Grey’s Monument, which stands proudly in the centre of Newcastle, was erected in 1838 to acclaim Northumberland-born Charles Grey for the passing of the Great Reform Act of 1832. Earl Grey also had a blend of tea named after him; it was reputedly prepared for Lord Grey by a Chinese mandarin, to suit the water at his Howick Hall residence.
Earl Grey wasn’t on the menu on Tuesday afternoon, when a group of Newcastle United’s players gathered at Massadio Haïdara’s Ponteland home for a tea party which ended up trending across social media. But if the Magpies go on to win promotion this season, fuelled by Moroccan mint tea, perhaps Atay Bi Na’na will also have its own small place in North East folklore.
It was DeAndre Yedlin who posted the videos of the team drinking tea and playing pool which spawned the popular hashtag #YedlinsTeaParty, but the American defender explains: “Sadio had told us he makes super good tea, so we just said ‘alright, we’re going to come over and have some tea!’.
“Everybody thinks it was my house, but it was actually Sadio’s. He hosted us and made the tea - and it was good tea, to be fair.”
Haïdara adds: “I drink it a lot when I’m in France and I found a store in Newcastle which sold the tea. I always put pictures of it on Snapchat and the guys say ‘you drink tea, tea, tea.’ So I said ‘come round and we’ll drink it together.’
“We were the last ones at the training ground so after training I made tea and some cake, because I like to cook and make patisserie.
“Everybody thought it was DeAndre’s tea party but that’s fine - it was him who put it on Instragram so all the credit is on him!”
Also at the party were team-mates Jamaal Lascelles, Ciaran Clark, Achraf Lazaar and Vurnon Anita, and supporters were quick to think up some witty scenarios which could have happened to players past and present over a brew.
Yedlin has more than 200,000 followers on Instagram and smiles: “I put it on my story, not thinking anything was going to come of it, then all of a sudden I saw #YedlinsTeaParty (on Twitter) and somebody tweeted me and said it was trending.
“It was pretty cool to see. It shows how into it the fans are, and I think it’s good to have that connection with the fans.”
Haïdara adds: “Later, some of us went for food and at the restaurant, DeAndre told us everyone was talking about the tea party.
“We were reading some of the tweets and laughing together. We were reading the text and looking at the pictures and it was so funny. After that, we decided to do a picture with the tea to make them happy and joke with them too.”
“It went viral,” laughs Anita. “Suddenly, Twitter and Instagram blew up. We were just laughing at the all the reactions - funny ones, good ones, bad ones.
“We’ve done it before, and also had barbecues when it was nice weather, but this time it went public and everyone knew about it. It was a nice afternoon.”
Captain Lascelles adds: “People sometimes say that there’s no friends in football, but this group of lads are really close. We do a lot of things outside of the training ground and yesterday was an example of that.
“We’ve got a really tight group and I think it shows on the field. The team chemistry here is really good and it’s nice to see. We’re always laughing and joking and it’s just a positive vibe.
“There’s not one player who doesn’t get involved in the banter or the stuff outside the ground. “The tea was nice - and it’s healthy as well. He’s a good cook, too. He made some little chocolate chip cookies as well.
“I think we’re going to go round Ach Lazaar’s house tonight for some Moroccan food.”
“That’s one of the good things about football,” says Yedlin. “It brings so many cultures together. I definitely enjoy learning about different cultures and making friends with people from all over the world.
“I think it’s something we’ll start to do more, or at least I will because I like the tea! I’ll try to learn how to make it as well.
“And I’ll definitely put Earl Grey on my list of teas to drink now, too...”
