Jane Austen Scholar Spills the Tea on Tea in Bridgerton, Emma 2020, and More

[Music] [Applause] tea is an enticing part of historical costuming jane austen fandom and historical research i have drunk hundreds of cups of tea with friends at events like the jane austen festival and tea parties where we dress in historical fashions or just talk about them and thousands as i've read and researched 18th and 19th century literature and history this video is about my research into the history and social customs surrounding tea in england particularly during the regency era as a way of contextualizing modern depictions of historical tea drinking tea first arrived in england in the 1650s and it was firmly entrenched as the national beverage of england by the regency period which is from 1811 to 1820. it was the drink of choice across the social spectrum despite how expensive it was due to the total monopoly of the east india company until 1813 and the effectively total monopoly until the 1830s all tea was from china until 1839 and it wasn't until other companies could import it from places like india that the price started to drop and of course you can spend a little or a lot on tea today depending on quality blends and flavorings tea was so precious during the regency that an extensive black market developed not only for actual fresh tea leaves but second hand tea leaves adulterated tea leaves mixed with ash leaves sheep stung and who knows what else to mislead the unwary buyer servants would often sell used leaves out the back door of their employers homes and some would even steal new tea leaves this is why jane austen kept the key to the tea and the sugar which was not much cheaper she wrote in a letter in 1798 quote i carry about the keys of the wine and closet unquote the closet being where the tea and the sugar were kept the upper classes used refined white sugar while the poor used brown sugar molasses or treacle and almost everyone put sweetener in their tea milk or cream were very popular too if your family could afford it but all who could possibly afford it drank tea today any coffee shop worth visiting also offers tea in the 17th and 18th centuries coffee houses spring up all over london where both hot drinks were on offer but these establishments were only visited by men apparently or perhaps women of ill repute thomas twinings coffee house opened in 1706 on deveraux court in the strand it became so popular twining quickly expanded and opened the golden lion next door where a ladies could actually enter and buy their tea without fear of impropriety they could taste test and choose their own blends of around 20 varieties of black and green teas eventually black teas would win out in popularity jane austen's family only bought tea from trinings to make sure it was unadulterated and high quality but tea for home use was available for purchase from many purveyors respectable to illicit teas on offer included bojia pico souchong and congo all black teas and green teas like imperial heisen caper gun powder and single bohia and heisen were mid-quality and the most commonly bought but when and how was it consumed despite depictions and regency fantasy like bridgerton and even the 2020 emma film tea was not typically served during morning calls otherwise known as pre-dinner visits in part because there were often quite a few of them visits and it would be time consuming and expensive for the hostess to serve tea to each visitor quote visiting and visited is the whole of a woman's life in england unquote is one of my favorite quotes from amanda vickeries a non-fiction book the gentleman's daughter women's lives in georgia england visits were usually quite short lasting from about 20 to 30 minutes and if another caller arrived during a visit the first caller left within a moment or two after introductions were made if the introductions were desirable for both parties the conversation was light and no refreshments were served because again tea was expensive and one could not be sure how many visitors would turn up in a day so when and where was tea taken well definitely at breakfast early in the 18th century a typical english breakfast consisted of ale and fish or some other type of meat come now try one of these south earrings and thank goodness queen anne started the fashion for lighter less alcoholic fare ale was drunk in part because the fermentation process diminishes harmful microbes in the water and that was taken care of by the need to boil water for tea bye-bye bacteria by the time jane austen was tasked with fixing breakfast for her family she typically boiled the water for tea unlocked the dining room closet where the expensive tea and sugar were kept and toasted some bread over the dining room fire using a toasting fork or perhaps a hearth toaster toast rolls and cakes along with butter and maybe some raspberry jam were the typical substance of fashionable breakfasts during the regency along with tea the most popular hot drink and coffee and perhaps even hot chocolate sometimes heartier fare was offered such as the eggs and meat william price