My family is European, which means accents, and a very high chance that someone will show up to my house with a tea bag in hand, and an almost immediate request to put the kettle on when they come inside.
This isn’t a judgment on my part, as I now also carry tea bags with me, just in case I need a proper cup when I’m out.
A cup of tea, at least in my family, calls for a small pastry; perhaps a cookie or a piece of cake. ‘Just a little schnecken,’ as my late mother would have said.
This past spring, my older sister was not properly prepared for teatime when family visited, and had no pastry to serve with everyone’s tea.