As far as I know, the English never leave the teabag in the cup after steeping. Also, they pour the milk in last. I don't know where they did their research or if the actor who plays Jareth doesn't drink tea, but they got it wrong.
Or maybe I got it wrong? I'm Swedish but I've been in England several times and this is what I've learned.
No, you are correct. Only those who cannot afford porcelain would put the milk in first, to prevent a cup of inferior quality from cracking due to the heat of the boiling water. No member of an old, aristocratic family would ever put milk in first. It is a sure sign of improper or impoverished upbringing. It would be beyond imagination that Jareth's mother would do it, let alone instruct anyone else to do such a thing. The writers just don't know any better and have most likely seen characters in Dickensian productions display this behavior and did not know the difference. I don't understand at all his controlling behavior about the teabag.....which is viewed as we view instant coffee.....acceptable if a pot is not possible. No British person cares how strong or weak another person prefers their tea. Crazy, stupid, ignorant research.
shareI completely agree! I am English, and as far as I am aware you can make your tea however you damn well like it.
But unfortunately this is not the first time an English/British reference has popped up in an American show, that was totally misrepresented, or under researched.
I'm not aware if it happens the other way around- probably does, and I'm sure it manages to annoy Americans too. Shame really that we all get conformed by stereotypes, when the message should be diversity.
I'm American so I would have no idea which is the "actual" way. I know that whenever tea is referenced in tv shows, the part about the milk going first seems to always come up. I saw it on NCIS with Ducky quite a number of years ago. So I looked it up, & pretty much said what you did. You do it however you want to.
I know things like that annoy people when it comes to their area of the states or world. But network shows really don't have the budget to look into every detail. It might seem like a small & easy detail to research. But all of those small details add up. So if we don't want to drive ourselves crazy over it, we need to accept it:)