Afternoon tea or High Tea
Before there was oil there was tea. The original “black gold” has been the social fuel of the British Empire since the 17th century. It filled the coffers of the East Indian Tea Company, the treasury of the British Empire, started wars, calmed nerves and helped generations through stressful situations. In fact, tea by far exceeds the popularity of coffee in most Middle Eastern countries.
British merchants devised processing methods for “black tea”(fully fermented) and marketed tea both in England and abroad. The Tea Exchange, where millions of “tea chests” are traded annually is still in London, whereas the Coffee Exchange in New York.
London is still the place to go for a perfectly serves afternoon tea, which depending on the establishment, may consist of a couple of cups of tea along will some pastries, but more often than not is a meal.
First, be aware that no self-respecting tearoom will use tea bags, always loose leaves, In 1610, Dutch traders brought the first commercial shipment of tea to Europe from China. Even tough it took cargo ships four years to get to China and back, tea drinking swept Europe by the late 17th century.
In London, two events helped the era of tea. The plague outbreak of 1665 made the population crave a healthy life boiled water and fresh air. One of the upsides of the Great Fire of London (1666) was the creation of open spaces in the overcrowded town. Soon vacant lots became the new fashionable places, leafy, gently gardens with name such as the Temple of Flora. As tea consumption caught on they changes into tea gardens.
The government was quick to realize an excellent tax revenue source and imposed a considerable tax on tea both in the U.K and all colonies; this lasted from 6189 1964. This tax was fatally unpopular in some places, i.e. Boston in 1773, which started the War of Independence.
China, at he time the only source of tea and was insisting on being paid in silver for tea and in 1793, Lord Macartney was dispatched to China in an attempt to convince the Chinese to accept British goods instead. He failed, but British merchants came up with a more sinister plan smuggling opium into China and demanding payment in silver. The situation deteriorated and created havoc with the social fabric having made a large proportion of the population heroin addicts. In 1893, Chinese authorities destroyed 20.000 chests of British opium and a year later, the Admiralty sent a fleet to force China to open her ports to buy their “drug”.
While the opium wars were raging in China, British merchants started growing tea in northern India (Darjeeling) and later in Africa and a little late in Sri Lanka (then called Ceylon). Soon they were shipping tea from India and which was served in Chin ease porcelain teacups, sweetened with sugar from the Americans, cultivated by African slaves, and supplied by Arab middlemen on location.
World War 2 brought the bombing of ware houses in London and rationing, and soon tea bags were introduced in an attempt to use tea dust profitably. In fact, no self-respecting tea consumer today will use tea bags since they literally consist of low quality tea dust.
British merchants devised processing methods for “black tea”(fully fermented) and marketed tea both in England and abroad. The Tea Exchange, where millions of “tea chests” are traded annually is still in London, whereas the Coffee Exchange in New York.
London is still the place to go for a perfectly serves afternoon tea, which depending on the establishment, may consist of a couple of cups of tea along will some pastries, but more often than not is a meal.
First, be aware that no self-respecting tearoom will use tea bags, always loose leaves, In 1610, Dutch traders brought the first commercial shipment of tea to Europe from China. Even tough it took cargo ships four years to get to China and back, tea drinking swept Europe by the late 17th century.
In London, two events helped the era of tea. The plague outbreak of 1665 made the population crave a healthy life boiled water and fresh air. One of the upsides of the Great Fire of London (1666) was the creation of open spaces in the overcrowded town. Soon vacant lots became the new fashionable places, leafy, gently gardens with name such as the Temple of Flora. As tea consumption caught on they changes into tea gardens.
The government was quick to realize an excellent tax revenue source and imposed a considerable tax on tea both in the U.K and all colonies; this lasted from 6189 1964. This tax was fatally unpopular in some places, i.e. Boston in 1773, which started the War of Independence.
China, at he time the only source of tea and was insisting on being paid in silver for tea and in 1793, Lord Macartney was dispatched to China in an attempt to convince the Chinese to accept British goods instead. He failed, but British merchants came up with a more sinister plan smuggling opium into China and demanding payment in silver. The situation deteriorated and created havoc with the social fabric having made a large proportion of the population heroin addicts. In 1893, Chinese authorities destroyed 20.000 chests of British opium and a year later, the Admiralty sent a fleet to force China to open her ports to buy their “drug”.
While the opium wars were raging in China, British merchants started growing tea in northern India (Darjeeling) and later in Africa and a little late in Sri Lanka (then called Ceylon). Soon they were shipping tea from India and which was served in Chin ease porcelain teacups, sweetened with sugar from the Americans, cultivated by African slaves, and supplied by Arab middlemen on location.
World War 2 brought the bombing of ware houses in London and rationing, and soon tea bags were introduced in an attempt to use tea dust profitably. In fact, no self-respecting tea consumer today will use tea bags since they literally consist of low quality tea dust.
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