A New Table Drink from London

A “true trio” is two different shaped, porcelain cups (one for coffee and one for tea) and one matching saucer. This set is circa 1840s. True trios were sold in this manner, as a consumer would conceivably need only need one saucer, as the coffee and tea would not be drunk simultaneously. Etiquipedia has not yet found if a specific gilded age, “coffee-tea” cup was ever invented. 

Coffee-tea, a beverage made from the leaves of the coffee shrub, is a new candidate for popular favor, and would seem to have some advantages over the berry. It has not yet reached this country, save as a chance curiosity, but was recently brought under the notice of the Royal Botanic Society of London. The samples of coffee-tea, or prepared coffee leaves, were grown in the society's conservatory. 

The secretary said it had been estimated that the percentage of theine in the leaves of coffee was 1.26 as against 1.00 in the beans. As the leaves may be easily grown in many parts of the world where it is difficult to insure good crops of coffee beans, he thought it might prove a valuable agricultural product in many warm colonies. At present, he said, only some two millions of men use coffee-tea, in comparison with 110 millions who use the bean, and 500 millions who drink Chinese and Indian tea. — Good Housekeeping Magazine, 1892

Etiquette Enthusiast, Maura J. Graber, is the Site Editor for the Etiquipedia© Etiquette Encyclopedia

Madame de Circourt and Afternoon Tea

 

Tea as an afternoon meal, is thought to have originated in 1837 in the house of Mme. de Circourt, a Russian lady, whose salon in Paris was at that time much frequented by the most intellectual society of day. The fashionable dinner hours were then getting late, and she introduced a 4 o'clock light meal, at which tea was served, creating the custom in Paris of afternoon tea. It was later that Fanny Kemble in “Records of a Girlhood” attributes the introduction of the afternoon meal in England, to Anna, the then Duchess of Bedford. — Public domain image, Wikipedia 

From “Notes and Queries” 1882— On Afternoon Tea - “In a sketch of Comte de Circourt, by Hubert Saladin, the salon of Madame de Circourt comes prominently before us as one of those frequented by the most intellectual society of Paris in 1837. A reviewer in the Revue Britannique for this month suggests that to her (she was a Russian) we are perhaps indebted for the first 5 o’clock teas.” K.H.B.

Madame de Circourt, was born Anastasie Klustine, in Moscow in 1808, to Simon Klustine, an officer of high rank in the Russian army, and the Countess Vera Tolstoi. Intelligent and a natural at linguistics, Anastasie spoke fluent Russian, German, French and English by the age of 16. Her educational studies included religion, ethics, metaphysics, botany, and music, but her health was described as delicate. 

Subsequently, at the age of 18, with her mother, she travelled to Montpellier, Pyrenees and then to Paris to convalesce. ‘It was in Paris during the winter of 1826-27 that she made the acquaintance of Count Adolphe de Circourt’ and they soon married. 

Her later life, and the popularity of her Parisian salon, in which she entertained the most intellectual of society, was covered in author Count Nigra’s book, “Count Cavour and Madame de Circourt: Some Unpublished Correspondence.” It was in her salon that she started the custom of serving afternoon tea, prior to the Duchess of Bedford doing so in England.

For many years, Etiquipedia contributor, Elizabeth Soos, has had a keen interest in cultural customs. With her European background and extensive travel, Soos developed an interest in the many forms of respect and cultural expectations in the countries she has visited. With her 20 years’ experience in customer service within private international companies based in Australia, and her lifetime interest in manners and research, she decided to branch out into the field of etiquette and deportment. Through her self-directed studies and by completing the Train-The-Trainer’s course offered by Emma Dupont’s School of Etiquette in London and by Guillaume Rue de Bernadac at Academie de Bernadac based in Paris and Shanghai, she founded Auersmont School of Etiquette.

Etiquette Enthusiast, Maura J Graber, is the Site Editor for the Etiquipedia© Etiquette Encyclopedia

Tea Etiquette and Use in Early America

 The bitter concoction that New Englanders made with tea was enough to discourage anyone from adopting it. Few knew how to prepare it. Most often they boiled the leaves much too long, and then, after drinking the liquid, they salted the leaves and ate them with butter, as had been done in England in the 1650s. — Pictured above is grouping of Georgian and Regency Era tea equipage, including a rare mote spoon. 
—Photo source, Etiquipedia private library 

“Tea was first brought to America in the late 17th century. At that time cider, ale, and wine were the favorite table drinks, and the bitter concoction that New Englanders made with tea was enough to discourage anyone from adopting it. Few knew how to prepare it. Most often they boiled the leaves much too long, and then, after drinking the liquid, they salted the leaves and ate them with butter, as had been done in England in the 1650s. After New Amsterdam passed into the hands of the English and became New York, it took on English customs, and tea, though still expensive, became more popular.

