TALES OF MY FATHER
My Father ……. Jack-of-all-Trades, Master-of-None ……. an enigma
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TALE FIVE: HOW TO MAKE
THE PERFECT CUP OF TEA
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PAGE THREE: THE ENGLISH LOVE AFFAIR WITH TEA
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To the office, where Sir W. Batten, Colonel Slingsby, and I sat awhile, and Sir R. Ford coming to us about some business, we talked together of the interest of this kingdom to have a peace with Spain and a war with France and Holland; where Sir R. Ford talked like a man of great reason and experience. And afterwards I did send for a cup of tee (a China drink) of which I never had drank before, and went away.
From the entry to The Diary of Samuel Pepys (1660-1669), dated 25th September, 1660
Portrait of Samuel Pepys (1633-1703) painted in 1666 by John Hayls (1600-1679)
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Although the consumption of tea in London and the South of England is no longer what it once was, tea is still the beverage of choice in Britain ……. and ……. the British, and the English in particular, are still known for their love of tea.
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The population of Britain has been one of the highest tea consumers in the world since the early 1900s with an average annual per capita tea supply of 4.18 pounds.
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There is an English song, written for the revue Home & Beauty, called A Nice Cup of Tea that describes the pleasure that tea once gave and still gives to many.
A Nice Cup of Tea sung by Miss Binnie Hale (1899-1971)
The song was written by lyricist, Sir Alan Patrick Herbert (1890-1971), and also known as A.P. Herbert, and composer, Henry Sullivan. Miss Hale sang the song in the revue in an accent that was not her usual one and was termed common at the time.
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Miss Binnie Hale
Miss Binnie Hale (1899-1984) was a very successful actress, singer and dancer and appeared on the London stage from the 1920s with her final performance being in 1959. She is best remembered for her roles in No, No Ninette (1925) and Sunny (1926). During the 1930s, she made a number of films, and during the 1950s, had a radio show where she appeared with her brother, Sonny Hale (1902-1959).
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A.P. Herbert
A.P. Herbert was also a Member of Parliament from 1937 to 1950 and was an Independent representing Oxford University. In 1950, University Constituencies were abolished and he left Parliament, but for many years remained involved in the running of the country. During his lifetime, he wrote eight novels, including The Water Gypsies (1930), which was later filmed (1932) and then turned into a musical (1955). He also wrote fifteen plays, poetry and numerous articles. He also worked as a lyricist for several productions presented by the emprisario, Charles B. Cochran (1872-1951), including the musicals Big Ben (1946) and Bless the Bride (1947) and both written with Vivian Ellis (1903-1996). When he died in 1971, The Times said of him that he did more than any man of his day to add to the gaiety of the nation. A Memorial Service was held in St. Martin-in-the-Fields and there are four pages of tributes to him recorded in the Congressional Record of the US House of Representatives.
This is my Lovely Day from the musical Bless the Bride
and sung by Lizbeth Webb (1926-2013) and Georges Guétary (1915-1997)
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Unfortunately I can find no further information on Arthur Sullivan except for his composing the music for the tune, A Nice Cup of Tea.
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The English may well be known for their love of tea, but how did this reputation come about and when did this love affair begin?
It was in 1615 when tea was first mentioned in script and was written by Richard Wickham who was in charge of one of the East India Company offices in Japan. Green Tea from China was first introduced to the Coffee Houses in London just prior to the Restoration of the Monarchy in 1660.
Upon his assumption of the crown, Charles II was presented with some Green Tea brought from Portugal by the East India Company. The King had married Catherine of Braganza (1638-1705) who was a Portuguese noblewoman and a great lover of tea as a beverage, which was already popular in Europe. When her marriage brought Queen Catherine to England, she introduced the drink to court.
Portrait of Catherine of Braganza painted by John Riley (1646-1691) in 1670
Tea soon became accepted by the aristocracy and later by noble and women of society, since up until that time, men were the only drinkers of tea. By 1685, Interest in tea drinking had spread to members of the literary circles.
Black (Top) & Green Tea (Bottom)
By the 1720s, Black Tea had gained popularity over Green Tea, as well as Gin, as had the addition of milk and sugar to the beverage. The quantity of tea imported into the U.K. had increased four-fold between 1720 and 1750, which paralleled that of the growth in sugar imports.
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In 1684, the Twining Family, who were weavers and fulling millers, moved from Gloucestershire to London as a result of the prevailing recession. One of the children, Thomas Twining (1675-1741), was to become a weaver, but soon entered business and worked with a wealthy merchant and became involved in the import of tea. He proved to be successful and was granted the Freedom of the City of London at the young age of 26.
Thomas Twining
In 1706, Thomas Twining purchased Tom’s Coffee House on The Strand, which was ideally placed at the border of the City of London and Westminster, an area now favoured by the aristocracy following The Great Fire of London (1666).