and henry crawford eat before leaving mansfield park in 1806 during a visit to stoneleigh abbey jane austen wrote to her sister-in-law mary austin mostly about the food they ate quote then follows breakfast consisting of chocolate coffee and tea plum cake pound cake hot rolls cold rolls bread and butter and dry toast for me all of this would have been served on a breakfast set of dishes that included a teapot cups saucers a milk jug a sugar bowl and sometimes a matching tray mrs austin had been gifted a wedgwood breakfast set which jane was sure to use and might even have washed herself in order to avoid giving the job to a less careful housemaid sugar came in solid chunks that had to be broken up with sugar nippers into small lumps which is for the saying one lump or two originated sugar was also expensive economically and socially it was produced in the west indies in slave colonies and was therefore lambasted by abolitionists unfortunately while slavery was outlawed in england the slave trade was not and many wealthy landowners also owned sugar plantations in the colonies like sir bertram in mansfield park ladies made the tea mrs norris or fannie performed the duty at mansfield park eleanor dashwood for mrs jennings in her london house and jane bennett made the tea and lizzie the coffee at longborne but if they could hire enough servants they did not actually heat the water themselves ladies of the house who made the tea in grander homes would have silver tea urns brought to them the t urn did not contain the tea but rather recently boiled or boiling water that they could then pour into the teapot a servant could heat a rod of iron in a kitchen fire and then place the rod into the urn to heat the water or it could be poured in from a less aesthetic kettle on the stove or from the kitchen fire one can easily recreate jane's typical breakfast of tea and toast with perhaps a good quality butter and an elegant morning gown if you want to get even fancier books like the london art of cookery and domestic housekeepers complete assistant by john farley published in 1811 is available for free on google books and i'll link it down below this book has a variety of recipes including for plum cake which would be good for breakfast dinner used to be the next meal at midday or early afternoon and was certainly the largest of the day but all throughout the regency and into the victorian era dinner started later and later and later with all that visiting and other activities before dinner most people added a new and relatively light meal to make it through to dinner time luncheon nunchen nunchen or as jane called it in one of her letters noon shine john willoughby stopped at an inn for a luncheon of cold beef and sense and sensibility kitty and lydia ordered a luncheon again of cold meats and such at an inn in pride and prejudice while pemberley offered meat bread and hot house fruit and dr grant was fond of sandwiches at the mansfield parsonage in mansfield park the point was a simple repass that did not draw too much of the servant's attention away from preparing that main meal of the day dinner it does not appear to have been the custom to serve tea at luncheon where cold foods and drinks were definitely the focus but i'm sure some drink throughout the day and night like samuel johnson in the previous century who described himself as quote a hardened and shameless tea drinker who has for 20 years diluted his meals with only the infusion of this fascinating plant whose kettle has scarcely time to cool who with tea amuses the evening with tea solace is the midnight and with tea welcomes the morning besides these tea addicts most people did not drink tea with dinner but rather after it in 1798 jane austen and her family ate dinner at 3 p.m at steventon and by 1808 dinner was never before 5 o'clock which gives you an idea of decreasing lateness of the meal dinner time in the country and among the older generation was usually earlier while the young and fashionable and the cities ate much later in austin's novels dinner time at longborn and mansfield parsonage was at 4 30 5 pm sharp at northanger abbey and 6 30 pm at field where they were used to keeping london hours the most extreme dinner times were in her unfinished novel the watsons where the watson family ate at 3 p.m and their visitor tom musgrove not until 8 pm dinner was served as courses or a variety of dishes on the table together that were all removed and replaced with a new assortment a few times throughout the meal the first course was typically an alarming assortment of meats poultry fish possibly garnished with vegetables and soup these georgians at least the rich ones consumed or had access to a lot of food like a buffet a day the gentlemen at the table would carve and serve their neighbors as well as pass them dishes in one of her letters jane austen mentions a poor lady who remained neglected and her plate empty despite several requests of her so-called gentleman neighbor at the table after everyone had their fill of that course there was a bustle and a disruption as that one was removed and