Tea & Sympathy Podcast

Semifinal week was full of entreMEH behavior on the part of the annoying hosts, seriously, what was y'all's deal? Three bakers move on to the final as Crystelle attains another star baker nod and we all bid goodbye to a gentle German friend.

It was the quarterfinals, and everyone was in top form even without dairy, butter, and gluten. This episode is a week behind due to technical and sound issues, so stay tuned for the semi-finals recap coming soon.

Caramel week was anything but sweet for almost everyone – they all dropped the ball at some point, and we were left wondering what is the point of isomalt domes if you can't eat them. (Mary Berry would never.) Listen along as we parse out why Twix bars are suddenly Bakeoff-worthy and whether or not Lizzy finally achieved finesse if the resulting bake was deemed "inedible."

Less mini, more pod this week as the tent innuendo game gets WILD. Everyone – from Prue to Paul to Matt and Noel to innocent lamb Giuseppe – is bringing game to the tent this time around. Oh yeah, and there are choux-nuts, baklava, and savory terrine pies.

Was it German Week or was it Jürgen's Week? Listen to find out if the German contestant's obvious annoyance at being reduced to a punchline about umlauts and precision carried him to glory or laid him low. Also! Noel disappears and Paul once again gives us a peek at his perhaps unsophisticated tastes.

This week we talk about how, on a show literally named "Bake Off," one of the contestants somehow forgot to add flour. We also address Paul's likely unsophisticated palate and how Jürgen once again captured our hearts.

Bread week used to be Ivan Drago ("if he dies, he dies") but now it's more Ted Lasso ("Believe!") Tune in to find out who leaves, who sticks around, and who rocked Paul's world with...grapes.

Two brandy snaps way up and in a circle for biscuit week. Listen to us discuss how Paul pronounces EXPRESSO and how Freya pronounces all manner of things. Lizzy says she needs a vocabulary - no, a dictionary - no, a thesaurus. And nobody makes Black Forest flavored anything.

IT'S BACK and we're so, so happy. And Paul is happy! And this week's star baker, Jurgen, is also happy, if German-ly. Get a cup of tea and a scone and have a listen! (This episode contains spoilers!)

Join us for a lively discussion of how this allegedly heartwarming show is also by turns shocking and creepy (but most it really is just heartwarming).

Ted Lasso is a show about an American who finds himself immersed in British culture (you can see how we'd be drawn to it). But it's also about friendship, work relationships, leading with kindness, and football (the not-American kind).

We're back at it and we're calling it Season 3. Post-pandemic? LOL. Join us as we discover a little gem of a show called Home Fires – set in another geopolitically complicated era that somehow still found people mostly working together. Gather up your tea things, this one's worth using a sugar ration.

We recorded this episode on November 14, 2020. We're tired, we're relieved, we were enjoying the latest season of Great British Bakeoff. This rambling discussion is one part us catching up, one part examination of why this was the horniest Bakeoff ever, and one part bracing ourselves for a rough pandemic winter.

We recorded this episode in September 2020, not even having watched the movie Enola Holmes yet. At one point, Melissa speculates that maybe by the time this episode is published, we'd have a vaccine and everything would be normal. Spoiler alert – we do have a vaccine, but nothing is "normal."

We recorded this episode on March 22, 2020. Then, things got weird. We were still new to Pandemic World, but most of our discussion holds up (though we do talk about doing things "when this is all over," hahaha). To be honest, we don't really talk much about The Hour, an excellent show you should nonetheless watch.

Well, we're back, and it's season 2! Surprise! In this episode, Melissa and Sarah discuss what we like most about Killing Eve, as well as coronavirus necessities, other podcasts we recommend, and more. Lots more.

We're back in the swing of things with a discussion of The Crown's third season, with a blockbuster cast this time around. We also manage to talk for several minutes about next week's show without once mentioning the name, oops (it's Killing Eve).

Well, we made it through a lackluster tenth series to a lackluster conclusion. SAD TROMBONE. In this final Quick Rise episode, Melissa and Sarah also discuss Paul Holllywood's taste quirks, penny candy, and unidentified British actors.

This week's theme was a bit of a stretch, but on the whole, the bakers did well with festival buns, cassatelle, and sarawak cakes. Listen in as we talk about the overall improvement this week, Henry's apple-cheeked innocence, and the budding showmance between...Noel and Alice?

Bake Off is somewhat back in the swing of things this week, but we've hit upon what we think might be the reason for the overall "meh" feeling in the tent thus far. Join us for another Quick Rise episode!

Uh, guys? We have a problem. We can't get excited about these contestants, about these themes, about these bakes. What's up with Dairy Week? What's up with Roaring 20s Week? And most important...what's up with the wack judging? Melissa and Sarah discuss all this and more in a very frustrating Quick Rise mini-pod episode.

That's right tea-birds, it's Great British Bake Off Series 10 and it's on Netflix a mere THREE DAYS after airing in the UK. This means we can watch in (almost) real time, which means you get MINI-PODS! Tea & Sympathy Quick Rise is a slightly shorter chat about the current episode of Bake Off. This week, we discuss our early faves, the remarkably good results of the signature bake, Paul's tendency to have a crush, and much much more.

This episode is nominally about Derry Girls, but the important takeaway is that we get weekly episodes of GBBO, three days after they premiere in the UK, for 10 entire weeks. If the world feels like a lot right now, just know that this is a tiny, vanilla-extract-scented bright spot for us all. We also talk Escape to the Country and what's coming up next time, plus: GBBO MINI-PODS.

