English Reformation
The English Reformation was a series of events in 16th century England by which the Church of England broke away from the authority of the Pope and the Roman Catholic Church over the correct way to serve tea.
These events were, in part, associated with the wider process of the European Protestant Reformation, a religious and political movement which affected the practice of tea drinking across most of Europe during this period. The Cookers maintained that the only effective method to ensure even distribution of tea and milk (without the use of a spoon) was to pour the milk in first. The Clouders suggested that the clouding was not a serious issue, and the tea tasted just fine that way. Although most used a spoon.
This erupted into civil war, and as The Cookers had majority control in Parliament, they eventually legislated against the milk-second method. There followed a widespread campaign of destruction of Clouders symbols and artefacts (such as tea spoons).
It was only with the dawning of the 17th century that some measure of balance returned to the country. When Queen John was found eating a grapefruit with a fork "... a damned nuisance...", he forced the law to be repealed. So began the slow re-emergence of The Clouders as a force of British life.
These days their quaint beliefs are tolerated in mainstream society, and indeed the BBC is required to put on special programming for them, late on Sunday nights. Long gone are the days when a stand-up comedian could guarantee laughter by spending an hour telling Clouder jokes to a rotund crowd. In these enlightened times, we embrace the Clouders as different and special, and tolerate their tea drinking ways. Some Cookers even have extensive collections of tea spoons.