a second one set in its place and emma frank churchill and emma are interrupted when quote they were called to share in the awkwardness of a rather long interval between the courses but when the table was again safely covered and every corner dish placed exactly right unquote their conversation could resume the second course might have lighter fare in the form of fricase fruit tarts jellies creams and puddings at the end of this course the tablecloth was removed and it was probably a mess and dessert happened but not exactly the dessert we expect today the word dessert comes from the french deserver which i'm sure i'm butchering the pronunciation of which means to clear the table at which point servants would place less messy finger foods on the table like dried fruit nuts and sweets it was a way to prolong the meal after the servants were dismissed and before the ladies were moved to the drawing room to let the gentleman smoke their pipes which they were never supposed to do in front of the ladies and also drink port claret or other red wine and discuss things not suitable for ladies ears you know like politics or body jokes meanwhile the ladies were able to gossip and chat until 30 minutes to a few hours later when the men would rejoin them and they could finally have tea i imagine the ladies sometimes went ahead and began to without them especially if they lingered too long over their port but yes other than breakfast the other major time for tea during the regency was after dinner after all that food a bracing cup of tea or coffee which was also often available would prepare the party for whatever came next whether that was traveling home playing cards an impromptu dance or even attend a ball that didn't start until 10 pm dinner parties included tea afterwards but invitations for tea only were also common in sense and sensibility quote sir john never came to the dash woods without either inviting them to dine at the park the next day or to drink tea with them that evening unquote in emma mr woodhouse expects his regular four o'clock dinner followed by tea and mrs and miss bates are invited to tea at the kohl's after the dinner was over in emma again ladies of the house would serve the tea and apparently would serve it until given a non-verbal cue that the guests were done in 1782 the prince de broglie wrote of his visit to england quote i partook of most excellent tea and i should be even now still drinking it i believe if the ambassador had not charitably notified me at the 12th cup that i must put my spoon across it when i wish to finish with this sort of warm water unquote this sounds like me to jane austen society of north america meeting when we had tea after the program you know in the before times only i did it on purpose so with the exception of breakfast all other mentions of tea and austin refer to the after dinner variety this is of course counter to our modern conception of tea time tea parties and all the delicate finger food and daytime frivolity they involve usually in the afternoon even at the jane austen festival in louisville kentucky all of our teas including two courses of delectable treats sweetly arranged on tiered cake stands and of course a variety of teas were in the before times in the late morning to mid afternoon this idea of taking tea in the afternoon before dinner surrounded by beautiful or even cute and dainty foods like savory finger sandwiches and sweet treats is a custom that was invented and perfected by the victorians to deal with increasingly late dinner times in the late 1830s or 1840 or 41 the as the legend goes anna the seventh duchess of bedford felt a sinking feeling during the long wait between a light luncheon and dinner which was not until 8 pm by that time i began inviting close friends to her room for tea and snacks to stave off hunger and i would imagine to avoid feeling cranky not everyone was thrilled with a new fad actress fanny kemble wrote in a letter in 1842 after a visit with the duchess quote i received on several occasions private and rather mysterious invitations to the duchess of bedford's room and found her with a small and select circle of female guests of the castle busily employed in brewing and drinking tea with her grace's own private tea kettle i do not believe that the now universally honored and observed institution of five o'clock tea dates further back in the annals of english civilization than this very private and i think rather shame-faced practice of it unquote miss campbell's description and dismissal makes me wonder if because afternoon teas seemed to be a predominantly female activity they constituted a safer space for same-sex community removed from most gatherings around tea which involved men but that is an investigation for another video suffice it to say if you want to have a tea party in true regency style one that occurs after dinner would be appropriate i personally think that is a bit late to be drinking a caffeinated beverage and jane austen even mentions to her sister cassandra in a letter that she thinks one of their neighbors with a nervous condition and