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F.2.1 Afternoon tea or high tea – Tea traditions in England, Scotland, and Wales

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Tea Cultures of Europe: Heritage and Hospitality
This chapter is in the book Tea Cultures of Europe: Heritage and Hospitality
Carol BailleulF.2.1 Afternoon tea or high tea–Teatraditions in England, Scotland,and WalesWhat comes from faraway, is good–Tea as an exotic luxury in the seventeenth centuryAlthough many people associate tea with Great Britain, it was a Dutch trading companybringing tea from Japan (Green) and China (Black) to Amsterdam in 1610. Thanks to theEnglish East India Company, Chinese gold made its first sea voyage to England in theseventeenth century. In the beginning, this was only a very small quantity: 65 kilogramsper year. That is less than three bags of cement! This made this product very scarce andexpensive. It is quite logical that only the richer class could afford this exotic luxury!They liked boasting with this new beverage. Tea was a status symbol, a sign of wealth.Whoever served this infusion was apparently at the top of the social ladder.Tea was discovered in China some 5,000 years ago. According to a Chinese legend,Emperor Shen Nong invented tea by accident. For reasons of hygiene, he ordered hissubjects to always boil water before drinking it. When he was travelling with his en-tourage, they paused in a remote part of the empire. Emperor Shen Nong had his sub-jects boil water while he took a nap. Nearby stood a tea plant, whose leaves wereblowing into the kettle. The Emperor woke up and perceived a pleasant smell. Hedrank the water with the tea leaves and was very impressed by the delicious tasteand the uplifting effect of the drink.In Europe, people could have tea for the first time in the so-called coffee houses.They were meeting places exclusively for men. In particular, businessmen, politicians,poets, and the clergy know how to find their way there. Because of high taxes, peopleonly brewed the infusion once: in the morning. For the rest of the day, they heatedthe drink every time a customer asked for tea. Fortunately, this situation changed atthe end of the century, as the tax was suddenly levied on the leaves instead of on theinfusion. This made the sale of tea possible, and men took this product home. Thatway, their wives could also get acquainted with the Chinese gold. As women were notallowed in the coffee houses, they organised parties at home and consequently friendsmet regularly and had tea. The hosting lady even bought furniture and crockery espe-cially for the occasion, and the first British tea ceremony was born (Bailleul, 2018).https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110758573-020
© 2024 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston

Carol BailleulF.2.1 Afternoon tea or high tea–Teatraditions in England, Scotland,and WalesWhat comes from faraway, is good–Tea as an exotic luxury in the seventeenth centuryAlthough many people associate tea with Great Britain, it was a Dutch trading companybringing tea from Japan (Green) and China (Black) to Amsterdam in 1610. Thanks to theEnglish East India Company, Chinese gold made its first sea voyage to England in theseventeenth century. In the beginning, this was only a very small quantity: 65 kilogramsper year. That is less than three bags of cement! This made this product very scarce andexpensive. It is quite logical that only the richer class could afford this exotic luxury!They liked boasting with this new beverage. Tea was a status symbol, a sign of wealth.Whoever served this infusion was apparently at the top of the social ladder.Tea was discovered in China some 5,000 years ago. According to a Chinese legend,Emperor Shen Nong invented tea by accident. For reasons of hygiene, he ordered hissubjects to always boil water before drinking it. When he was travelling with his en-tourage, they paused in a remote part of the empire. Emperor Shen Nong had his sub-jects boil water while he took a nap. Nearby stood a tea plant, whose leaves wereblowing into the kettle. The Emperor woke up and perceived a pleasant smell. Hedrank the water with the tea leaves and was very impressed by the delicious tasteand the uplifting effect of the drink.In Europe, people could have tea for the first time in the so-called coffee houses.They were meeting places exclusively for men. In particular, businessmen, politicians,poets, and the clergy know how to find their way there. Because of high taxes, peopleonly brewed the infusion once: in the morning. For the rest of the day, they heatedthe drink every time a customer asked for tea. Fortunately, this situation changed atthe end of the century, as the tax was suddenly levied on the leaves instead of on theinfusion. This made the sale of tea possible, and men took this product home. Thatway, their wives could also get acquainted with the Chinese gold. As women were notallowed in the coffee houses, they organised parties at home and consequently friendsmet regularly and had tea. The hosting lady even bought furniture and crockery espe-cially for the occasion, and the first British tea ceremony was born (Bailleul, 2018).https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110758573-020
© 2024 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston

