London Drinking Culture - Tea

Jun 16, 2021

This Podcast Explores the things that help define London and the British  and todays subject is Tea – and why its so in grained in the British Psyche. We will look at the facts, its history,  how to drink it  and why is so hard to get a decent cup of tea in London.

Tea is the most widely consumed substance  after Air and water,

It propped up the British empire, helped the industrial revolution defined class, funded wars and made life more bearable

 

For example

Its effect on the British

• It Drove society - In Victorian society ladies regularly visited each other and had had tea their social networking
• It Drove Commerce – Made business more productive when they met in coffee house to strike deals or exchange information in a sober manner with of tea or coffee

It Drove International Trade - government helped to establish tea as main drink for the empire and exported to its colonies and collected taxes.  And in the late 17c   the government a Tax on tea that went  up to 119% and  accounted for almost 10% of its revenue.

 

However this led  to a rich trade in Smuggled tea!

• It helped the Industrial revolution  and made the workforce more productive - sweet drink – and energising them - plus purifies the water - up until then the nations was dependant on beer as the only dependable safe drink - therefore it made us less dependant on alcohol
• It created to wars - the Opium wars with China in the Victorian era ( mid 1800) and the American Revolution (Boston Tea Party) in the 1773
• An it’s Protected by Government - So much so that in WWII – tea stock were hidden and stored in  strategic locations  and was part of the  key supply line for the British troops.

 

 

 

An it has always been  – Anytime any place anywhere –

it’s best known as the  general drink to Welcoming people of the Btitish  -  come in for a cuppa and for a gossip!

But we have it formally for

Breakfast

Tea breaks

Afternoon tea

High tea/ Tea (traditional common word for evening meal at 6:00  - Teatime

Even as a night cap hydrate after a drinking session – especially with Toast and a chat.