians may enjoy their famous tea every day.

The recipe for preparing Friesian tea is rather simple: a lump of macrocrystalline sugar is put in a cup first, then goes tea and the cream is poured the last. It is important not to stir the ingredients but to enjoy different tastes in the cup - from cream to tea and tea with sugar. It is interesting to note that the teaspoon plays an important role in the process. If the guest puts it into the cup it means he has finished drinking tea.

By the way, Friesian people brew special tea known as Eastern Friesian Blend, the main part of it being Assam tea, the same as in Greenfield Classic Breakfast.