Tea in Britain
Tea, that most quintessential of English drinks, is a relative latecomer to British shores.Although the custom of drinking tea dates back to the third millennium BC in China, it was not until the mid-17th century that the beverage first appeared in England.
The use of tea spread slowly from its Asian homeland, reaching Europe by way of Venice around 1560, although Portuguese trading ships may have made contact with the Chinese as early as 1515.
It was the Portuguese and Dutch traders who first imported tea to Europe, with regular shipments by 1610. England was a latecomer to the tea trade, as the East India Company did not capitalize on tea's popularity until the mid-18th century.
Coffee Houses Curiously, it was the London coffee houses that were responsible for introducing tea to England. One of the first coffee house merchants to offer tea was Thomas Garway, who owned an establishment in Exchange Alley. He sold both liquid and dry tea to the public as early as 1657. Three years later he issued a broadsheet advertising tea at ￡6 to ￡10 per pound (ouch!), touting its virtues at "making the body active and lusty", and "preserving perfect health until extreme old age".
Tea gained popularity quickly in the coffee houses, and by 1700 over 500 coffee houses sold it. This distressed the tavern owners, as tea cut their sales of ale and gin, and it was bad news for the government, who depended upon a steady stream of revenue from taxes on liquor sales. By 1750 tea had become the favoured drink of Britain's lower classes.
Taxation on Tea Charles II did his bit to counter the growth of tea, with several acts forbidding its sale in private houses. This measure was designed to counter sedition, but it was so unpopular that it was impossible to enforce it. A 1676 act taxed tea and required coffee house operators to apply for a license.
This was just the start of government attempts to control, or at least, to profit from the Popularity of tea in Britain. By the mid-18th century the duty on tea had reached an absurd 119 percent. This heavy taxation had the effect of creating a whole new industry ——tea smuggling.
Smuggling Tea Ships from Holland and Scandinavia brought tea to the British coast, then stood offshore while smugglers met them and unloaded the precious cargo in small vessels. The smugglers. often local fishermen, snuck the tea inland through underground passages and hidden paths to special hiding places. One of the best hiding places was in the local parish church!
Even smuggled tea was expensive, however, and therefore extremely profitable, so many smugglers began to adulterate the tea with other substances, such as willow, licorice, and sloe leaves. Used tea leaves were also redried and added to fresh leaves
Finally. in 1784 William Pitt the Younger introduced the Commutation Act, which dropped the tax on tea from 119% to 12. 5%, effectively ending smuggling. Adulteration remained a problem, though, until the Food and Drug Act of 1875 brought in stiff penalties for the practice.
Tea Clippers In the early 1800's ships carrying tea from the Far East to Britain could take over a year to bring home their precious cargo. When the East India Company was given a monopoly on the tea trade in 1832, they realized the need to cut the time of this journey. The Amencans actually designed the first "clippers", or streamlined, tall-masted vessels. but the British were close behind. These clippers sped along at nearly 18 knots by contemporary accounts——nearly as fast as a modem ocean liner.
So great was the race for speed that an annual competition was begun for clippers to race from the Canton River to the London Docks. The first ship to unload its cargo won the captain and crew a hefty bonus.
The most famous of the clipper ships was the Cutty Sark, built in 1868. It only made the tea run eight times, but for its era it was a remarkable ship. The Cutty Sark is now on exhibition at Greenwich.
Tea Customs: Aftemoon tea is said to have originated with one person: Anna, 7th Duchess of Bedford.In the early 1800's she launched the idea of having tea in the late afternoon to bridge the gap between luncheon and dinner, which in fashionable circles might not be served until 8 o'clock at night. This fashionable custom soon evolved into high tea among the working classes, where this late afternoon repast became the main meal of the day.
Tea Gardens: The popular pleasure gardens of Ranelagh and Vauxhall in London began serving tea around 1730. An evening of dancing and watching fireworks would be capped by tea. The concept caught on, and soon Tea Gardens opened all over Britain. Usually the gardens were opened on Saturday and Sunday, and an aftemoon of entertainment and dancing would be highlighted by serving tea.
Tea Shops: This British establishment can be traced to one person. In 1864 the woman manager of tbe Aerated Bread Company began the custom of serving food and drink to her customers. Her best customers were favoured with tea. Soon everyone was asking for the same treatment. The concept of tea shops spread throughout Britain like wildfire, not in the least because tea shops provided a place where an unchaperoned woman could meet her friends and socialize without damage to her reputation.
Tea and Pottery What connection, you might be excused for asking, does tea have with the growth of the British pottery industry? Simply this: tea in China was traditionally drunk from cups without handles. When tea became popular in Britain, there was a crying need for good cups with handles, to suit British habits. This made for tremendous growth in the pottery and porcelain industry, and the prosperity of such companies as Wedgwood, Spode, and Royal Doulton.
