My husband and I traveled to England several years ago. Everywhere we went we were offered tea or served tea in china cups or mugs and never in paper or plastic. The English are very serious about their tea so it is never compromised with stale leaves or tea bags and always carefully steeped and served from teapots into tea cups.
Tea drinking in England began as early as 1658, when a London merchant, Thomas Garraway, advertised the new product, "tee", for sale in his shop. Two years later he published a lengthy advertisement listing the many health benefits of this drink. Then in 1662, King Charles II married Catharine of Braganza, a Portuguese princess, who brought a chest of tea with her as part of her dowry. She began to serve it to her Court and word began to spread of the new drink.
During the eighteenth century, tea became the most popular drink in Britain and ale and gin drinking declined. People drank this new drink at home and new Tea Gardens became very popular in London causing the established coffee houses to close down. The Tea Houses continued until the early nineteenth century when London rapidly expanded and people's tastes in entertainment became more sophisticated and exciting.
Tea became the drink of all classes of British society and was drunk at all times of the day and especially after the main evening meal. Anna, the seventh Duchess of Bedford, introduced the "afternoon tea", in the early nineteenth century, to satisfy her hunger between the light luncheon and the late evening meal. She began to invite her friends to share it with her and the custom became the British institution of afternoon tea.
Now there is high, low and cream tea. Low is the original afternoon tea which included small sandwiches, pastries, and tea served on low tables. High, or meat tea, is a meal of filling foods that was served after the working classes came home from work and served on high tables. Cream tea is served in the afternoon but consists only of sweets with clotted cream or jam to be spread on scones or sweet breads.
Now the British are the largest per capita tea drinkers in the world! They prefer black, always with milk, not cream, and sometimes sugar. For strong black tea they will use lots of milk and as much as two teaspoons of sugar per cup. The average working Brit will take tea in a mug and may have as many as six mugs a day, as employers make time for tea breaks during working hours for their employees. The formal afternoon teas are mainly for special events, royalty, tourists, and public officials.
I would love to travel to England again as I miss the assumption they make that everyone loves tea and takes time for tea. I wish it was more of a custom here in the US. There are more and more tea shops springing up across America as tea popularity continues to grow, so maybe we'll get the hang of it yet!
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=DianeAaseTea drinking in England began as early as 1658, when a London merchant, Thomas Garraway, advertised the new product, "tee", for sale in his shop. Two years later he published a lengthy advertisement listing the many health benefits of this drink. Then in 1662, King Charles II married Catharine of Braganza, a Portuguese princess, who brought a chest of tea with her as part of her dowry. She began to serve it to her Court and word began to spread of the new drink.
During the eighteenth century, tea became the most popular drink in Britain and ale and gin drinking declined. People drank this new drink at home and new Tea Gardens became very popular in London causing the established coffee houses to close down. The Tea Houses continued until the early nineteenth century when London rapidly expanded and people's tastes in entertainment became more sophisticated and exciting.
Tea became the drink of all classes of British society and was drunk at all times of the day and especially after the main evening meal. Anna, the seventh Duchess of Bedford, introduced the "afternoon tea", in the early nineteenth century, to satisfy her hunger between the light luncheon and the late evening meal. She began to invite her friends to share it with her and the custom became the British institution of afternoon tea.
Now there is high, low and cream tea. Low is the original afternoon tea which included small sandwiches, pastries, and tea served on low tables. High, or meat tea, is a meal of filling foods that was served after the working classes came home from work and served on high tables. Cream tea is served in the afternoon but consists only of sweets with clotted cream or jam to be spread on scones or sweet breads.
Now the British are the largest per capita tea drinkers in the world! They prefer black, always with milk, not cream, and sometimes sugar. For strong black tea they will use lots of milk and as much as two teaspoons of sugar per cup. The average working Brit will take tea in a mug and may have as many as six mugs a day, as employers make time for tea breaks during working hours for their employees. The formal afternoon teas are mainly for special events, royalty, tourists, and public officials.
I would love to travel to England again as I miss the assumption they make that everyone loves tea and takes time for tea. I wish it was more of a custom here in the US. There are more and more tea shops springing up across America as tea popularity continues to grow, so maybe we'll get the hang of it yet!
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