“At fashionable dinner parties, the ladies withdrew after the meal was finished, and were rejoined later by the gentleman in the parlor. Dessert in the form of fruit, biscuits, or cakes, was then served with tea. Tea was also taken privately in the morning and socially in the afternoon, following the English custom. In the homes of professional men, tea was served with their earlier family supper. And so drinking tea went hand-in-hand with the development of the private and social life of the 18th century. Acquiring the proper equipage and the etiquette for serving tea was the ambition of every housewife with social obligations. And even the very young used dolls’ tea sets in the very serious world of make-believe.” — Patricia Easterbrook Roberts, 1960

Etiquette Enthusiast, Maura J. Graber, is the Site Editor for the Etiquipedia© Etiquette Encyclopedia

American Tea Etiquette in 1980

In the 1880’s, the Meriden Britannia Company of Connecticut came out with a “self-pouring pots” for American tea and coffee drinkers. They were designed to “turn drudgery into pleasure,” “relieve aching arms” and avoid “soiled clothes.” Is it just me? I had always thought 19th century women were made of stronger stock than these silly two illustrated young women, who found pouring tea to be such the “drudgery.” 

Tea drinking was a fast growing American passion in 1980

Americans are not the greatest tea drinkers in the world. The British Isles, where six pounds of tea a person are consumed each year, has that distinction. But tea drinking is a fast growing passion in the United States, according to Sam Twining, export director for R. Twining & Co. Ltd of England. As ambassador-at-large for England's oldest tea company (1706 is the founding date) and the ninth generation of his family to join the business, Twining has acquired a large store of knowledge about his favorite beverage. And the thing he would most like to tell Americans, he said in a recent interview over a cup of tea, is that to make a proper cup of tea it is very important to have a proper tea pot. 

An examination of the pots on sale in American outlets has convinced him that Americans are as likely as not to end up with a perfectly dreadful pot, regardless of the cost, unless they learn a few things beforehand. A proper tea pot is one which pours without dripping. Its handle is designed so that the fingers go round it without touching the pot which is certain to be hot. The handle should be made separately and put on afterward so that it stays cool to the touch. 

The lid should have a little lug so it doesn't fall off when you pour the tea. Or, the lid may be hinged onto the pot itself to accomplish the same purpose. So that air can get in when tea is poured, there should be a tiny pinhole in the spout. If it isn’t there, a full teapot will create a kind of vacuum so that it is difficult to pour. A built-in strainer at the base of the spout is necessary to catch the tea leaves before they reach your cup. 

A tea pot may be made of earthenware, silver, stainless steel, glass or porcelain. All are excellent materials and impart no aftertaste to the liquid. Aluminum and enamelled cast iron, which chips easily, are not good teapot material. Aluminum turns tea blue and contact with iron turns it bitter and black, says Twining. Most English families have at least two tea pots, a small one with enough for two or three cups and a large pot, holding enough for at least six. “The brown earthenware pot, which we English call a ‘brown betty,’ makes a great cup of tea. It’s excellent for morning tea. But if I were giving an afternoon tea party, I think I’d prefer to pour from a delicate porcelain pot or a silver one that is more graceful,” said Twining. 

Regardless of the type of pot used, make sure it is clean. “The idea that a layer of built-up tannin in the pot contributes to the taste of the tea is disastrous,” he added. “The best tea is made in a pristine tea pot.” For Twining that does not mean that a pot has to be scrubbed to a fare-thee-well with soap or detergent. He advocates a brief rinse in clean water after each use and a regular, four-hour soaking with water and about a teaspoonful of bicarbonate of soda once a month. 

The English regulate the strength of their tea by the addition of more, or less, hot water. A tea pot and a companion jug of boiled water appear together on the tea tray. Unlike coffee, which tends to get more bitter through the day as it sits, tea stops brewing when the water turns cool. In most pots, this means after about seven minutes. Since the tea is not going to get bitter, unless it is reheated with the leaves, an individual does not have to remove the tea leaves from the pot before serving.

As a nation of coffee drinkers, Americans may not know that coffee cups and tea cups have classically different shapes. The tea cup is narrow at the bottom and wider at the top to emit the bouquet of the tea and to permit rapid cooling, A coffee cup is taller and narrower, said Twining. 

As for accessories for the tea-drinking ritual, Twining is for some, against others. He is against tea cosies, those fabric covers designed to keep the tea pot hot. Why? Tea is supposed to stop brewing when the water cools down. By keeping the water hotter longer, the cosy leads to stewed tea, he said. He does like a new filter pot that accommodates a filter paper and in effect allows the tea brewer to make his own giant tea bag. A lemon squeezer that works like a garlic press is another item of which he approves. 

English tea the meal taken about 5 p.m. each day varies from season to season. In summer, a thin tea such as Lapsong Souchong might be served with cucumber sandwiches or lettuce sandwiches and a light sponge cake. In winter, a strong tea such as Earl Grey would accompany toasted crumpets, hot toast, jam and honey, tea sandwiches, fruit cake and scones. 

Special among famous English teas are cream or Devonshire cream teas and strawberry teas. A cream tea consists of scones, butter, Devonshire or clotted cream, and strawberry jam plus tea. A strawberry tea includes fresh strawberries and Devonshire cream plus tea. Strawberry and cream teas are often taken in small country inns and tea shops, added Twining. — By Barbara Mayer AP Newsfeatures 

Etiquette Enthusiast, Maura J Graber, is the Site Editor for the Etiquipedia© Etiquette Encyclopedia

Etiquette and Tea Cup Handles

The handle of the teacup came from Mediterranean lands. Originally it a was made of thick and strong earthenware and applied to heavy jars and lamps. Its decorative possibilities popularized it with Greek and Roman potters, who extended its use to small amphorae and flagons; but as the word “amphora” indicates, the handle was double. Single handles crept into use by slow degrees and were probably applied to drinking cups about the time that coffee came into vogue in Southern Europe — Shown above, a variety of antique cups and saucers designed for hot chocolate, but appropriate for tea or coffee, as well.

