Afternoon Tea

The history of tea spreads across multiple cultures over the span of thousands of years. Tea originated in southwest China, likely the Yunnan region during the Shang dynasty as a medicinal drink. An early credible record of tea drinking dates to the 3rd century AD, in a medical text written by Hua Tuo. It first became known to western civilization through Portuguese priests and merchants in China during the early 16th century. Drinking tea became popular in Britain during the 17th century. The British introduced tea production, as well as tea consumption, to India, in order to compete with the Chinese monopoly on tea.

Tea comes to England

In 1660, 2 pounds (0.91 kg) and 2 ounces (57 g) of tea bought from Portugal were formally presented to Charles II of England by the British East India Company. The drink, already common in Europe, was a favourite of his new Portuguese bride, Catherine of Braganza. She introduced it at Domus Dei in Portsmouth during her wedding to Charles II in 1662 and made it fashionable among the ladies of the court as her temperance drink of choice. Catherine of Braganza's use of tea as a court beverage rather than a medicinal drink influenced its popularity in literary circles around 1685.

Whenever it was consumed in the court, it was "conspicuously on display" so as to show it off. Accordingly, tea drinking became a central aspect of aristocratic society in England by the 1680s, particularly among women who drank it while visiting in the home. Catherine of Braganza's tea-drinking habit made tea an acceptable drink for both gentlemen and ladies. Wealthy ladies' desire to show off their luxurious commodities in front of other ladies also increased demand for tea and made it more popular. The addition of sugar was yet another factor that made tea desirable among the elite crowd, as it was another luxurious commodity already well-established among the upper classes.

Tea first appeared publicly in England during the 1650s, where it was introduced through coffeehouses. Black tea overtook green tea in popularity in the 1720s when it became more common for both sugar and milk to be added to tea, a practice originating outside of China.

Because tea began in Britain as a luxury for the upper classes, it had a reputation in the 18th century as a high-class commodity; however, as prices slowly fell, more people at the middle levels of society had access to it. Accordingly, drinking tea became associated with respectability among upwardly mobile middle-class people. When people drank tea, they were expected to possess certain manners and behave in a particular way. Soon, drinking tea became a domestic ritual among families, colleagues, and friends who were just wealthy enough to afford it, which also increased demand. The association between tea and respectability became so ingrained in both British and Irish culture that it reached a point where it could not go out of fashion. Tea drinking among these groups was also soon considered patriotic.

Because the British East India Company had a monopoly over the tea industry in England, tea became more popular than coffee, chocolate, and alcohol. Tea was seen as inherently British. As the British continued to import more and more tea throughout the 18th century, tea slowly went from a respectable commodity consumed by the well-mannered classes in domestic rituals to an absolute necessity in the British diet, even among the poor working classes. However, the poor consumed tea very differently from the well-mannered ritual adopted by the upper classes. According to Mintz, in his book Sweetness and Power, "tea-drinking among the poor probably began in connection with work, not in the home". Day labourers brewed their tea out in the open and brought their tea equipment with them to work, as opposed to the private, domestic ritual that had previously surrounded tea-drinking.

Tea in America

The drinking of tea in the United States was largely influenced by the passage of the Tea Act and its subsequent protest during the American Revolution. Tea consumption sharply decreased in America during and after the Revolution, when many Americans switched from drinking tea to drinking coffee, considering tea drinking to be unpatriotic. The American specialty tea market quadrupled in the years from 1993 to 2008, now being worth $6.8 billion a year. Specialty tea houses and retailers also started to pop up during this period.

Types of Tea

The sitting room of Viscount Petersham (1780-1851), a great connoisseur of tea, contained canisters of tea in great variety. It was said to look like a shop. Black tea was frequently referred to as Bohea and green tea as Hyson. Jane Austen referred to the two types of tea as merely "tea" and "green tea." Black tea is fermented before drying; while green teas are made with the top 2 leaves of a tea plant, steamed and dried without fermenting.

Tea bowl or Tea cup and saucer or Getting a handle on Tea

The first tea cups in England were handless tea bowls imported from China. These tea sets were soon copied by potteries in England. The first saucers appeared around 1700, but took some time to come into common use. The standard globular form of teapot had replaced the tall oriental teapots by 1750. Robert Adam's Classically inspired designs for tea sets popularized handles and other Greek and Roman motifs.