Coffee Houses were very popular at this time and were frequented by men where they drank Coffee, Beer and Gin. Thomas Twining began to serve tea at his establishment, and as its popularity increased, began to sell dry tea to patrons and then to other Coffee Houses. Ladies of refinement did not venture into the Coffee Houses of the day, but since they were eager to drink and serve tea at their salons, they would come to Mr. Twining’s establishment and wait in their carriages while their footmen entered and purchased tea for them.
Twinings, 216 The Strand
By 1717, Mr. Twining purchased three houses adjacent to Tom’s Coffee House and converted them into a shop. Later, when house numbering was introduced, the shop was given the address of 216, The Strand and here Mr. Twining sold dry tea. Twinings has remained at this site for three hundred years and company teas continue to be sold here.
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The Twining Logo was introduced in 1787 and remains in use today. As readers will learn later in this series (see Tale Six), my preferred teas include Twining Ceylon Orange Pekoe, an especially delicious tea with and without milk or lemon.
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In 1741, Thomas Twining died and was buried in the churchyard of St Mary’s Church, Twickenham and his company was next taken over by his son, Daniel.
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In 1837, Twinings was granted a Royal Warrant by Queen Victoria (1819-1901) to supply to tea to the Royal Household and has continue to do so to all successive monarchs. Twinings introduced Tea Bags in 1956, however these had been first introduced into the U.K. by Tetley in 1953. Twinings has been owned by Associated British Foods since 1964.
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I recently learned that Brooke Bond PG Tips, which had been introduced in 1930, is the most popular brand of tea sold in Britain with Twinings and Tetley following. It seems that Tetley and Yorkshire brands are the tea of choice of construction workers on building sites while Twinings is considered the brand of the posh! My father always made his tea with Brooke Bond Dividend Tea, which, as the reader will learn, produces a wonderful cup of tea.
Brooke Bond & Company was initially founded by Arthur Brooke (1845-1918). Mr. Brooke was born in Lancashire and opened his first tea shop in 1869 in Manchester. The Company name, Brooke Bond, was chosen specifically to ensure his customers that it was his Bond to provide them with quality products. The following year, The Company entered the wholesale tea sales business. In 1872, Mr. Brooke moved his business to a blending warehouse in Whitechapel, and again, in 1910 to Goulston Street in Aldgate. Upon his death in 1918, he was succeeded by his son, Gerald (1881-1969) and in his obituary, he was described as a model employer and pioneer of the eight-hour working day. He was also known to pay his workers higher wages than competitors.
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By 1954, the majority of tea sales came from customer purchase of Quarter-Pound Packets with one thousand million such packets being sold that year.
By 1956, the brand was the fourth biggest selling tea in the U.K. In the same year, over 100 million cups of Brooke Bond Teas were drunk each day worldwide and The Company held the largest share in the home market thereby surpassing rival J. Lyons & Company.
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Brooke Bond PG Tips’s Chimpanzees featuring Brooke Bond (Top Left)
In 1955, The Company introduced their first television advertisement using Chimpanzees for its Brooke Bond PG Tips product. These advertisements proved to be very popular with the public and continued until 1993. The Times newspaper stated that these advertisements helped propel Brooke Bond PG Tips past its competitors to becoming number one in tea sales in 1980.
Click here to watch the Chimpanzee-advertisements – 1950s-1990s
According to The Independent newspaper, Louis, the Chimpanzee who played the role of Brooke Bond in the James Bond spoof advertisements shown on U.K. television, passed away in 2013 at the age of 37 at home in the Twycross Zoo in Warwickshire.
Louis (1976-2013)
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Another advertising gimmic employed by the Brooke Bond Company was the addition of Saving Stamps and Picture Cards to the product. Adults collected the Saving Stamps and children eagerly collected the Cards (as did many adults too).
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Since 1984, The Company has been owned by Unilever after what was Unilever’s first hostile takeover.
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Further details on Tea Shops and other brands of Tea make be found by clicking here.
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Although the consumption of tea in Britain has declined over the years, it still remains an extremely popular drink and will remain a part of British culture and society.
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I remember the name Sunny Hale – but nothing of Binnie Hale.
Thank you for the history of Tea Introduction. I did not know coffee was already established before the event of Tea. Which High Society turned into a social event.
Appreciate the History of Tea introduction into our country.
Visit to Aunt Rosie’s has made me chuckle. However, I’m not sure how I would have reacted towards your father if I had met him? As I usually speak my mind – which is not always kindly received. Then again, I did not mind his attitude in France. And your own for striking back with words in French whenever necessary.
Surely when using large tea cups – the tea would be cold nearer half way and the bottom? The ritual I think was standard. (Although your father added adaptions and was a stickler for PERFECTION.) Until the second world war – this had to change as items of every description was in short supply and money was tight.
My grandmother had the self same glass sugar bowl. As a wedding present from my grandmother I received a china tea pot with a chrome insulated cover. Unfortunately, with time and use – the heat left the tea pot full of cracks.
I feel sure tea bags are much weaker than the old fashioned tea leaves. Therefore, will always make a weak cup/mug of tea. And has destroyed the art of Tea making. But tea bags are much more convenient. Such a remark would HORRIFY your father. However, I’m all for modern convenience.
Irene