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Chapter 1: What historical events led to the British love of tea?
This BBC podcast is supported by ads outside the UK. Autoliitto auttaa. Avaimet jää autoon. Autoliitto auttaa. Hyytyy tien poskeen tai tartten apuvirtaan. Autoliitto auttaa. No mites tämmöset sit kotipihalla, mökillä tai Saksassa ja Lofoteilla? Lofoteilla. Siellä on kaunista. Autoliitto auttaa. Entäs jos kala nappaa? Vapaa ylös ja siima kireelle.
Jos mutkia tulee matkaan, Autoliitto auttaa kelloon katsomatta. Liityplus jäseneksi autoliitto.fi
Hello, You're Dead to Me listeners. I'm Alice Loxton.
And I'm Ben Henderson.
We're big fans of You're Dead to Me, so we're really looking forward to the new series, which is just around the corner.
But before it arrives, we're delighted to be able to pop into this feed and tell you about our new history podcast, which I hope you'll like too.
It's called Here for the History, and each episode we find out about how stories from the past have shaped our lives in the present.
Yes, we'll uncover the origin stories behind the traditions, stereotypes and beliefs that make up everyday life. Why we speak the way we do, why football is our national sport, who came up with the package holiday…
And in this episode, we're telling the story of how the humble cup of tea became so ingrained in British culture.
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Chapter 2: How did Catherine of Braganza influence tea culture in Britain?
Thank you. But I think the first time I came across you was when you posted a video online to your legions of followers about some black railings on the street in London which looked slightly misshapen, am I right?
Oh, yes. People absolutely love that video. It really went viral. There are these wonderful railings and they were actually used originally as stretchers in the Blitz in the Second World War. And people just love seeing, you know, the history behind these ordinary objects.
Yeah, it's fascinating. I love that. And I saw it was even written up in the papers, you know, national news.
Thank you, Ben. Thanks for reading. You're a loyal supporter. Well, I've also seen your stuff. You've been making history programs for the BBC for years now. And you have your own social videos about history too. I loved the video about the origins of the British stiff upper lip. I think that's the first one I saw of yours.
And it was always something I just accepted, but never really questioned why.
Ah, well, it's funny you should say that, Alice, because that's exactly what we're doing on our brand new podcast, isn't it? Here for the history.
Exactly, Ben. I'm so excited. We'll be uncovering the historical backstories that have shaped our lives.
Yes. So we'll be finding out things like how English turned into the language we speak today and how the suit became every man's uniform and even where the weekend came from.
And I've been really surprised by some of the things we found already. Some of it's really weird, some of it's quite dark, and some of it's just hilarious. So I can't wait to reveal it all.
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Chapter 3: What role did the East India Company play in the tea trade?
Now let's crack on with the first episode. Alice, could you start by telling me your dream morning routine?
Well, the first thing that I have every morning is a cup of tea, as I did this morning. And I'll get out of bed, try and wake up. And the first thing I do is put the kettle on. I'll have an English breakfast tea. I've got a special mug. It's from the Durham Cathedral Gift
shop which I bought a few years ago and I'll have I'd say a dash of milk semi-skim milk and it normally ends up being the colour of a digestive biscuit so I'm very particular about that but if I get it right it does set me up for a perfect day what about you how much milk do you have
Well, I don't want to ruin my popularity this early in the show, but I'm actually more of a coffee man. I know. I'll have tea in the evenings. But yeah, more of a coffee man. My mum is a tea addict. So I've seen the addiction in action.
A fellow tea obsessive. I love it. Your mother and I would get on, no doubt.
Yeah, exactly. But I am interested in how particular people are with their tea routines. I've always been a bit of a, you know, just shove some milk in it. But obviously, you know, I'm a southerner living in the north in Manchester. And if I go to make a round of tea for my colleagues at work and I put, you know, just slightly too much milk in, they'll have a massive go at me.
Oh, you're southern softy, can't make a cup of tea. Look at me with contempt.
I know. People have such strong feelings about it, myself included. And perhaps you deserve that contempt. But it is a big part of the British identity. And actually, the anthropologist Kate Fox has written about this in her book, Watching the English.
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Chapter 4: How did the Opium Wars affect tea consumption in Britain?
She said that whenever the English feel awkward or uncomfortable in a social situation, that is almost all the time, they make tea. So totally relatable.
How much does it say that you've got a cup of tea right there?
Right, yeah. I am feeling awkward and uncomfortable. About my company. But the question is, why is tea so important? Did you know, this is an amazing fact, next to water, it's the most consumed beverage in the world.
Yeah, that is pretty remarkable.
So there's a lot of tea drinkers, there's a lot of us out there. But what about in Britain? How did something not native to Britain become intrinsically linked to British identity?
Well, Alice, the anticipation is brewing. Well done. Welcome, everyone, to our new show here for the history from BBC Sounds. In the show, we'll be taking the stereotypes and traditions that make up everyday life and find out their historical origin story. Today, Alice is going to take us through the history of tea and pin down, in her opinion, how we Brits got so obsessed with it.
So, Alice, the kettle's boiling and I'm here for the history.
Chapter one, Royal Tea. Now legend has it, 5,000 years ago, revered Chinese emperor and herbalist, Shennong, was relaxing under a camellia sinensis tree as his servants prepared some boiling water to be drunk. As he did so, a leaf of the tree drifts off the branch and lands in the pot of boiling water. But instead of throwing it away, Shenong takes a sip. He tries this new concoction.
And there we have it. Tea is born.
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Chapter 5: What impact did the Industrial Revolution have on tea drinking habits?
