History of Tea

Tea Origins

Although tea is now a very popular drink in the United Kingdom, that has not always been the case. We know that tea was drunk in China from around 3000BC but it did not really surface as a drink in the UK until the middle of the 17th century.

The drinking of tea as a beverage gradually spread out from its asian origins and reached Europe in the middle of the 16th century. The first traders to import tea into Europe were the Portuguese and Dutch and this trade grew steadily to become a regular import by the start of the 17th century. The UK was actually slow to take advantage of the tea trade and did not fully embrace this now very popular drink as an import until the middle of the 18th century.

Tea sold in the UK

London coffee houses led the way in introducing tea to the country with the earliest known public offerings being in both liquid and dry form in 1657. in 1660 he advertised tea at £6 and £10 per pound, a hefty price in those days! Even then the health benefits of tea were extolled with claims that tea can make "the body active and lusty" and could preserve perfect health until extreme old age.

By the year 1700 the popularity of tea had grown to the extent that over 500 coffee houses sold it their customers. This had a detrimental effect on the sale of alcholic beverages, which had a knock on effect on the goverments revenues generated from the sale of drinks such as ale and gin. By the year 1750, tea was to most preferred drink with Britain's lower classes.

Tea tax

Perhaps in an attempt to recover lost taxes from the fall in sales of gin and ale, Charles II introduced acts of parliment that fobode the sale of tea in private houses. In 1676 a tax was introduced on tea and sales were restricted by forcing coffee houses to apply for a license. This attempt to capilize on the growth of tea's popularity, in terms of goverment revenue, continued with the tax on tea reaching an incredible 119% in the middle of the 18th century.

Tea Smuggling

These high levels of duty were almost certainly responsible for the birth of tea smuggling! Even without the duty, smuggled tea was incredibly expensive and a very profitable industry for smugglers. Unfortunately, in order to maximise profits, the quality of tea was comprimised by the addition of other leaves such as willow, licorice and sloe. In addition, used teas were sometimes redried and added back to the fresh leaves.

The Commutation Act was introduced in 1784 which reduced the duty on tea to 12.5%. This resulted in the cessassation of smuggling in the main. However, the practice of adding non fresh tea leaves in order to increase the bulk of the tea continued until the Food and Drug Act was introduced in 1875 which promised severe penalties for such practices.

Transporting Tea

Cargo ships at the start of the 19th century were not a very fast means of transportation. A journey from Asia to the UK could take as much as a year to comple! The East India Company was the leading importer into the UK by 1832 and they looked for a faster vessel that would cut this long journey time. The ship of choice was the clipper that was first designed by the Americans and then shortly after by the British. They were essensially streamlined, tall-masted ships that could reach speeds of up to 18 knots.

Tea traditions

Afternoon tea is reputed to have begun when the 7th Duchess of Bedford introduced the idae of having tea in the afternon to bridge the gap between lunch and dinner. This custom became very fashionable amongst the working classes and became high tea.

From coffee shops to Tea shops

Whilst tea was intially sold in coffee shops, the rise in popularity of tea gave birth to the Tea Shop in around 1730. Tea shops became widespread throughout Britain in a very short space of time.

Tea Cups and Teapots

In China, tea was most commonly drunk from cups with no handles on them. The British wished for cups with handles and decorative pots in which to brew tea. This gave rise to major growth in the pottery industry and made companies such as Wedgwood and Royal Doulton become the household names that they are today.