Timeline for tea
1662 Catherine of Braganza, married to King Charles II , is one of the first people to make drinking tea fashionable in Britain. Catherine was from Portugal, where tea drinking was already popular, and she spread this trend throughout the court.
1676 Due to the increase in popularity of tea and a fall in drinking of heavily taxed beverages such as ale, Charles II introduces a tax on tea so that coffee houses needed a licence to sell it; by 1750 the duty on tea was at 119 per cent.
1706 The book Wholesale Advice Against The Abuse Of Hot Liquors, by Dr Daniel Duncan, is published, warning that the drinking of a hot beverage could cause medical problems if overconsumed.
1784 Smuggling and trading tea on the black market became extremely profitable, so William Pitt drops the high tea tax from 119 per cent to 12.5 per cent.
1839-60 The Opium Wars halted tea importation, but improving relations with China after the end of the wars meant that Chinese tea is again imported to Britain.
1840 Anna Maria Stanhope, later the 7th Duchess of Bedford, is known as the inventor of afternoon tea. It is said that she felt weak during the afternoon and asked her housekeepers to bring her tea and bread at about 4pm. As this habit grew, it progressed into the dainty cakes and sandwiches that are recognised as part of afternoon tea today. Anna served Queen Victoria as Lady of the Bedchamber, so was highly respected and looked up to in society, and an invitation to tea with her was greatly sought after.
1862 ‘Surely a pretty woman never looks prettier than when making tea,’ writes Mary Elizabeth Braddon in her popular novel, Lady Audley’s Secret.
1865 Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures In Wonderland is published, with its chapter entitled A Mad Tea-Party – the stupidest tea party Alice had ever been to.
1870s Ceylon tea and blends from India become popular in Britain, as growers benefit from cheap trade. New flavours, such as Assam, become available as demand grows. Tea gowns become popular. Intended to be worn indoors, they were informal in style and most importantly, loose-fitting.
1881 ‘There are few hours in life more agreeable than the hour dedicated to the ceremony known as afternoon tea,’ writes Henry James in The Portrait Of A Lady.
Early 20th century Tea rooms appear – Lyons’ Corner Houses, first opened in 1909, are followed by tea salons in department stores and hotels.
1913 Tango tea dances are introduced.
1935 The tea bag is introduced.
1940 Tea is rationed during the Second World War to 2oz of tea per person each week, but there is extra tea for those in the armed forces, and for those doing vital jobs, such as firemen and steel workers.
1946 George Orwell’s A Nice Cup Of Tea is published, with detailed instructions on how to make the perfect cup of tea by making the most of tea rations. He quotes 11 golden rules for making tea, most controversially that milk should be added last and that tea should be drunk without sugar.
2010 The largest cup of tea on record is 4,000 litres in volume and produced by GlaxoSmithKline.
2014 On 27 April, Burco Water Boilers achieves the record for the most cups of tea made in one hour. It takes a team of 12 people to make 1,608 cups of tea.
National Afternoon Tea Week runs from 11 to 17 August: 01483-750599, www.afternoontea.co.uk
© JOHN LEWIS /WWW.JOHNLEWIS.COM: TALKING TABLES TRULY SCRUMPTIOUS BUNTING, £8.50; POLLY’S PANTRY JUMBO CHICKEN MUG, £8, CAKE STAND, £24, EGG CUP (4), £16, PLATES FROM £6; PIP STUDIO JUG, £20, ROSE BLOSSOM CAKE STAND, £21; BURLEIGH ASIATIC PHEASANTS TEAPOT, £46.50, CAKE SLICE , £12, TEA CUP & SAUCER, £19; JOHN LEWIS GLASS CAKE STAND, £20 EACH ; WEDGWOOD BUTTERFLY BLOOM TEAPOT IN PINK, £75, CUP AND SAUCER IN ORANGE, £35
1676 Due to the increase in popularity of tea and a fall in drinking of heavily taxed beverages such as ale, Charles II introduces a tax on tea so that coffee houses needed a licence to sell it; by 1750 the duty on tea was at 119 per cent.
1706 The book Wholesale Advice Against The Abuse Of Hot Liquors, by Dr Daniel Duncan, is published, warning that the drinking of a hot beverage could cause medical problems if overconsumed.
1784 Smuggling and trading tea on the black market became extremely profitable, so William Pitt drops the high tea tax from 119 per cent to 12.5 per cent.
1839-60 The Opium Wars halted tea importation, but improving relations with China after the end of the wars meant that Chinese tea is again imported to Britain.
1840 Anna Maria Stanhope, later the 7th Duchess of Bedford, is known as the inventor of afternoon tea. It is said that she felt weak during the afternoon and asked her housekeepers to bring her tea and bread at about 4pm. As this habit grew, it progressed into the dainty cakes and sandwiches that are recognised as part of afternoon tea today. Anna served Queen Victoria as Lady of the Bedchamber, so was highly respected and looked up to in society, and an invitation to tea with her was greatly sought after.
1862 ‘Surely a pretty woman never looks prettier than when making tea,’ writes Mary Elizabeth Braddon in her popular novel, Lady Audley’s Secret.
1865 Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures In Wonderland is published, with its chapter entitled A Mad Tea-Party – the stupidest tea party Alice had ever been to.
1870s Ceylon tea and blends from India become popular in Britain, as growers benefit from cheap trade. New flavours, such as Assam, become available as demand grows. Tea gowns become popular. Intended to be worn indoors, they were informal in style and most importantly, loose-fitting.
1881 ‘There are few hours in life more agreeable than the hour dedicated to the ceremony known as afternoon tea,’ writes Henry James in The Portrait Of A Lady.
Early 20th century Tea rooms appear – Lyons’ Corner Houses, first opened in 1909, are followed by tea salons in department stores and hotels.
1913 Tango tea dances are introduced.
1935 The tea bag is introduced.
1940 Tea is rationed during the Second World War to 2oz of tea per person each week, but there is extra tea for those in the armed forces, and for those doing vital jobs, such as firemen and steel workers.
1946 George Orwell’s A Nice Cup Of Tea is published, with detailed instructions on how to make the perfect cup of tea by making the most of tea rations. He quotes 11 golden rules for making tea, most controversially that milk should be added last and that tea should be drunk without sugar. 2010 The largest cup of tea on record is 4,000 litres in volume and produced by GlaxoSmithKline.
2014 On 27 April, Burco Water Boilers achieves the record for the most cups of tea made in one hour. It takes a team of 12 people to make 1,608 cups of tea.
National Afternoon Tea Week runs from 11 to 17 August: 01483-750599, www.afternoontea.co.uk
© JOHN LEWIS /WWW.JOHNLEWIS.COM: TALKING TABLES TRULY SCRUMPTIOUS BUNTING, £8.50; POLLY’S PANTRY JUMBO CHICKEN MUG, £8, CAKE STAND, £24, EGG CUP (4), £16, PLATES FROM £6; PIP STUDIO JUG, £20, ROSE BLOSSOM CAKE STAND, £21; BURLEIGH ASIATIC PHEASANTS TEAPOT, £46.50, CAKE SLICE , £12, TEA CUP & SAUCER, £19; JOHN LEWIS GLASS CAKE STAND, £20 EACH ; WEDGWOOD BUTTERFLY BLOOM TEAPOT IN PINK, £75, CUP AND SAUCER IN ORANGE, £35