British life is associated with tea. But few people know that the deep origins of tea in the UK are extremely surprising.
Today, tea is a special part of the country’s culture. However, even the British people do not know who is the person who inspired the popularity of tea in their country.
The British people always thank China because this is the origin of the cultivation and harvesting of tea leaves. However, the person who inspired the popularity of tea in England did not come from China, but from a Portuguese woman.
Few people know that the Portuguese inspired tea drinking in England. (Image source: Christopher Furlong/Getty Images).
Going back in time to 1662, Princess Catherine (daughter of King John IV of Portugal) was married to the king of the newly restored dynasty in England – King Charles III. This made her a very important woman: queen of England, Scotland and Ireland.
Portrait of Queen Catherine.
When she moved to England to live with King Charles, she brought tea in her luggage. An interesting legend has it that the boxes of tea she carried were marked as Transporte de Ervas Aromaticas (Portuguese means: to transport aromatic herbs), and abbreviated as TEA From the English word “tea” now called “tea” probably comes from that reason.
However, some linguists believe that the English word “tea” comes from the transliteration of the Chinese word “tea”. Although this story is controversial, one thing is for sure, tea was widely consumed by the Portuguese nobility at the time, due to the country’s direct trade with China through its colonies. mine is Macau.
When Catherine arrived in England, tea was used here, but only as a medicine. The reason is because the price of tea at that time was quite expensive. Britain did not trade directly with China and the few packets of tea the Dutch imported were sold for very high prices. At that time, a pound – about 454g, cost as much as the average worker’s income in a year. Therefore, tea was only available to the most elite, the wealthiest in society.
However, Catherine – a famous queen has a habit of drinking tea every day. “When Catherine married Charles, she became the center of attention–everything from her dress to her belongings became the talk of the court,” said Sarah-Beth Watkins, author of Catherine of Braganza: Charles II’s Restoration Queen shared.
“The fact that she often drank tea made other people drink too. Ladies and gentlemen rushed to follow her, and became close to her.” Gradually, the lower social classes also regularly drank tea, making tea a more popular beverage.
The women quickly copied Catherine’s tea habits.
Today, tea has become a part of British people’s life, even an obsession. However, it is worth mentioning that the British did not create a tea-drinking culture , but just followers.
When tea was brought by the Dutch, the British knew nothing about tea culture. They have no spoons, no drinking cups, no teapots. So the British had to import small porcelain cups, cups, sugar dishes, small teapots and copy the entire tea ceremony from China.
The British copied the Chinese tea ceremony.
If you come to London, you can experience the vanity and style of the old nobility when having afternoon tea at luxury hotels such as Langham Hotel, Ritz Hotel.
You can also find very interesting tea events in Portugal. In the city of Sintra, there is a hotel that is trying to promote the story that Queen Catherine helped popularize tea. That is the Tivoli Palácio de Seteais Sintra hotel. The hotel’s general manager Mario Custódio is running a special Catherine-themed afternoon tea program. “In school, we were not told about this historical story,” Custódio said. “I don’t know anything. Not even the Portuguese people know.”
A common tea party in England.
For Custódio, bringing this little-known piece of history to life will give visitors to the city a special experience.
Now Custódio is working with a historian to serve the tea Catherine used to drink. “We Portuguese want to believe that Catarina is important to tea. I don’t want this historical story to be lost,” Custosdio said.