While the history of tea can be traced to China as far
back as 4,750 years ago, the British association with tea is only 350 years
old. It is thought that tea was brought to Europe, in the early 16th century,
by Portuguese merchants returning from China. However, it was not until 1637,
that tea was first commercialized by the Dutch East India Company. Thanks to
the Dutch East India Company's efforts, tea drinking spread from Holland, all over Continental Europe,
but high prices made it accessible only to the wealthy. For that reason, drinking
tea did not take off in Britain. In fact, drinking tea was rather uncommon. In
1662, the Portuguese Princess, Catherine of Braganza, married King Charles II
of England. She brought a chest of tea with her and introduced tea drinking to
the English court. Thus, tea became a fashionable drink though it was heavily
taxed, thus, only available to the very wealthy aristocrats. However, the
demand for tea across all social classes caused the rise of a "black
market" in smuggled tea. Because of this, Prime Minister William Pitt
slashed the tax, significantly, making tea more
affordable which in turn, put an end to smuggling. By the 18th century,
tea became the preferred drink of all classes in Britain.
In the 1840s, when it was
customary to eat two meals a day, Anna Maria, the 7th Duchess of Bedford, complained
of "having that sinking feeling" in the late afternoon due to the many
hours between breakfast and the evening meal,. At that time, people had a small
breakfast and dinner, a far more substantial meal, around 8 PM.
To solve this problem, the Duchess was served a pot of
tea and some light refreshments, around 4 PM, in her residence, Woburn Abby.
Since she wanted merely to satisfy her hunger until dinner, only small
sandwiches and small cakes and pastries were served* Soon after, she started to
invite friends to join her. Seated in comfortable chairs, they would exchange
news, tell stories while sharing tea and refreshments served on a LOW, lounge table.
Over time, this AFTERNOON tea became fashionable by others in the upper class.
However, for the working class in the newly
industrialized Britain of the 1800s, "teatime" had to wait until work
ended. For the working class, after a hard day's work, they were hungry for a more
substantial meal. which may have included a variety of meats, bread,
vegetables, cheeses, fish, perhaps meat pies, potatoes, and crackers. Because
of its hardy nature, this kind of teatime was sometimes known as “MEAT"
tea. Further, this tea was served with the worker and family seated at their
HIGH kitchen table. While the AFTERNOON tea of the upper class took place in "tea" rooms on wealthy estates where people sat in
comfortable chairs and had their tea and dainty foods served on LOW tables, the
working classes more substantial "MEAT" tea was eaten at a kitchen or
"HIGH" table. It is thanks to the British class system that these two
different tea traditions exist today - AFTERNOON (LOW) tea for the upper,
wealthy class, and HIGH ((MEAT) tea for the working class.
People in the U.S. misunderstand the origins of
British tea traditions. When they imagine British HIGH tea, they think it is
tea served in fine china, with small, delicate sandwiches and small, fancy
cakes served in elegant surroundings. In fact, what Americans think of as HIGH tea,
refers, actually, to AFTERNOON or LOW tea. AFTERNOON (LOW) tea tradition is still
practiced in Britain but now is widely available to anyone who can afford it while
HIGH (MEAT) tea still exists in Northern England and Scotland.
*Among the items which may have been served are, a
selection of finger sandwiches including cucumber, cress, smoked salmon,
chicken, egg, etc., scones with butter, clotted cream and jams, and a variety of
small cakes and pastries.
