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It was the many coffee houses that were strewn about England that got the British addicted to tea. Once the coffee houses introduced tea into their menu it became a big hit! Some say this was because tea was patriotic since it was harvested in British colonies unlike coffee. This popularity surge was actually a problem, believe it or not. King
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With the insane tea tax a new market emerged: the tea smuggling market. Dutch traders would smuggle tea in to England, and it would be sold at a cheaper price, but was still very pricey. Someone needed to put a stop to the tea madness. You may be surprised at who did. William Pitt introduced the
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In the following century tea houses were introduced and it was Anna, Duchess of Bedford who would come to invent Afternoon Tea so as we could have a small meal to hold us over until supper. And of course there's the old favorite, Earl Grey, which graces many a teacup in the morning. The tea was named after Georgiana's old lover and the future prime minister. However, it remains a bit a mystery as to how the bergamot tea got its name seeing a Pitt really had nothing to do with it.
Wonderful post. I'm enjoying the beverage culture theme.
ReplyDeleteThank you Heather (and Charles ;D)!
ReplyDeletevery fascinating!
ReplyDeleteI love my tea! I believe Catherine of Braganza introduced tea to England? I could have sworn I read that somewhere? I know the Portuguese were big tea drinkers.
ReplyDeleteWhy was the tax on tea so high? Was it thought of as unhealthy or something?
ReplyDeleteIt was just the expense of importing it since it wasn't grown in England. Of course, 119% is a little carried away!
ReplyDeleteThink your blog is great.
ReplyDeleteGlad you like it! I know I've been tea-crazy the last two days.
ReplyDelete@Bearded Lady, That does seem right, I believe I saw that somewhere too that she is credited with it.
@Jean-Francois, Why thank you very much!
Oh dear... That post was so chauvinistic...
ReplyDeleteGo to MY OLD BLOG and prove me wrong.
Nothing could me more Portuguese than tea, marmelade and china wear...