The Origins of Tea Drinking in England

Although I am new to the Royal Courts of SL, I find that one of the social interactions is the drinking of tea and perhaps some sweets. After having has some guests over for tea, I was curious about how the practice of drinking tea all began and the history of it.

The origins of tea are in China, where an emperor and a servant created what we now know as tea. The legend says that a servant was boiling water near a Camellia sinensis tree and some leaves of the tree blew into the water. This is supposed to have happened around 2700 B.C.

Even though England is known for tea, the rest of Europe began to embrace tea much sooner. Dutch and Portugese traders were bringing tea back from China in the early 1600s to Europe.The Dutch first made tea popular and then it spread across continental Europe. It was known as Cupp of Tee or China drink at the time.

Although tea was in England around 1650, it was very expensive and being sold in coffee houses in London. It did not gain in popularity right away among the lower classes of England.

When Charles II of England married Catherine of Braganza in 1662, she brought tea with her from her native Portugal. Tea had been popular there sooner and she brought some tea with her in a chest. Tea was exotic and for the aristocrats in the rest of Europe. It soon became extremely popular at the English court.

Catherine of Braganza also brought another important item with her as her dowry.It was lands in India called Bombay at the time and now is known as Mumbai. It allowed England to be closer to the Far East for trading with them. The British East India Company, chartered in 1600 by Elizabeth I, gained a port and a powerful foothold in the Far East.

Tea imports steadily increased during the next century along with heavy taxation which also led to smuggling. The lower classes in England were also enjoying tea in the coffee houses and it began to get more and more popular. Thanks to the enormous smuggling operation, the lower classes were able to afford it. Heavy taxation on tea came about because the English government relied on the revenue from liquor sales. As people drank more tea, they drank less ale. In the eighteenth century, around 1750, tea became the most popular drink of the lower classes in England.

Sources:

http://www.britainexpress.com/History/tea-in-britain.htm

http://www.tea.co.uk/page.php?id=95

Cheers all and I hope you enjoy*waves*

Leena

updated by @lady-leena-fandango: 06 Oct 2016 06:09:41AM

Thank you for this interesting read, I enjoyed reading about it. Many of us, enjoy tea and cakes to an extreme degree in the courts, so it's nice to know where the custom came from. I've read somewhere that whenCatherine of Braganza marriedCharles, she also brought high tea time (roughly 4/5 pm) toEngland. Before it was a minor custom of thePortugueseculture, which was adapted by theEnglishthrough her, and enhanced.

-Duc de La Vauguyon

Another interesting point of tea-drinking in Dutch and British culture is that while it was initiated by the elites the modern interpretation of tea-drinking is in fact a middling class origin. Tea-drinking, like coffee, was a sign of respectability among the English bourgeoisie beginning in the seventeenth century. Eventually, coffee-houses - as tea was considered a "feminine" drink - would become a sign of the growing class of male intellects in Britain. Political parties, businesses (such as Lloyd's), and other public affairs would come from a partaking of coffee. Tea, however, would be the female bourgeois alternative to salon culture. Tea-taking, which would gradually be preferred at home, not only encompassed all members of the family but highlighted the importance of women as managers of the private-domestic sphere.

thank you for this interesting post I am a big fan of tea myself and was not aware of all these details yet.

What I could find out so far about the origin of the different terms for tea in a way supports the things stated above. The word chai or cha that is used in many languages and refers to that exact drink is also the mandarin word for tea: ch or

What I find interesting is that the word tea, tee (german) or th (french) can also be found in a southern chinese dialect as ti

As another interesting tidbit about tea and tea drinking; I offer the term "high tea," which in England encompasses a rather hardy meal and not the delicate, crusts cut off, tender slices of cucumber as an odd simulation of a sandwhich, petit fours, etc, sort of tea one gets when one orders it in the United States. I found this rather amusing while visiting a friend in California, where "High Tea" is served in large hotels and is a three course, fluffy bunny of a meal. While the misnomer is intriguing, I did find I enjoyed this version of tea drinking; though nowhere did I find my favorite "Cream Tea" which consists of scones; (round, not triangular,) whipped or clotted cream and strawberry jam. Upon arrival home therefore I immediatly went directly to Marks and Sparks and get all of the neccessary items for a "Cream Tea." And the only thing left to say on that subject is yummm.

If you are every in Ottawa, Canada visit the Chateau Laurier for a wonderful Afternoon Tea - real scones and clotted cream. I love it there )


--
Proprietress of Tatiana's Tea Room ~ Owner of the Provence Coeur Estate ~ Webmistress of this site

A wonderful topic! As you can probably tell, I love everything to to with tea )

The idea of having a RL Tea Room was the inspiration for my SL business. In my mind, nothing beats hosting a gathering of international tea drinkers )

--
Proprietress of Tatiana's Tea Room ~ Owner of the Provence Coeur Estate ~ Webmistress of this site

MarieJosette Laville liked this comment

your porcelain is most exquisite dear

Thank you all for your comments and additions. I am glad you liked the article )

Another point regarding porcelain quoted directly from the website:

http://www.britainexpress.com/History/tea-in-britain.htm

"Tea and Pottery. What connection, you might be excused for asking, does tea have with the growth of the British pottery industry? Simply this: tea in China was traditionally drunk from cups without handles. When tea became popular in Britain, there was a crying need for good cups with handles, to suit British habits. This made for tremendous growth in the pottery and porcelain industry, and the prosperity of such companies as Wedgwood, Spode, and Royal Doulton."

It is amazing how tea influenced Europe but in this case England and spawned the porcelain industry there.

Cheers all *smiles and waves*