Ben Henderson

Very impressive.

Yeah, absolutely.

He's a bit of a national villain there, isn't he?

So yeah, Robert Fortune and the opium trade echoes down the centuries.

Oh, well, I'll try my best.

So it's obviously a massive period of technological change.

Britain turns from being a largely kind of agrarian country where most people live in the countryside.

to being a heavily urbanised country based on factory work.

Okay, and so what is life like for those factory workers?

Well, they work terrible hours.

They have terrible diets.

And the thing is, if only they had something warm and sustaining to keep them going through those long hours.

I mean, I like the mentions of tea there feel nice and homely, but who has bread and butter on a sack of peas?

Obviously, that's an unconventional breakfast.

OK, so tea's being worked into the regime now, becoming part of the fabric of society.

So it's like the modern day or the 19th century energy drink.

People are using it not just for the taste, but very much as a stimulant to help people get through the day.

Outrageous.

And I was always a Dickens fan.

I can't believe he'd say that.