Two meals or three

At first, tea was served in the drawing room after dinner and as one of several beverages offered callers. Tea in the afternoon served with other foods as a snack or meal is believed to have originated from Anna, 7th Duchess of Bedford, in the early 1800s. Prior to the introduction of tea into Britain, the English had only two main meals during a day: a breakfast of ale, bread, and beef and a long, massive dinner eaten at the end of the day, usually around 8 o'clock. With such a long period between meals, it was no wonder that Anna, the Duchess of Bedford (1788-1861) experienced a "sinking feeling" in the late afternoon. With tea figuring as England's favorite drink, it was the most likely choice as the beverage for this new meal. Given that Anna's brother Viscount Petersham was a great tea aficionado coffee and chocolate didn't stand a chance.

Anna, the Duchess of Bedford, invited friends to join her for an additional afternoon meal at five o'clock in her rooms at Woburn Abbey. The menu consisted of small cakes, bread and butter sandwiches, assorted sweets, and, of course, tea. The Duchess continued this summer practice when she returned to London, sending invitations to her friends asking them to join her for "tea and a walking the fields." (At that time, large open meadows were still to be found in Mayfair.) Other social hostesses soon began to invite friends to afternoon tea.

High or Low

Traditionally, the upper classes served a "low" or "afternoon" tea around 4:00 pm just before the fashionable promenade in Hyde Park, at which one might find small, crust less sandwiches, biscuits, and cake. Middle and lower classes had a "high" tea later in the day, at 5:00 or 6:00. It is a more substantial meal, essentially it's dinner. A typical menu at high tea would consist of roast pork, stand pie, salmon and salad, trifle, jellies, lemon-cheese tarts, sponge cake, walnut cake, chocolate roll, pound cake, white and brown bread, currant teacake, curd tart and cheeses. The names derive from the height of the tables on which the meals are served. Low tea was served not at a dinner table but on tables, which in the United States would be called "coffee tables," in the withdrawing room. High tea was served on the dinner table.

"Love and scandal are the best sweeteners of tea." --Henry Fielding

A Hostess's Duties

The butler and footmen having brought her the necessary tools: tea caddy, teapot, hot water urn and heater, and teacups; the mistress of the house brewed the tea. First she unlocked the tea caddy; tea is very expensive so it is kept under lock and key so that the servants are not tempted to steal a spoonful of the precious dried leaves. Then she mixed her favorite blend of teas or selected a premixed blend. To brew tea, hot water was poured into the teapot and allowed to sit a few minutes to warm the pot. The water was then poured out into a waste bowl, tea placed into the pot, and boiling water poured over the tea. It was steeped five to eight minutes. The tea leaves were strained out with a tea strainer placed atop each china cup as the cup of fresh tea was poured. Only one round of tea was made at a time, as tea loses flavor rapidly. Each pot was made with fresh tea. In 1680, the social critic Marie de Rabutin-Chantal, the Marquise de Seven made the first mention of adding milk to tea. Sugar imported from the plantations of Jamaica might also be added. English sugar consumption reached 12 pounds per capita per year in 1780. It had been only 4 pounds in 1700. English crumpets and Scottish scones quickly became associated with the snack. Crumpets might be toasted in the fireplace on the tongs of a long handled toasting fork, buttered, and placed on a plate on the hearth to keep warm.

By the 1840's these teas became grand enough for a buffet table to be set up with refreshments. Cakes, thin bread and butter, fancy biscuits, ices, fruits and sandwiches comprised the food, while big silver urns dispensed tea, coffee, wine claret cup, sherry and champagne-cup. In early Victorian days, sandwiches were made only of ham, tongue or beef. It wasn't until the1870s that cucumber sandwiches were being served regularly with tea. There is a funny scene involving hungry men impatient for tea time and cucumber sandwiches in the movie The Importance of Being Earnest.

Tea Gardens

After experiencing the Dutch "tavern garden teas", the English developed the idea of the Tea Garden. Here ladies and gentlemen took their tea out of doors surrounded by entertainment such as orchestras, hidden arbors, flowered walks, bowling greens, concerts, gambling, or fireworks at night. The tea garden began in the reign of King Charles II. Diarists John Evelyn and Samuel Pepys recorded visits to the New Spring Garden (also called Vauxhall or Foxhall) on 2nd July 1661 and 29th May 1662, respectively. The tea garden reached the height of its popularity in the mid 18th Century. Some famous London tea gardens were Vauxhall and Ranelagh. The gardens were laid out to be a lovely place to stroll and be seen. They offered entertainment such as an orchestra and fireworks.

Tipping as a response to proper service began in the Tea Gardens of England. Small, locked wooden boxes were placed on the tables throughout the Garden. Inscribed on each were the letters "T.I.P.S." which meant "To Insure Prompt Service". If a guest wished the waiter to hurry (and so insure the tea arrived hot from the often distant kitchen), he dropped a coin into the box on being seated "to insure prompt service". This created the custom of tipping servers.