In this episode we discuss the greatest television show in history, Fleabag. Also: Mary Queen of Scots was not a good movie, Melissa is shopping for her Ascot wardrobe, and Sarah breaks protocol to drink coffee.

We're back from hiatus! Melissa discusses the tea traditions of Turkey, and both of us break down UK-sourced sweets and biscuits. We also debate the merits of historical trash like Versailles – a beautiful show that is nonetheless miscast and wildly silly. Sarah's back on her Shetland BS, but next week we'll be talking about Phoebe Waller-Bridge's brilliant Fleabag.

It's an all-John-Le Carré episode this week, featuring The Night Manager and Little Drummer Girl. Along with our usual tea talk (perhaps a Tea & Sympathy Blend coming soon?), we troll Shhhowercap and have some questions for Canada about stickers, hats, and boxed macaroni and cheese.

In lucky episode number 13, Sarah and Melissa discuss British-Irish crime drama The Fall, starring Jamie Dornan as a charismatic serial killer and Gillian Anderson as the world's best-dressed detective. Also: a set-up for the next episode's all-John LeCarré docket, featuring Little Drummer Girl.

We're back! This week, it's all about disasters – in baking and dating. First, a look back at some of the collapsed cakes and biffed bakes that we remember from Bake Off seasons past. Then, a trip Down Under for questionable dating show Back with the Ex. Pro tip: If you're not down for more Bake Off (and really, we question that, but it's a free country...for now) just skip ahead to 37:30 for gluten-free content. Also: Melissa judges a pie contest, Sarah counts the H's in Shhhowercap, and we look ahead to a very exciting episode to come.

Welcome to a short episode, featuring a recording snafu (we edited it out b/c we're professionals), a chat about The IT Crowd, a wander through the marriageable royals of Luxembourg (the world's only remaining grand duchy), and a live tea tasting and review – our first ever! Join us for 30-ish minutes of us trying to get our act together, won't you?

For our tenth episode (and the first of 2019!) we've devoted the conversation to our first great British love (sorry, Richard Madden): The Great British Bake Off. Join us for a non-spoilery discussion of the latest season, our biggest pet peeves (AIR CONDITIONING IN THE TENT IMMEDIATELY!) and what we'll be watching for the next episode.

Join us for a tweed-swathed jaunt through history and Scone Palace, won't you? In our most Delicious Dish-iest episode yet, we talk about the charms of Mary Berry, the Stone of Destiny, traditional British Christmas foods, and the general dimness of Lord Grantham. Also, are you on Team Cadbury Roses or Team Nestle Quality Street? DO TELL.

We're back from hiatus with our first episode to break the 40-minute mark, discussing Bodyguard, gender politics lite, and biscuits (that's cookies to us 'Mericans). We also touch briefly on Hinterland because Sarah can't get enough of bleak police procedurals that feature indecipherable accents, and we're celebrating the fact that Melissa is no longer 'casting from her bathtub.

Do you remember food television circa 1999? In the early years of her reign, Queen Nigella encouraged eating with your hands, paring dinner parties down to two courses, and getting...familiar with ingredients. In this episode, Melissa and Sarah fondly reminisce about the glory days of cooking shows and discuss the merits of Ross Poldark (spoiler alert: there aren't many).

In this episode, a little more Vicious chat, the geographical and linguistic challenges of Shetland, and a deeper dive into the not-so-surprise hit of the week, The Miniaturist. We get a bit sociological in this one, touching on the puzzling and often contradictory mores of 1680s Amsterdam and the France of Louis XIV. Plus, what the *!#@ happened to Sarah's Biscuit Brew??

We're back after a week's hiatus to discuss the delightful Vicious. We also tee up Scottish cop drama Shetland for next week and discuss dressing gowns, teapots, and calling cards. Also this week: WE HAVE LISTENER MAIL.

Melissa and Sarah discuss their final thoughts on Miranda, but mostly they're excited to bask in the warm, buttery light of Great British Bake Off. (No spoilers here – we're talking series eight, which wrapped in 2017.) Also nestled inside this flaky pastry of an episode: some iced tea chat, a 20-second synopsis of An Officer and a Gentleman, and what we're watching for the next installment.

What's more awkward than your high school French teacher taking up with your BFF? Well, to quote Cady Heron, the limit does not exist (when you're Miranda). Listen in as Melissa and Sarah discuss this delightful late-aughts sitcom, along with some extended tea talk, biscuit business, listener suggestions, and Melissa's hardline stance on Peep Show.

...but you could in 1975. Melissa and Sarah revisit the first two episodes of beloved John Cleese sitcom Fawlty Towers and discover some...dissonance. We also discuss other #ProblematicFaves, contenders for the title of Perfect Sitcom, and what we'll be watching next week. Plus, Melissa announces which show can never, ever become dated.

Join Melissa and Sarah for a deep dive into "layers of sad, dead things" as they share their impressions of The Supersizers Go Restoration. (This show aired in 2008, so if you feel like you need a spoiler alert...you should probably unpack that.) And in tea chat this week, we discuss teapot styles (electric vs. stovetop) and whether you're a milk-first or tea-first person.

Hey listeners! We recorded a trailer to introduce you to the Tea and Sympathy Podcast (and, frankly, to practice our podcasting skills). If you find yourself in the sweet spot of a tea drinker/British television watcher Venn diagram, your time has come. Your podcast has arrived! Listen to find out a little more about us, why we love British TV, and what you can expect to hear in the first official episode.