The First Tea Cups... They Had No Handles, and Saucers Were Used as Covers

In the middle of the seventeenth century, tea was introduced into England, and with it came the Chinese or “china” tea cup. Strangely enough, the men who imported it from the orient did not themselves understand the method of  itsuse. The Chinese put a pinch of tea into a large cup without a handle, filled it with boiling water and then inverted a saucer over the receptacle, within whose rim it closely fitted. The object was partly to retain the heat, but chiefly to prevent the escape of the fragrance of the herb, which the Chinese found most delicious. The infusion was permitted to stand for five minutes, when 

it was decanted into a second cup without a saucer and daintily sipped. 

John Bull, however, emphatically declined to take his tea in Chinese fashion. He liked the appearance of the ornamental ware upon his table, but be insisted on placing the cup in the saucer, like a miniature flowerpot, and used it exclusively to drink from, preparing the beverage in a common, instead of an individual, receptacle. In course of time, England began the manufacture of cups and saucers, and pictures which have been preserved from the days of the Stuarts show big, flaring cups, four inches across the top, with saucers less than three inches in diameter. By degrees one dwindled and the other expanded, until in the middle of the nineteenth century the opposite extreme was reached, and fashionable tea services had cups only an inch and a half in diameter accompanied by five inch saucers. 

The handle of the teacup came from Mediterranean lands. Originally it a was made of thick and strong earthenware and applied to heavy jars and lamps. Its decorative possibilities popularized it with Greek and Roman potters, who extended its use to small amphorae and flagons; but as the word “amphora” indicates, the handle was double. Single handles crept into use by slow degrees and were probably applied to drinking cups about the time that coffee came into vogue in southern Europe, the beverage being taken almost at the boiling point, so that some device for lifting the cup without burning the fingers was found desirable. Traveling slowly northward, the one-handled coffee cup finally reached Great Britain, where its merits were immediately recognized. It was not long before handles were applied to drinking vessels of every description. —London Tatler, 1914

Etiquette Enthusiast, Maura J Graber, is the Site Editor for the Etiquipedia© Etiquette Encyclopedia

Etiquette and a Dish of Tea

         
 

A Dish of Tea

“Dish” throughout the eighteenth century was a colloquialism for cup. In fashionable houses at first, and for long, tea was drunk from a cup without a handle brought from China. The vessel was termed a “dish.” When the Chinese cup was first copied by English potters, the convenience of a handle was added. 

The deep saucer from a beautiful Samuel Alcock “True Trio” — A true trio is two different shaped, porcelain cups (one for coffee and one for tea) and one matching saucer, circa 1840s. True trios were sold in this manner, as a consumer would conceivably need only need one saucer, as the coffee and tea would not be drunk simultaneously.

The saucer also was brought from China. It received the name because of its resemblance to the English saucer, a platter in which sauce was served. The familiar gibe, “saucer eyes,” was originally inspired by the sauce saucer, long before Lord Arlington gave the first “tea party” in England in Arlington House, where Buckingham Palace stands, at the Restoration period. — London Chronicle, 1913

Etiquette Enthusiast, Maura J Graber, is the Site Editor for the Etiquipedia© Etiquette Encyclopedia

‘High Tea,’ an Actress and a Duchess

Fanny Kemble in “Records of a Girlhood” attributes the introduction of the afternoon meal into this country, to the then Duchess of Bedford. Fanny Kemble paid a visit to Belvoir Castle in March, 1842, and she relates how a mysterious invitation was received to the Duchess’ private rooms, where she found a small group of friends partaking of tea in a private and rather shame-faced way... —Fanny Kemble was not only a notable British actress in the early and mid-19th century, but she was a well-known and popular writer. —Photo, public domain

“High tea” is said to be of American origin. The earliest mention of it, according to Dr. Murray, goes no further back than 1850. In fact, tea as an afternoon meal, is not much older. It is thought to have originated in 1837 in the house of Mme. de Circourt, a Russian lady, whose salon in Paris was at that time much frequented by the most intellectual society of day. The fashionable dinner hours were then getting late, and she introduced a 4 o'clock light meal, at which tea was served.

Fanny Kemble in “Records of a Girlhood” attributes the introduction of the afternoon meal into this country, to the then Duchess of Bedford. Fanny Kemble paid a visit to Belvoir Castle in March, 1842, and she relates how a mysterious invitation was received to the Duchess’ private rooms, where she found a small group of friends partaking of tea in a private and rather shame-faced way, and dates the 5 o’clock meal from this time. But it was several years later that the practice became general.—London Chronicle, 1904

Etiquette Enthusiast, Maura J Graber, is the Site Editor for the Etiquipedia©️ Etiquette Encyclopedia

Memories of British Tea Drinking

There are many ways to enjoy tea. Curling up by the fireplace on a cloudy afternoon with a cup of tea can be the highlight of the day. Just because it’s solitary tea doesn’t mean it should be dreary. Arrange some light food in a plate, make it look pretty and enjoy this quiet time by yourself. Kids can also entertain themselves with tea just like the young children in the “Mary Poppins” or “Alice in Wonderland” classic movies. 

