Tea Rooms Today

Until the late 1600s tea rooms were unknown in Great Britain. It was in the diary of a sailor, William Tuttle, where tea was first mentioned in England. He had returned from the Far East in 1637 with packages of strange and exotic tea leaves to give to friends and relatives.

The East India Company began purchasing tea from Chinese merchants in 1644. Tea was actually sold in coffee houses in England in the late 1600s.

Members of the lower class were the first to consume tea in England on a large scale. They considered this beverage to be a medicinal wonder that could cure headache, vertigo, gallstones, tuberculosis and even syphilis. The upper crust of society approached tea drinking pensively, thinking it to be somewhat immoral.

As tea's popularity grew, the Royal Family began to impose high taxes on it so that only the very wealthy could afford it. Gentlemen began gathering in the coffee houses to drink their tea over talks of politics and world events.

Ladies were not allowed in the coffee houses and tea rooms, but they would buy it from tea sellers for their home. The tea was locked away and only the lady of the house had the key to the tea chest.

Anna, the 7th Duchess of Bedford, feeling a late afternoon hunger before supper, began asking her butler to bring her tea with bread and butter to her chambers. She soon began to invite her friends to join her in her sitting room and the tradition of afternoon tea (low tea) was established.

Taking tea is not just the act of brewing a pot of Earl Grey and filling your cup with the aromatic liquor of the leaf. There are timeless traditions associated with tea. We have hectic schedules and rarely take time to relax. Coffee is a hit and run beverage. How many times have you seen someone with a phone or briefcases in one hand and a paper coffee cup in the other running down the street perhaps to their next appointment.

There are so many traditions associated with tea. Much has been written about the etiquette of afternoon tea. Did you know that a fancy afternoon tea is not high tea, but rather low tea? Have you heard of a ploughman’s tea, meat tea or Devon tea? All you really need to brew a good cup of tea is a kettle and a good infuser and cup or mug, but there are so many different accoutrements and various types of teaware.

The current state of the economy has not been kind to businesses such as tearooms. Though taking tea is, to many of us, a necessity, having a luxurious afternoon tea at a tearoom is considered somewhat of a frill and, unfortunately, one of those things that some people have cut back in their budget, but it's important to keep the tradition of afternoon tea alive.

People go to a tea room with the intent to sit and relax, chat with friends, read a book or browse their laptop leisurely over a cup of tea. Taking tea is a celebration of tranquility, a time to reflect and to give back to your mind and your body that which a busy lifestyle takes away.

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