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The Tea in UK

Tea was first introduced to Britain in the 17th century but was initially expensive and mainly consumed by the wealthy. By the mid-18th century, tea had become Britain's most popular drink, replacing ale and gin for the masses. Three main types of teatime developed in Britain: Afternoon Tea, traditionally served between 4-5pm; Cream Tea, consisting of scones, clotted cream and jam; and High Tea, originally a working class evening meal rather than an afternoon social event. Various regions of Britain developed their own traditions around different tea customs.

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127 views2 pages

The Tea in UK

Tea was first introduced to Britain in the 17th century but was initially expensive and mainly consumed by the wealthy. By the mid-18th century, tea had become Britain's most popular drink, replacing ale and gin for the masses. Three main types of teatime developed in Britain: Afternoon Tea, traditionally served between 4-5pm; Cream Tea, consisting of scones, clotted cream and jam; and High Tea, originally a working class evening meal rather than an afternoon social event. Various regions of Britain developed their own traditions around different tea customs.

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aro2001
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The Tea in UK

Exactly 358 years ago, the first advert for tea in England appeared in a publication describing it
simply as a “China Drink.”
A couple of years later, the diarist Samuel Pepys wrote about drinking tea in his diary entry from
September 1660. "I did send for a cup of tee, (a China drink) of which I had never had drunk
before".
Europeans were reportedly drinking Chinese tea as early as the 16th Century thanks to the maritime
exploits of led by Dutch and Portuguese traders.
It was being sold in British coffee shops in the 17th Century but it was mainly the wealthy who
enjoyed a nice cuppa as it was still considered expensive. 
By the mid 18th century tea became Britain's most popular beverage, replacing ale and gin as the
drink of the masses. 
Before long, the East India Company was using fast ships called tea clippers to bring back leaves
from India and China. One such ship was the Cutty Sark, which is the only surviving clipper of its
kind and can still be visited in Greenwich after being damaged by a fire in 2007.  
Since then, some popular teas are barely recognisable from the leaves that first landed in the UK.

There three kinds of teatime in Britain: Afternoon Tea, Cream Tea and High Tea.

Afternoon Tea

Afternoon Tea is traditionally served between four and five in the afternoon -- hence the name.
Many people believe that this tradition was first started in 1841 by Anna Maria Stanhope, the
seventh Duchess of Bedford. At that time, and in fact right up until the early decades of the 20th
century, luncheon was served at twelve noon but dinner was not served until 8:00 or even 9:00 in
the evening.
The tea, India or China or in many houses, both, would be served in silver tea pots and poured into
fine china cups. Etiquette books contained whole chapters on the etiquette of Afternoon Tea and the
tea dress was created to be worn at such social gatherings. Afternoon Tea, was, it should be noted, a
social occasion in which only the upper class participated.

Cream Tea

The cream tea is similar to the afternoon tea, but without the
sandwiches and other cakes.
The most famous cream tea is the Devonshire Cream Tea. According
to local legend, the Devonshire Cream Tea originates from Tavistock,
or more precisely Tavistock Abbey. This Benedictine Abbey was
plundered by Vikings in the 11th Century and then rebuilt. The monks
fed the laborers who were rebuilding it with a calorie-rich food
consisting of bread, clotted cream and strawberry preserve. Over time
the bread became scones and thus the cream tea was born. However,
the counties of Somerset, Cornwall and Sussex will contest this legend;
they all offer cream teas too! Cream Teas are advertised everywhere in
summer, but at other times of year you will need to search at tea shops
and hotels.
High Tea

Some hotels advertise that they serve "high tea" and then go on to describe a rich and sumptuous
afternoon tea. Whilst high tea sounds very, very grand, it is in fact, a working class meal. High Tea
is actually dinner.

When tea was first introduced into Britain it was an expensive luxury, but over time as prices fell it
became a staple in the diet of the poor and tea accompanied every meal.

Prior to the industrial revolution, when most people worked in agriculture, the workers would come
home at lunch time and eat their main meal then. After the industrial revolution, the working classes
could not come home at lunch time and so the main meal of the day took place in the late afternoon,
or early evening -- the same time as the afternoon tea of the rich. This meal became known as
teatime. It was a High Tea if it contained hot and filling foods and just Tea if it comprised mainly of
breads and cold cuts. A High Tea consisted of whatever was available -- bacon, eggs, meats, stew --
there were no hard and fast social rules for this meal except that it would always be accompanied by
copious amounts of tea. Even today the working classes -- especially in the north -- have their main
meal at teatime. When I was growing up the three meals of the day were known as breakfast, dinner
and tea -- a throwback to the pre-industrial meal times -- and tea was always served at 5pm.
In the south, however, served at around 7pm. Teatime does exist as a meal for the children and is
served at 5pm.

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