Brewing the Perfect Cuppa 

(tea, that is)

To some, drinking a cup of tea is a ritual. To others, it is simply a time to spend a soothing afternoon with friends. Quite easily, visions of scones, strawberry jam, wafer-thin sandwiches and china cups come to mind. Regardless of what images partaking of tea evokes, people have long been fascinated by this charming custom. The popularity of drinking tea has both diminished and flourished since the Chinese discovered it as a suitable beverage about 4,000 years ago. According to legend, Emperor Shen Nung, who was known as the Divine Healer, made it a habit to drink only boiled water after determining that those who did were sick less often. One day, sitting by a tea bush, some tea leaves found their way into his pot. Seeing that the resulting aroma was pleasant, Nung drank his first cup of tea. But it wasn’t until the 16th century that tea was introduced to Europe by Portuguese merchants who brought silks, spices and other Eastern items into the continent. 

While other European countries found tea flavorless in the mid-1600s, England and Russia found it soothing and relaxing. In the 17th century, tea drinking found its spot in English coffee houses. By the mid-1700s, tea gardens emerged. These lush, landscaped gardens were a meeting ground for the fashionable to chat, drink tea and gossip. By the end of the century, however, tea gardens were less prevalent and tea drinking developed into an at-home activity in England. What is now known as afternoon tea can be attributed to Anna, Duchess of Bedford, who realized this ritual was a way to satisfy her appetite during the void between lunch and dinner.

In those days, a day’s worth of meals consisted of a substantial breakfast, a light lunch and a heavy dinner late in the evening. Feeling a bit faint around five o’clock, the Duchess resorted to drinking tea and petite sandwiches to make it to dinner. This sort of “afternoon tea” is quite a contrast to the “high tea” served then in working class homes where hearty cold meats, breads and cheeses were served when the men returned home from work. Although Coronadan Jan Lichty hasn’t lived in England since 1939, her memories of having tea are still fresh in her mind. “The tea I remember, was with the dainty little cups, cucumber sandwiches and wafer-thin sandwiches,” Lichty said. “As children, we had tea, milky tea, with cakes and snacks.” 

“Don’t forget the war changed everything,” she said. “It was a different world then.” Barbara Taylor, a Coronado resident for most of her adult life, remembers growing up in war-torn England and having tea with her family. During the war, Taylor said a lot of English families would sit down for breakfast with a cup of tea and other breakfast items. At school. Taylor would have a heavy meal with tea at mid-day. After school, Taylor would come home to find tea, bread and butter, jams and cakes to share with her parents and sister. Sometimes, cheese or egg dishes made their way onto the table. “Five o’clock was quite a typical time for an English (working class) family to have tea,” Taylor remarked. 

Sarah O’Sullivan, who grew up in the southwest region of England, also remembers sitting around the dinner table and having traditional tea with scones, clotted cream and jam. “That’s extremely fattening,” she joked. “It’s one of the things we miss here.” Like Taylor, O’Sullivan recalls having a hearty lunch at mid-day and coming home for tea around 5 p.m. She used to come home for lunch at times, since her Dad owned a shop nearby and could join them. “It was nice because it was family time, we all sat down together,” O'Sullivan recalled. “Times have changed a bit now in England," Taylor pointed out. “Customs have shifted somewhat.” Most men are no longer able to come home from work at mid-day to have their cooked meal with tea. That tradition has slowly faded. “England is much more like America, more on the run,” added O’Sullivan, who’s been living in Coronado for the past two years. Her husband, who is part of the Royal Navy, is on an exchange with the U.S. Navy. Nowadays, O’Sullivan and her family have their main meal in the evening when her husband returns from work. “Sunday is the closest you get to having an afternoon tea.” 

Taylor, who travels to England frequently, still drinks tea for breakfast but now has a lighter lunch. She continues to drink her afternoon tea around 4 p.m. everyday before her evening meal. “I think it gives you a lift,” she said. “It’s a shame more people don’t stop and take a break at 4 o’clock in the afternoon,’’ Having a cup of tea in the afternoon brings back fond memories for Shelia Davis Lawrence who recalls quiet afternoons drinking tea with her grandmother. “I guess it’s a quiet time in the afternoon, a more gracious time,” Lawrence said, “It can grow into an interesting past-time as an adult.” Lawrence added that she sees drinking tea as an activity for all occasions, not as something stuffy. 

There are many ways to enjoy tea. Curling up by the fireplace on a cloudy afternoon with a cup of tea can be the highlight of the day. Just because it’s solitary tea doesn’t mean it should be dreary. Arrange some light food in a plate, make it look pretty and enjoy this quiet time by yourself. Kids can also entertain themselves with tea just like the young children in the “Mary Poppins” or “Alice in Wonderland” classic movies. Tea for two? This is a great opportunity for a couple to cozy up together and share a romantic time together. Power teas are also catching on in hotels worldwide. They’re a great way to top off power breakfasts and power lunches for busy executives. What better way to spend an afternoon with friends than to throw a tea party. Delicate snacks, a good pot of tea and stimulating conversation are sure to be a success. 

“The properness of tea is not in the elegance of the implements or delicacies of the food—it’s how food is served,” Lawrence said. It is this hospitality and graciousncss as a hostess that Lawrence finds pleasing when having tea. Prompted by her memories as a young girl, Lawrence recently invited a group of Brownies for tea at Crown Manor. The experience to share tea with these young girls was something Lawrence said she cherished. “It’s like passing on a part of history.” Lawrence, like many others, prefers tea to coffee, yet drinking coffee has seen a rise in popularity with the British—for all the wrong reasons though. “My husband has learned to like coffee because he can’t stand the American tea,” noted O'Sullivan. Lichty, however, rarely drinks tea anymore because it’s more convenient to make coffee. 