difficulty sleeping should lay off the stuff especially in the evening however if you were attending a ball that offered tea it could be just the thing to keep you going at least until you danced so long you were hungry again and then came the last meal of the day supper again older folks country folks and those not attending a formal party might eat supper earlier in the day perhaps 8 p.m or right before bed this was the case for mr woodhouse who preferred a formal sit-down supper quote because it had been the fashion of his youth unquote even then he only ate gruel while trying to convince his guests not to eat the richer dishes from his own kitchen the more fashionable a city and younger set however either skipped the meal entirely if dinner was very late or more commonly just had a relatively informal meal with food on the sideboard where people could help themselves supper might include food very similar to luncheon sandwiches and such plus wine but also baked apples asparagus boiled eggs biscuits scalloped oysters fricassee minced chicken and apple tarts and now i'm hungry mr bingley offered white soup at the netherfield ball a concoction that displayed his wealth due to the expensive ingredients including veal stock ground almonds and cream when not paired with a ball parties including supper were sometimes called routes and evening entertainments might include cards a concert gambling and route cakes which are like shortbread cookies but with dried fruit tea was taken at breakfast and after dinner but also outdoors and pleasure gardens like randle white conduit house bagniggy wells and vox hall in london vauxhall opened south of the thames in lambeth in 1732 and it was sort of like an amusement park before the invention of roller coasters and other rides and boasted promenades a lily pond concerts jugglers balloon ascents equestria tur entertainment and supper boxes for small parties and tea for the price of one or two shillings any well-dressed person could traipse about the gardens and take in the sights and of course take tea some complain though that the tea was not much more than lukewarm water the british also loved tea gardens which until doing this research i thought were gardens where tea plants were grown and harvested but no they are gardens specifically for design for strolling about and taking tea quite like pleasure gardens but just don't expect the jugglers jane austen lived at four city place and bath across the street from sydney gardens one of the few tea gardens that is still open to the public i frequently take my tea outside in my garden so from now on i'm calling it a tea garden the landed upper classes also modified their properties to make them conducive to strolling and taking tea out of doors or at least out of the main house tea houses were structures like this one where guests could stop for tea and enjoy the view an activity that lent variety to house parties that could last a fortnight or more ladies out shopping in london or bath might be served tea by shop owners trying to entice them to spend more money it's entirely possible jane austen took a spot of tea when she visited miss hairs her milliner in london or miss tickers her stay maker and definitely when she visited the wedgwood showroom and twining shop the golden lion ladies could not enter coffee houses without damaging their reputations apparently because those were men's spaces like the after dinner port parties but ladies could and did go to tea houses and pastry cook shops like gunter's tea shop to socialize drink tea and eat treats like tarts ices cream ices jellies cheesecakes buns and queen cakes this mouth-watering variety of sweets available and the general obsession with tea during jane austen's lifetime are clearly the precursors to the delightful victorian tradition of afternoon tea so even though many of the tea scenes in recent shows and movies set in the regency era are actually anachronistic or a historical i honestly love those scenes because they make the shows more visually interesting and feel more like a glorious cupcake i want to eat with my tea i'd like to raise my cup of tea to all my viewers i appreciate your encouragement thank you so much for watching and if you have any comments or questions i'd love to hear them please let me know in the comment section below if you learned something and want to see more deep dives into 18th and 19th century history and literature or historical costuming please subscribe to my channel thank you so much bye [Music] you

Channel: A Janeite Sews

Views: 62,566

Keywords: History of tea, English history, British history, history of tea in England, Jane Austen tea, Jane Austen novels, tea in Jane Austen, Jane Austen Scholar on tea, Sense and Sensibility, Pride and Prejudice, English cultural history, British cultural history, Mansfield Park, nineteenth century tea, Regency meals, Regency mealtimes, tea during the Regency era, English cookery, English dinners, Jane Austen movie adaptations, Emma 2020, Emma, Bridgerton

Id: lsHdmNt9erg

Length: 22min 59sec (1379 seconds)

Published: Fri Apr 30 2021