茶在英國
茶，作為英國最具代表性的飲品，然而卻是英吉利海岸的姍姍來客。雖然飲茶的習俗可以追溯到公元前2000多年前的中國，但直到17世紀中葉，茶葉才第一次出現在英國。
飲茶的習慣從亞洲大陸逐漸傳開，到1560年前後才從威尼斯進人歐洲——儘管葡萄牙的商船可能早在1515年就與中國有了貿易往來。
最先把茶運進歐洲的是葡萄牙和荷蘭的商人，到1610年已經有船定期運茶了。在茶葉貿易方面，英國是後來者，因為直到18世紀中葉，東印度公司才開始抓住茶葉受歡迎的商機。
咖啡館：令人不可思議的是，將茶推介給英國人的是倫敦的咖啡館。托馬斯·加威是第一批在咖啡館裡供應茶的商人之一。他在倫敦交易街開了一家咖啡館，早在1657年就向人們出售茶水和茶葉。三年後他印製了大幅的茶廣告，將茶的售價定為每磅6英鎊到10英鎊，並宣揚飲茶的好處在於“強身健體，滋陰壯陽”， 而且“耄耋之年，旺壯嬰鑠”。
茶在咖啡館裡很快風行起來。到1700年已經有500多家咖啡館賣茶。這使餐館老闆們感到苦惱：茶減少了他們啤酒和杜松子酒的銷售。對政府也不是好消息，徵收酒稅是政府稅收的一個穩定來源。到1750年時，茶在英國的下層民眾中已經是很受歡迎的飲料了。
茶稅：查爾斯二世極力想遏制茶的發展，他頒佈了幾道法令禁止私家咖啡館售茶。這項措施意在打擊離經叛道的茶葉買賣，但是它太不得人心，無法執行。1676年頒佈的一條法案開始徵收茶稅，並要求咖啡館老闆申請售茶許可證。
這只是英國政府企圖對茶葉加以控制的開端，至少，也是想從風靡英國的茶中獲利。到18 世紀中葉，茶稅已經抽到119%, 真是荒謬之至。這一重稅致使一個新的行業出現——茶葉走私。
茶葉走私：從荷蘭和斯堪的納維亞來的船隻將茶運到英國海岸，把船停在離岸不遠的地方，然後，走私者登上船隻，將貴重的茶葉轉卸到小船上。這些走私者常常是當地的漁民，他們通過地下通道或是秘密小道將茶葉運到特別的藏匿地點。最好的藏匿地點之一竟然是教區的教堂！
即使是走私的茶葉也非常昂貴，因而利潤也特別高。走私者們便用其它的東西往茶葉裡摻假，如柳葉、甘草、黑刺李葉等。喝過的茶葉在曬乾之後也摻到新鮮的茶葉之中。最後，在1784年小威廉·皮特推出了《減刑法令》，將茶稅從119%降到12. 5%, 有效地制止了走私行為。但是茶葉摻假一直是一個大問題，直到1875年的《食物藥品法令》對摻假行為實施嚴厲的懲罰，這一問題才得以解決。
運茶快船：在19世紀早期，從遠東將貴重的茶葉運到英國要花上一年多的時間。1832年東印度公司獲得茶葉貿易的壟斷地位後，他意識到必須縮短航行時間。實際上當時美國人已經設計了第一批“快帆船”， 也就是流線型、高桅杆的船隻，但英國人也緊跟其後。按現在的方法計算，這些快帆船以18海里的時速航行，幾乎和現代的遠洋客輪差不多快了。
賽船的景象非常壯觀。每一年度的快帆船比賽從珠江出發到倫敦碼頭，率先卸貨的船隻，船長和船員可以贏得一大筆獎金。
最著名的一艘快帆船是1868年建造的卡蒂·薩克號，可惜只執行過8次運輸茶葉的航行任務。在那個時候它是一艘了不起的船隻，現在展覽于格林威治。
茶俗：據說下午喝茶的習俗源於一人——安娜——貝德福德的第七代公爵夫人。早在19 世紀初期她實施自己的想法：在午餐和晚餐之間的傍晚時光加一頓茶點。晚餐在時尚圈裡通常要到晚上8點才開始。這種時尚的習俗很快在勞工階層中演化為傍晚茶，對他們來說傍晚茶點便成了一天中的主要飯餐。
飲茶花園：在倫敦，大約在1730年左右受人喜愛的拉尼拉和沃克斯霍爾娛樂園便開始供應茶了。晚上，人們跳過舞、看過煙火表演之後，還要飲用茶點方才結束。這一觀念開始流行起來，很快英國遍地興起了飲茶花園。通常飲茶花園在星期六和星期天開放，娛樂和跳舞之後，再飲點茶便使下午的活動進入高潮。
茶店：在英國茶店的興起可以追溯到一個人。1864年充氣麵包公司的女經理開始向顧客供應食物和飲料，她用茶款待那些最好的顧客。於是大家都要求受到同樣的待遇。茶葉店的概念像野火一樣傳遍英國，不可忽視的原因之一是因為在茶店裡無長輩陪伴的姑娘可以和朋友約會、進行社交，而又不損害自己的名譽。
茶與陶瓷：那麼，你或許有理由問道，茶和英國陶瓷產業的發展有什麼關係？原因很簡單：在中國，人們通常是用無把的杯子喝茶；在英國，當茶風靡起來之後，人們迫切需要有把的杯子，這適合英國人的習慣。這導致了英國陶瓷業的蓬勃發展，以及諸家大公司的繁榮，如韋奇伍德、斯伯德、羅亞爾·道爾頓等。
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