“Once in a blue moon (I drink tea),” Lichty said. “But if I want to make the effort to do tea, I want to do it right ” Which brings to mind the ubiquitous tea bag, which dates back to 1904 when Thomas Sullivan, a New York tea merchant, started sending his customers samples of his teas in silk pouches. The idea caught on because of its practicality and has even been accepted now in England, according to Taylor. However, it is the way tea is served in many American restaurants that has given tea bags a bad reputation. O'Sullivan said she will never forget the first time she came across tea in the United States. A waitress at a restaurant brought a jug of lukewarm water to her table with tea bags next to it. “I thought, ‘This isn’t tea’,” O’Sullivan said with a laugh. “It tastes peculiar when the water’s not boiling.” Lichty’s great aunt also had a funny encounter with tea bags when they first came out in England years ago. Lichty remembers her great aunt cutting out the top of the tea bag and pouring the tea leaves into the cup. “She tipped it out, she didn’t know any better until I showed her how to do it,” Lichty said. — Stories by Karen Koehler, Coronado Eagle and Journal Reporter, 1991

Etiquette Enthusiast, Maura J Graber, is the Site Editor for the Etiquipedia©️ Etiquette Encyclopedia

A Duchess of Industriousness

The Duchess of Bedford as depicted in Julian Fellowes’ latest period drama, “Belgravia.” 
—————
“When Mrs Trenchard arrives at the grand home of the Duchess of Bedford (pictured played by Naomi Frederick) - the first scene set in London's Belgravia, 26 years after the Battle of Waterloo - she informs her host she is ‘so interested by your invention of afternoon tea’”—From DailyMail.UK

Of English and American Girls

An English traveler writes she can assure you that, having lived in different castles and manor-houses of Great Britain, and been accustomed to the industrious habits of duchesses and countesses, I was utterly astonished at the idleness of American fine ladies. No Englishwoman of rank (with the exception of a few parvenues), from the Queen downward, would remain for one half hour unemployed, or sit in a rocking-chair unless seriously ill. 

They almost all, with hardly an exception, copy the business letters of their husbands, fathers or brothers; attend minutely to the wants of the poor around them, and even take part in their amusements and sympathize with their sorrows; visit and superintend the schools; work in their own gardens; see to their household concerns; think about their visitors; look over the weekly accounts, not only of domestic expenses, but often those of the farm and estate; manage penny clubs in conjunction with the working classes, to help them to keep themselves; and with all these occupations, by early hours, they keep up their acquaintance with the literature and politics of the day, and cultivate the accomplishments of music and drawing, and often acquire, besides, some knowledge of scientific pursuits. 

The late Marchioness of Lansdowne was so well acquainted with the cottagers in her neighborhood, that she used to visit and look at the corpses of the dead, because she found that her doing so soothed and comforted the bereaved. I have known her to shut herself up with a mad woman in her poor dwelling, who used to lock the door and could not be induced to admit any one else. Lady Lansdowne’s only daughter used one hundred guineas (given her by her father-in-law, Lord Suffolk, to buy a bracelet,) to build pig-styes, with his permission, at her husband’s little country residence, she educates her own children without assistance —teaching the boys Latin and the girls all the usual branches of education. 

It is said that Anna, 7th Duchess of Bedford invented afternoon tea sometime during the 1840s. Although her simple pot of tea with a light snack was originally introduced to counteract her hunger pangs, it soon developed into a popular social occasion among the fashionable classes. Now we know she was much more industrious than history has given her credit for!

The late Duchess of Bedford, I accidentally discovered when on a visit to Woburn, had for thirty years of her married life, risen at 6 o’clock, Summer and Winter, lit her own fire, made some tea for the Duke and herself, and then, as he wrote his own letters of business, she copied them, and they, came down to a large party of guests at 10 o’clock, to dispense breakfast, without saying one word of their morning avocations; so that you might have been a visitor at the house without finding out that the Duke or Duchess had transacted the necessary business of the day before, perhaps, you had risen. I rather mention those that are gone to their reward than write of women still among us ; but you may believe me when I say that I am constantly among those who live such lives of energy and usefulness, but they so employ themselves without ostentation or an idea that they are doiug more than their simple duty. — The Christian Witness, 1872

Etiquette Enthusiast, Maura J Graber, is the Site Editor for the Etiquipedia©️ Etiquette Encyclopedia 

Lord Melbourne’s Tea Etiquette

Lord Melbourne (1779-1848) was British Prime Minister on two occasions. The first  ended when he was dismissed by King William IV in 1834. He was the last British PM to be dismissed by a Monarch. Six months later he was re-appointed and served for six more years. He is best remembered for being Prime Minister in Queen Victoria’s early years. He coached her in the ways of politics, acting almost as a private secretary and confidante. – Public domain image

Manners at Tea Drinking

On one point at least we may congratulate ourselves, and that is on the improvement in tea table manners. Some old fashioned folk used to signalize the conclusion of their tea drinking by turning the cup upside down in the saucer. In other circles, the recognized sign of a disinclination for more tea was the placing of the spoon in the cup instead of in the saucer. 