Now, there are a few origin stories of how tea was invented, but this is probably the most famous of all. But if we're going to be looking at the role that tea played in Britain's history, it actually starts much later in the 1600s. So a time of civil wars, Puritans, roughs, people wearing those big wide-brimmed hats, the plagues, the Great Fire of London, that sort of thing.
And we're going to look at the year 1662. The Portuguese princess Catherine of Braganza is sailing through storms and rolling seas. She's in an English fleet travelling from Portugal to England for a pretty big moment in her life. She's going to marry King Charles II of England, who, by the way, at this point, she's never actually met. So pretty full on for her.
The thing about Catherine, though, she's only 23 years old. She grew up next to a nunnery. She's basically had this life of seclusion and strict religious studies. She's got this reputation for being pretty pious and quiet, kind of a mousy figure, you might say.
So if she's quite a shy person, naturally, this must have been a pretty daunting moment, I can imagine. You know, you've got you've got to go over there, marry the king of England. I'd feel the butterflies, I imagine.
Absolutely. And she's this diplomatic pawn in this great tangled web of European politics. The marriage is a great strategic alliance arranged by her father, King John IV of Portugal. And this is quite a common thing at the time for royal families to use marriage as a way to forge these partnerships. Nonetheless, she lands in Portsmouth on the 14th of May. 1662. It's been a terrible journey.
She's been thrown around, tossed about in the sea by the storms. But finally, she steps off the boat, no doubt hugely relieved. And what is the first thing she asks for on dry land? Can you guess?
Surely.
A pint at the local Wetherspoons.
Not quite. Catherine of Braganza asks for a cup of tea.
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Chapter 6: How did tea become a staple for factory workers during the Industrial era?
And unfortunately, much to her disappointment, they don't have one to give her. So though tea had actually already arrived in the UK by this point in the 1650s, and we know this because of the famous diarist Samuel Pepys, it wasn't actually popular yet. So the princess on arrival was offered, you're right, Ben, a small ale instead.
Oh, well, my historical instincts have kicked in there. You laughed. There we go.
She'd love an airport spoons, I'm sure. Now, a week later, Charles II comes down to Portsmouth. And on this day, he meets Catherine of Braganza for the first time and they get married.
Oh, really? So it's not the, you know, big fancy royal wedding we're used to. No offence to Portsmouth, but not the most glamorous location in the world.
Well, it's quite low key, I suppose you might say, but they do go to London later on and they process into London. And, you know, that's a great celebration. Of course, Charles is quite an extravagant man.
Yeah. Well, just to paint a picture of Charles II then for listeners. He's often portrayed in portraits with a big shaggy dark wig going down past his shoulders. And he's known as a bit of a lad, isn't he? He famously reopens the taverns after the Puritans had tried to clamp down fun after the Civil War. But for the purposes of this marriage, his temperament's not great, is it?
Because him and Catherine don't raise any surviving children, do they? And he has quite a lot of illegitimate kids with various mistresses, doesn't he? So he's not the best behaved.
He's got a lot of mistresses and he is known as the king of partying. So they are quite a kind of strange couple in some ways, this mousy girl from Portugal. But nonetheless, the key thing is that Catherine of Braganza, she is the new wife of Charles II and she joins the English court.
And in one sense, she's this great outsider because she's remained a Catholic while the English court's religion is Protestantism. And she dresses in the Portuguese style. She has some quite funny habits, which do actually catch on.
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Chapter 7: What was the significance of tea during World War II in Britain?
She brings the fork in, which is, you know, a useful implement. She introduced marmalade. Again, very grateful for that. But most importantly, she popularizes tea.
Yeah, it's a pretty remarkable influence for one woman, isn't it?
Yeah, thank you.
She's like an early modern Alice Loxton. Great influencer.
Yeah, we're very similar in many ways. Now, as part of her dowry, Portugal provided a chest of tea. And this was already a very popular drink in the Portuguese court. This is partly because Portugal had established trade routes with the Far East and, importantly, China, which is where the tea leaves come from. Now, she serves this tea to her ladies-in-waiting and the ladies at court.
So this sets a trend in England for the elites drinking tea. And we know that she would go and visit aristocratic families and drink tea at their houses, places like Ham House, which is on the outskirts of London on the River Thames, which is a beautiful house.
Oh, have you been there?
I have been there. And I've actually been to the cafe and drunk tea in the cafe. So, you know, repeating Catherine of Brickhands' experiences.
Oh, very good. First-hand research, Alice. I'm impressed.
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Chapter 8: What is the future of tea in British culture today?
Yes. Well, a big moment in the history of tea in Britain comes in 1706 because we get our first tea shop. An exciting moment. And it opened on the Strand, which is where many of the London elites were living after the Great Fire of London. And it was opened by a man called Thomas Twining.
Ah, of twining's tea fame.
Absolutely. Actually, the shop still exists today, which is rather wonderful. But the key thing about the 18th century is that tea at this point was insanely expensive. Right. So this is because it had to be transported from China. That's the only place producing it at the time. And there were these massive taxes on importing it.
OK, so how much are we paying for a cup of tea?
Okay, so by 1707, three and a half ounces of Twining's gunpowder tea, it was called gunpowder tea because they had these tightly rolled leaves that looked like grains of gunpowder. This was sold at a price which would work out today as £160.
OK, that sounds enormously expensive, but I don't really know actually how much three and a half ounces is. What is three and a half ounces in tea?
OK, so three and a half ounces is the same as 100 grams. It's about the same weight as four AA batteries or two medium eggs, if that's helpful.
OK, yeah, yeah, yeah.
100 paperclips. Can you envisage what that looks like?
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