Jo Steer

Another possible explanation is that many porcelain teacups were delicate,

The addition of milk helped to cool down the porcelain and reduced the risk of the cup cracking.

Milk was also thought to be healthy.

According to medical theory at the time, it was a digestive aid that could prevent disease and support the inner working of the body.

Tea itself was thought to have countless medical benefits.

It was said to have the power to cure headaches, asthma and colds, to strengthen memory and boost energy.

In the 17th century, it also became common to add a spoonful of sugar to one's cup of tea, though this wasn't believed to be healthy.

Like tea, sugar was an expensive and exotic import, available only to the wealthy few.

It was gaining popularity as a sweetener in food and helped to counteract the tea's sometimes bitter taste.

With its reputation as a medicinal beverage, the refined rituals surrounding it, and the taste of the drink itself, it's no wonder that tea drinking gained momentum.

By the early 18th century, it was commonly enjoyed among the upper classes, and ladies in particular.

Gentlemen often drank coffee, which was served in the coffee houses that had sprung up from the mid-1600s.

These were the important social spaces of the age.

Men would discuss news, philosophy, science, and politics, all while sipping on hot, fresh coffee.

Women, in contrast, took tea in the home and were generally barred from entering such establishments.

At the time, men and women were believed to inhabit two very different spheres.

Men belonged in the public sphere, work, politics, discussion, and debate.

Women were expected to remain in the private sphere.

which revolved around children and the home.

The coffee house, therefore, was the domain of men, a symbol of the divide between the sexes.