When the Queen's first Prime Minister, Lord Melbourne, was a lad, residing at Glasgow in the house of one of the university professors —about the end of the last century—he wrote to his mother an account of the Glasgow table manners. “We drink healths at dinner,” he writes, “hand round the cake at tea and desire to have no more exactly in the same manner that we used to behave at Hatfield, at Eton and at Cambridge.”— All the Year Round, 1893

Etiquette Enthusiast, Maura J Graber, is the Site Editor for the Etiquipedia© Etiquette Encyclopedia 

Mote Spoon Etiquette and Usage

The skimming was done by the “tea-blender,” usually the most presentable house-maid or parlor maid, who had charge of the tea-table equipment, preparing the tea and handing a cup of tea to each guest and member of the family. Unless on formal occasions, however, mote-skimming was each individual’s own concern. Modern day usage and etiquette would have the honored guest at an afternoon tea— one who has been asked to pour — to use the mote spoon for skimming any pieces of tea leaf floating in a tea cup. 

The Georgian tea equipage usually included a tea strainer or mote-skimmer, “mote” being the old English word for a minute particle of foreign matter in food or drink. This dainty little tool was like a long-handled spoon. The barbed or point on its slender stem, was used for clearing the perforations at the base of the tea spout, and the bowl patterned with perforations, for skimming the infusion in the cup.

The London Gazette for 1697, refers to long or ‘strainer’ teaspoons, with narrow pointed handles. They were known as “long teaspoons” throughout Queen Anne's reign. The bowl had rat-tail strengthening and circular perforations. Saw pierced bowls, lacking the rat-tail, were of the Georgian era. Early examples were sold en suite with the teaspoons.

It has been suggested that the contemporary tea-pot spout was usually too boldly curved for the spear-topped stem to be thrust down it. This suggestion overlooks the fact that the juncture of spout and body was protected by a perforated tea leaf strainer.

At that period, according to John Worlidge and other contemporary writers, the tea leaves were dried whole. After two or three minutes infusion in the pot, “the leaves spread out to their former breadth and shape” and were liable to block up the perforations, obstructing the flow of the tea into the spout. The sphere knop of the mote-skimmer was used to remove these from inside the perforations.

Another widespread misapprehension concerns the perforations in the bowl of the mote skimmer. Some collectors consider these too large to collect tea dust. In this connection, it must be remembered that Georgian tea contained all the foreign matter now extracted by mechanical means. Such as floating on the cup of tea, (the motes) could be removed in the skimmer bowl.

The skimming was done by the “tea-blender,” usually the most presentable house-maid or parlor maid, who had charge of the tea-table equipment, preparing the tea and handing a cup of tea to each guest and member of the family. Unless on formal occasions, however, mote-skimming was each individual's own concern. 

Giant specimens (of mote spoons) usually bear George III hallmarks and were designed for use with contemporary tea urns. Some collectors of strainer spoons express their belief that they were used in France as snail spoons, shell-fish spoons and absinthe spoons. While somewhat resembling the mote-skimmer, such spoons show certain dissimilarities of design in keeping with their different purposes. - From “1500-1820: Three Centuries of English Domestic Silver,” by Bernard and Therle Hughs, 1952

Etiquette Enthusiast, Maura J Graber, is the Site Editor for the Etiquipedia©️ Etiquette Encyclopedia 

Georgian Tea and Beverage Etiquette

A copy of Marie Antoinette’s “trembleuse” for drinking hot chocolate. The wealthy could afford to drink chocolate and have the proper accoutrements for drinking it. – “By about mid-17th century the new beverages were being drunk in England, and by the 1690’s were being sold in New England. At first chocolate was. preferred, but coffee, being somewhat cheaper, soon replaced it and in England gave rise to a number of public places of refreshment known as coffee houses. Coffee was, of course, the primary drink of these establishments, but that tea also was available is indicated by an advertisement that appeared in an English newspaper in 1658.”

In 18th-century America, the pleasant practice of taking tea at home was an established social custom with a recognized code of manners and distinctive furnishings. Pride was taken in a correct and fashionable tea table whose equipage included much more than teapot, cups, and saucers. It was usually the duty of the mistress to make and pour the tea; and it was the duty of the guests to be adept at handling a teacup and saucer and to provide social “chitchat.” Because of the expense and time involved, the tea party was limited to the upper classes; consequently, such an affair was a status symbol. The cocktail party of the 20th century has, perhaps, replaced the tea party of the 18th century as a social custom, reflecting the contrast between the relaxed atmosphere of yesterday with the hurried pace of today.

The Americans “use much tea,” noted the Abbé Robin during his visit to this country in 1781. “The greatest mark of civility and welcome they can show you, is to invite you to drink it with them.” Tea was the social beverage of the 18th century; serving it was a sign of politeness and hospitality, and drinking it was a custom with distinctive manners and specific equipment. Most discussions of the commodity have dealt only with its political, historical, or economic importance; however, in order to understand the place tea holds in this country’s past, it also is important to consider the beverage in terms of the social life and traditions of the Americans. As the Abbé Robin pointed out, not only was tea an important commodity on this side of the Atlantic, but the imbibing of it was an established social practice.

An examination of teatime behavior and a consideration of what utensils were used or thought appropriate for tea drinking are of help in reconstructing and interpreting American history as well as in furnishing and re-creating interiors of the period, thus bringing into clearer focus the picture of daily life in 18th-century America. For these reasons, and because the subject has received little attention, the present study has been undertaken.

