When Tea Came to England

It was called the "China drink."

Tea became a fashionable, luxury drink in the mid 17th century. In England Samuel Pepys noted in 1660 of drinking a "China drink of which i never had drank before". It was known for its medical benefits with a Parisian doctor calling it "the impertinent novelty of the age". Soon it became more widespread with Cardinal Mazarin drinking it to cure his gout, and the playwright Jean Racine was also known to drink large quantities of it. In 1684 Madame de Sevigne wrote to her daughter recommending to drink her tea with both milk and sugar. However in Britain it became particularly popular when Catherine of Braganza being a clear lover of tea brought it into fashion once she married Charles II of England. Apparently she brought a casket of tea as part of her dowry, and the court ladies readily adopted tea as a daily treat and so in turn it replaced ale, coffee, and wine as the most favorite national drink. However being as expensive as it was (prices varied from 16 to 60 shillings at the time when a servants wages was around £2 to £6 pounds) it was still highly exclusive drink. For the aristocracy drinking tea also gave an excuse to buy gorgeous tea equipment like the burgundy coloured tea set and table shown upwards. Porcelain tea jars, tea pots, silverware, saucers, imported tea tables became particularly important for courtiers who expected visits from the Queen. Duchess of Lauderdale a good friend of the Queen had all the necessary tea equipment at Ham House for Queen Catherine's visits including particularly unusual silver tea bowls.

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