of 10 drinks three and a half cups of tea per day, or 1,355 cups per year – mostly tea
with milk in it — which puts Britain miles ahead of any other country in the
international league of tea-drinking nations! Second and third in the league are the
New Zealanders (889 cups) and the Australians (642 cups); in Europe, the nearest
rival to Britain is Russia, where people only consume on average 325 cups of tea per
year.
The popularity of tea in the United Kingdom has a long history, reflecting the nation's
development since the seventeenth century. It was in 1657 that Thomas Garway,
the owner of a coffee house, sold the first tea in London. The drink soon became
popular as an alternative to coffee, and by the year 1700, there were over 500 coffee
houses in the British capital selling the new drink. In those days however, it was not
something for anyone; the cost of a pound of tea in the year 1700 (up to 36shillings a
pound) was almost the same as it was in 1985 (average: £1.80 a pound).... but in 1700,
a working man earned one shilling a week, compared to £140 in1985!
For a century and a half, tea remained an expensive drink; many employers served a
cup of it to their workers in the middle of the morning, thus inventing a lasting British
institution, the "tea break"; but as a social drink outside the workplace, tea was
reserved for the nobility and for the growing middle classes. Among those who had
the means, it became very popular as a drink to be enjoyed in cafés and “tea gardens”.
It was the 7th Duchess of Bedford who, in around 1800, started the popular fashion of
"afternoon tea", a ceremony taking place at about four o'clock. Until then, people did
not usually eat or drink anything between lunch and dinner. At approximately the
same time, the Earl of Sandwich popularised a new way of eating bread — in thin
slices, with something (e.g. jam or cucumbers) between them, and before long, a
small meal at the end of the afternoon, involving tea and sandwiches had become part
of a way of life.
As tea became much cheaper during the nineteenth century, its popularity spread right
through British society, and before long, it had become Britain's favourite drink —
promoted by the Victorians as an economical, warming, stimulating non-alcoholic
drink. In working-class households, it was served with the main meal of the day, eaten
when workers returned home after a day's labour. This meal has become known as
"high tea".
Today, tea can be drunk at any time of day. The large majority of people in Britain
drink tea for breakfast: the mid-morning "tea break" is an institution in British offices
and factories (though some people prefer coffee at this time of day); and for anyone
working outdoors, a thermos of tea is almost an essential part of the day's equipment.
Later in the day, "afternoon tea" is still a way of life in the south of England and
among the middle classes, whereas "high tea" has remained a tradition in the north of
Britain.