Tea had long been known and used in the Orient before it was introduced into Europe in the early part of the 17th century. At about the same time two other new beverages appeared, chocolate from the Americas and coffee from the Near East. The presence of these commodities in European markets is indicative of the vigorous exploration and active trade of that century, which also witnessed the successful settlement of colonies in North America. By about mid-17th century the new beverages were being drunk in England, and by the 1690’s were being sold in New England. At first chocolate was preferred, but coffee, being somewhat cheaper, soon replaced it and in England gave rise to a number of public places of refreshment known as coffee houses. Coffee was, of course, the primary drink of these establishments, but that tea also was available is indicated by an advertisement that appeared in an English newspaper in 1658. One of the earliest advertisements for tea, it announced:

“That Excellent, and by all Physitians approved, China Drink, called by the Chineans, Tcha, by other nations Tay alias Tee, is sold at the Sultaness-head, a Cophee-house in Sweetings Rents by The Royal Exchange, London.”

For a time tea was esteemed mainly for its curative powers, which explains why it was “by all Physitians approved.” According to an English broadside published in 1660, the numerous contemporary ailments which tea “helpeth” included “the headaches, giddiness, and heaviness.” It was also considered “good for colds, dropsies and scurvies and [it] expelleth infection. It prevents and cures agues, surfeits and fevers.” By the end of the 17th century, however, tea’s medicinal qualities had become secondary to its fashionableness as a unique drink. Tea along with the other exotic and novel imports from the Orient such as fragile porcelains, lustrous silks, and painted wallpapers had captured the European imagination. Though the beverage was served in public pleasure gardens as well as coffee houses during the early 1700’s in England, social tea drinking in the home was gradually coming into favor.  

The coffee houses continued as centers of political, social, and literary influence as well as of commercial life into the first half of the 19th century, for apparently Englishmen preferred to drink their coffee in public rather than private houses and among male rather than mixed company. This was in contrast to tea, which was drunk in the home with breakfast or as a morning beverage and socially at afternoon gatherings of both sexes, as we see in the painting ‘An English Family at Tea’. As tea drinking in the home became fashionable, both host and hostess took pride in a well-appointed tea table, for a teapot of silver or fragile blue-and-white Oriental porcelain with matching cups and saucers and other equipage added prestige as well as elegance to the teatime ritual.

At first the scarcity and expense of the tea, the costly paraphernalia used to serve it, and the leisure considered necessary to consume it, limited the use of this commodity to the upper classes. For these reasons, social tea drinking was, understandably, a prestige custom. One becomes increasingly aware of this when looking at English paintings and prints of the early 18th century, such as Family Group, painted by Gawen Hamilton about 1730. Family members are portrayed in the familiar setting of their own parlor with its paneled walls and comfortable furnishings. Their pet, a small dog, surveys the scene from a resting place on a corner of the carpet. Teatime appears to have just begun, for cups are still being passed around and others on the table await filling from the nearby porcelain teapot. It seems reasonable to assume, since the painting is portraiture, that the family is engaged in an activity which, although familiar, is considered suitable to the group’s social position and worthy of being recorded in oil. That tea drinking was a status symbol also is indicated by the fact that the artist has used the tea ceremony as the theme of the picture and the tea table as the focal point. 

Eighteenth-century pictures and writings are basic source materials for information about Anglo-American tea drinking. A number of the pictures are small-scale group or conversation piece paintings of English origin in which family and friends are assembled at tea, similar to Family Group, and they provide pictorial information on teatime modes and manners. The surroundings in which the partakers of tea are depicted also reveal information about the period and about the gracious living enjoyed in the better homes.Paneled walls and comfortable chairs, handsome chests and decorative curtains, objects of ceramic and silver and glass, all were set down on canvas or paper with painstaking care, and sometimes with a certain amount of artistic license. A careful study of these paintings provides an excellent guide for furnishing and reconstructing period rooms and exhibits, even to the small details such as objects on mantels, tables, and chests, thus further documenting data from newspapers, journals, publications, and writings of the same period.

In America, as in England, tea had a rather limited use as a social beverage during the early 1700’s. Judge Samuel Sewall, the recorder-extraordinary of Boston life at the turn of the 17th century, seems to have mentioned tea only once in his copious diary. In the entry for April 15, 1709, Sewall wrote that he had attended a meeting at the residence of Madam Winthrop where the guests “drunk Ale, Tea, Wine.” At this time ale and wine, in contrast to tea, were fairly common drinks. Since tea and the equipment used to serve it were costly, social tea drinking was restricted to the prosperous and governing classes who could afford the luxury. The portrayal of the rotund silver teapot and other tea-drinking equipment in such an American painting as Susanna Truax, done by an unknown painter in 1730, indicates that in this country as in England not only was the tea ceremony of social importance but also that a certain amount of prestige was associated with the equipage. And, the very fact that an artist was commissioned for a portrait of this young girl is suggestive of a more than ordinary social status of the sitter and activity depicted.

In Susanna Truax, an American painting dates 1730, on a beige, marble-like table top beside Susanna – who wears a dress of red, black, and white stripes– are a fashionable silver teapot and white ceramic cup, saucer and sugar dish. 

