The history of tea

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Photo by Petr Kratochvil. Public domain

Do you like tea? Do you think that the British drink a lot of tea? And how about the Spanish?

Are the British falling out of love with tea?
How much do you know about it? Is coffee culture strong in the UK and Ireland?
Can you name three main coffee chains in the UK and Ireland? Click here to find out more.

What is happening in Dublin at the moment? Click here to find out.


Lola la Torre. Own work



The tea-drinking queen
Catherine of Braganza, who was Portuguese, married King Charles II in 1662. It is said that when she arrived in England, she brought with her a chest of tea, the favourite drink at the Portuguese court. Queen Catherine  invited her friends to her chamber to drink tea and that is how drinking tea in aristocratic circles started to be fashionable. Click on her image to find out more.
Queen Catherine of Braganza. Wikimedia
Etiquette and history of the Afternoon Tea Party
The British have a reputation for drinking tea all day long. But do you know who established the afternoon tea tradition? Why? Click on the image to find out.

Anne, 7th Duchess of Bedford. Wikimedia

 Various tea times
Look at this picture. What can you see? When and why would you have such a feast?


Image by Per Mosseby. CC BY SA. Wikimedia

In English there are different words to describe tea time:
cream tea, afternoon tea, elevensies, royale tea, high tea

Click here to find out what the difference between each of them is.

Listening
Listen to this BBC Radio 4 podcast about the history of tea.

Make sure you know how to pronounce the following words:
parlour 
earthenware
Calcutta
Ceylon

Get ready to take notes on the following:

1) What does the presenter say about the Victoria era (1837-1901)?
2) What other things, among tea, were considered a luxury?
3) What are the characteristics of tea?
4) What does Samuel Johnson say about tea?
5) What happened early in the 18th century?
6) What does the presenter say about coffee and tea?
7) And the working classes?
8) A Swedish visitor lands in England in 1809. What did he observe?
9) Tea becomes a tool for social control. Why?
10) What does the presenter say about the opium war?
11) And sugar?


Tea idioms
Watch this BBC learning English video and learn different expressions with the word "tea". Have fun!



For more information about tea customs visit the UK Tea Council page.

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