Adventures of tea in Europe

Initially, tea spread very slowly in Europe, and one of the reasons was the people’s inability to brew it. Each country has its own anecdotes about attempts at making this beverage. An English sailor who sent his mother a pound of tea caused an interesting incident. The mother, wanting to serve her guests an exotic delicacy, boiled all the tea, poured out the bitter brew and served the boiled leaves with the addition of cream.

Another anecdote concerns the Archduchess of Northumberland, Queen Victoria’s tutor. She believed that drinking tea and reading The Times were sins for young ladies, so she banned them for her charge. Shortly after her coronation, on 28 June 1837, Queen Victoria demanded a cup of tea and the latest issue of The Times. When both requests were granted, Victoria said with a smile: “Here at last is proof that I actually rule.”