English customs were generally imitated in this country, particularly in the urban centers. Of Boston, where he visited in 1740, Joseph Bennett observed that “the ladies here visit, drink tea and indulge every little piece of gentility to the height of the mode and neglect the affairs of their families with as good grace as the finest ladies in London.” English modes and manners remained a part of the social behavior after the colonies became an independent nation. Visitors to the newly formed United States were apt to remark about such habits as tea drinking, as did Brissot de Warville in 1788, that “in this, as in their whole manner of living, the Americans in general resemble the English.” Therefore, it is not surprising to find that during the 18th century the serving of tea privately in the morning and socially in the afternoon or early evening was an established custom in many households. 

The naturalist Peter Kalm, during his visit to North America in the mid-18th century, noted that tea was a breakfast beverage in both Pennsylvania and New York. From the predominantly Dutch town of Albany in 1749 he wrote that “their breakfast is tea, commonly without milk.” At another time, Kalm stated: With the tea was eaten bread and butter or buttered bread toasted over the coals so that the butter penetrated the whole slice of bread. In the afternoon about three o’clock tea was drunk again in the same fashion, except that bread and butter was not served with it. This tea-drinking schedule was followed throughout the colonies. In Boston the people “take a great deal of tea in the morning,” have dinner at two o’clock, and “about five o’clock they take more tea, some wine, madeira [and] punch," reported the Baron Cromot du Bourg during his visit in 1781. The Marquis de Chastellux confirms his countryman’s statement about teatime, mentioning that the Americans take “tea and punch in the afternoon.”

During the first half of the 18th century the limited amount of tea available at prohibitively high prices restricted its use to a proportionately small segment of the total population of the colonies. About mid-century, however, tea was beginning to be drunk by more and more people, as supplies increased and costs decreased, due in part to the propaganda and merchandising efforts of the East India Company. According to Peter Kalm, tea, chocolate, and coffee had been “wholly unknown” to the Swedish population of Pennsylvania and the surrounding area before the English arrived, but in 1748 these beverages “at present constitute even the country people’s daily breakfast.” A similar observation was made a few years later by Israel Acrelius: Tea, coffee, and chocolate are so general as to be found in the most remote cabins, if not for daily use, yet for visitors, mixed with Muscovado, or raw sugar. America was becoming a country of tea drinkers. Then, in 1767, the Townshend Act imposed a duty  on tea, among other imported commodities. Merchants and citizens in opposition to the act urged a boycott of the taxed articles. A Virginia woman, in a letter to friends in England, wrote in 1769: ... I have given up the Article of Tea, but some are not quite so tractable; however if wee can convince the good folks on your side the Water of their Error, wee may hope to see happier times.

In spite of the tax many colonists continued to indulge in tea drinking. By 1773 the general public, according to one Philadelphia merchant, “can afford to come at this piece of luxury” while one-third of the population “at a moderate computation, drink tea twice a day.” It was at this time, however, that efforts were made to enforce the English tea tax and the result was that most famous of tea parties, the “Boston Tea Party.” Thereafter, an increasing number of colonists abstained from tea drinking as a patriotic gesture. Philip Fithian, a tutor at Nomini Hall, the Virginia plantation of Col. Robert Carter, wrote in his journal on Sunday, May 29, 1774: 

After dinner we had a Grand & agreeable Walk in & through the Gardens—There is great plenty of Strawberries, some Cherries, Goose berries &c.—Drank Coffee at four, they are now too patriotic to use tea. And indeed they were patriotic, for by September the taste of tea almost had been forgotten at Nomini Hall, as Fithian vividly recounted in his journal: Something in our palace this Evening, very merry happened—Mrs. Carter made a dish of Tea. At Coffee, she sent me a dish—& the Colonel both ignorant—He smelt, sipt—look’d—At last with great gravity he asks what’s this?—Do you ask Sir—Poh!—And out he throws it splash a sacrifice to Vulcan. Other colonists, in their own way, also showed their distaste for tea. Shortly before the outbreak of the American Revolution there appeared in several newspapers an expression of renouncement in rhyme, “A Lady’s Adieu to Her Tea-Table” (below), which provides a picture of contemporary teatime etiquette and equipage.

A Lady’s Adieu to Her Tea-Table

FAREWELL the Tea-board with your gaudy attire, 

Ye cups and ye saucers that I did admire; 

To my cream pot and tongs I now bid adieu; 

That pleasure’s all fled that I once found in you. 

Farewell pretty chest that so lately did shine, 

With hyson and congo and best double fine; 

Many a sweet moment by you I have sat, 

Hearing girls and old maids to tattle and chat; 

And the spruce coxcomb laugh at nothing at all, 

Only some silly work that might happen to fall. 

No more shall my teapot so generous be 

In filling the cups with this pernicious tea, 

For I’ll fill it with water and drink out the same, 

Before I’ll lose LIBERTY that dearest name, Because I am taught (and believe it is fact) That our ruin is aimed at in the late act, 

Of imposing a duty on all foreign Teas, 

Which detestable stuff we can quit when we please. 

LIBERTY’S The Goddess that I do adore, 

And I’ll maintain her right until my last hour, Before she shall part I will die in the cause, For I’ll never be govern’d by tyranny’s laws.

From “Tea Drinking in America: Its Etiquette and Equipage” 

By Rodris Roth

🍽️Etiquette Enthusiast, Maura J. Graber of The RSVP Institute of Etiquette, is the Site Editor for Etiquipedia© Etiquette Encyclopedia