It first arrived in Britain in the 1650s, when it was served as a novelty in London’s coffee houses. It was an expensive product and one only for the rich and often kept under lock and key. Tea was first advertised in a London Journal c.1660 by Thomas Garway, the owner of a London coffee house and the first to sell and brew tea on the premises
In 1662, the newly restored monarch Charles II married Catherine of Braganza, the daughter of Portugal’s King John IV. Catherine of Braganza who became Queen of England, Scotland and Ireland, had a taste for Chinese tea, known as ‘Tchaa’. When she arrived from Portugal to marry Charles II, she brought with her a casket of tea. Thus tea-drinking became fashionable at the Royal Court.
The king and queen got married on 21 May, and Portugal provided several ships of luxury items as it had been agreed. One of those items included a chest of tea, the favorite drink of the Portuguese Court.
The first tea shop for ladies opened in 1717 by Thomas Twining and slowly tea shops began to appear throughout England making the drinking of teas available to everyone. By the early 18th century, tea was sold in coffeehouses all over the country, and consumed by all classes.
Tea in England