Chapters in this book

  1. Frontmatter I
  2. Acknowledgements and Preface V
  3. Foreword: Passion for tea in luxury hotels VII
  4. Foreword: It’s all about tea: ceremonial enjoyment, successful entrepreneurship, and cultural pride IX
  5. Contents XI
  6. List of figures XV
  7. List of tables XIX
  8. List of contributors XXI
  9. A European views on tea
  10. A.1 European views on tea 1
  11. B Approaching tea cultures and hospitality
  12. B.1 Exploring Thea sinensis – sorts, origin, and history 7
  13. B.2 The magic of tea and hospitality 15
  14. B.3 Thirst and power – Assam as the Empire’s tea garden 23
  15. B.4 Tea – from luxury product to everyday comfort 41
  16. B.5 More than a beverage – appropriation, prevalence and cultural meaning of tea in everyday culture 53
  17. C Culinary embracing tea
  18. C.1 Hosting tea and wine – Similarities of guest service excellence 71
  19. C.2 Tea as a sophisticated food companion 81
  20. C.3 Hospitality in harmony: Mergers of tea and chocolate 97
  21. C.4 The importance of tea for European fine dining 109
  22. C.5 Tea in a bag – The history of the tea bag 119
  23. D Presenting tea in style
  24. D.1 The historic development of tea pots 131
  25. D.2 Tea on stand: Samovars and spirit kettles 143
  26. E Scouting tea culture and hospitality
  27. E.1 Tea venues in Europe 175
  28. E.2 Contemporary European teahouse concepts 183
  29. E.3 Tea with art: Dialogical imagination and hospitality 201
  30. E.4 TEA TEA ME: Digital tools towards more accessibility 221
  31. F Experiencing the islands of tea
  32. F.1 Azores tea: From industrial production to tourism experience 239
  33. F.2 Trading and traditions – The British and tea 255
  34. F.2.1 Afternoon tea or high tea – Tea traditions in England, Scotland, and Wales 261
  35. F.2.2 The British tea ceremony 271
  36. F.2.3 The true story of Earl Grey 281
  37. F.2.4 British tea heritage and branding 289
  38. F.3 Tea and Irish Hospitality 301
  39. G Exploring tea by the sea
  40. G.1 The Danish tea heritage 321
  41. G.2 La perspective Française – The French and tea 327
  42. G.3 Tea culture and cultivation in Germany 337
  43. G.3.1 German delight: East Frisian tea culture 345
  44. G.3.2 Special elegance: East Frisian tea China 359
  45. G.4 The Italian tea culture 381
  46. G.5 It is a man’s world: The “Business of Tea” in the Netherlands and beyond 393
  47. G.6 Tea in Sweden – Tradition and consumption 407
  48. H Discovering tea by land
  49. H.1 Tea in Austria – In the land of coffee houses 417
  50. H.2 Azerbaijan and Georgia: Caucasian tea habits 429
  51. H.3 Czech tea heritage, entrepreneurship and perspective 441
  52. H.4 Herbata! Polish tea culture and traditions 455
  53. H.5 Tea culture in Türkiye 459
  54. H.6 Ukrainian tea habits and traditions 469
  55. I Hospitalitea in Europe: Tea culture and hospitality heritage
  56. I.1 Hospitalitea in Europe: Tea culture and hospitality heritage 477
  57. Epilogue 487
  58. Index 489
Readers are also interested in:
https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110758573-020

Chapters in this book

  1. Frontmatter I
  2. Acknowledgements and Preface V
  3. Foreword: Passion for tea in luxury hotels VII
  4. Foreword: It’s all about tea: ceremonial enjoyment, successful entrepreneurship, and cultural pride IX
  5. Contents XI
  6. List of figures XV
  7. List of tables XIX
  8. List of contributors XXI
  9. A European views on tea
  10. A.1 European views on tea 1
  11. B Approaching tea cultures and hospitality
  12. B.1 Exploring Thea sinensis – sorts, origin, and history 7
  13. B.2 The magic of tea and hospitality 15
  14. B.3 Thirst and power – Assam as the Empire’s tea garden 23
  15. B.4 Tea – from luxury product to everyday comfort 41
  16. B.5 More than a beverage – appropriation, prevalence and cultural meaning of tea in everyday culture 53
  17. C Culinary embracing tea
  18. C.1 Hosting tea and wine – Similarities of guest service excellence 71
  19. C.2 Tea as a sophisticated food companion 81
  20. C.3 Hospitality in harmony: Mergers of tea and chocolate 97
  21. C.4 The importance of tea for European fine dining 109
  22. C.5 Tea in a bag – The history of the tea bag 119
  23. D Presenting tea in style
  24. D.1 The historic development of tea pots 131
  25. D.2 Tea on stand: Samovars and spirit kettles 143
  26. E Scouting tea culture and hospitality
  27. E.1 Tea venues in Europe 175
  28. E.2 Contemporary European teahouse concepts 183
  29. E.3 Tea with art: Dialogical imagination and hospitality 201
  30. E.4 TEA TEA ME: Digital tools towards more accessibility 221
  31. F Experiencing the islands of tea
  32. F.1 Azores tea: From industrial production to tourism experience 239
  33. F.2 Trading and traditions – The British and tea 255
  34. F.2.1 Afternoon tea or high tea – Tea traditions in England, Scotland, and Wales 261
  35. F.2.2 The British tea ceremony 271
  36. F.2.3 The true story of Earl Grey 281
  37. F.2.4 British tea heritage and branding 289
  38. F.3 Tea and Irish Hospitality 301
  39. G Exploring tea by the sea
  40. G.1 The Danish tea heritage 321
  41. G.2 La perspective Française – The French and tea 327
  42. G.3 Tea culture and cultivation in Germany 337
  43. G.3.1 German delight: East Frisian tea culture 345
  44. G.3.2 Special elegance: East Frisian tea China 359
  45. G.4 The Italian tea culture 381
  46. G.5 It is a man’s world: The “Business of Tea” in the Netherlands and beyond 393
  47. G.6 Tea in Sweden – Tradition and consumption 407
  48. H Discovering tea by land
  49. H.1 Tea in Austria – In the land of coffee houses 417
  50. H.2 Azerbaijan and Georgia: Caucasian tea habits 429
  51. H.3 Czech tea heritage, entrepreneurship and perspective 441
  52. H.4 Herbata! Polish tea culture and traditions 455
  53. H.5 Tea culture in Türkiye 459
  54. H.6 Ukrainian tea habits and traditions 469
  55. I Hospitalitea in Europe: Tea culture and hospitality heritage
  56. I.1 Hospitalitea in Europe: Tea culture and hospitality heritage 477
  57. Epilogue 487
  58. Index 489
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