Social History of Tea

It’s an interesting fact that most associate drinking tea with the English; however, the origins of tea can clearly be traced back more than thousands of years to multiple cultures. It is thought that China used tea as a medicinal drink as early as the 3rd century AD.

Fast-forward hundreds of years with trade routes opening especially in the 16th and 17th centuries and the consumption of tea as a social drink became popularized. After tea was introduced to Europe in the 17th century, it became very trendy to drink, especially in France. The aristocracy in Paris was enjoying it in approximately 1636, which was a good 22 years before references to it appeared in England. Also, it is documented that King Charles II and his wife, the Portuguese Infanta Catherine de Braganza, were tea drinkers and it is said that she introduced tea to England after marrying the King.

As a point of interest, it’s important to note that in England, although tea is drunk, the word is also a reference to the evening meal associated with the working class. The first mention of “high tea,” or “meat tea” as it is known, dates to 1825. It was a heavier meal that typically consisted of something hot followed by bread, cheese, pickles, cake, butter, jam, and tea. Occasionally, cold cuts of meat were added and it was primarily eaten between 5:00 and 7:00 PM. Because it was eaten at a high dining table rather than the low tea tables associated with the aristocracy, it was termed “high” tea.

The upper class, on the other hand, ate their supper/dinner quite late in the evening and there would be a large gap of time between the small lunch they would have and their evening meal. The history books credit Anna Maria, the 7th Duchess of Bedford, for introducing a solution to this problem and the English aristocracy to the social aspects of taking tea. Anna Maria would get that “sinking feeling” in the afternoon around 4:00 PM. To combat her feelings, her servants would deliver a pot of tea and a few breadstuffs. She enjoyed her ritual so much that she started inviting friends to join her in the afternoon, adopted the European tea service format, and centered the menu on small cakes, bread and butter sandwiches, assorted sweets, and tea.

Anna’s importance isn’t that she invented afternoon tea, as tea had been served long before Anna’s personal ritual began, but more so how she may have influenced it in becoming part of popular society and a token of status for the rising middle class of England. Furthermore, what the Duchess of Bedford did was fashion what we now know as the “British afternoon tea,” which became a fashionable social event for upper-class and society women in the 1840s. This societal custom of taking afternoon tea was served in their parlors or the drawing rooms at low tables between 4:00 and 5:00 PM where the attire would be long gowns, gloves, and hats. This became known in society circles as “low tea.”

Like the women in the 1840s or taking tea with my grandmother, it’s the grandeur and sophistication of the experience that I want you to feel as you enjoy the custom tea party I create.

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