Strangely Coffee was more popular than Tea for many years due to the Exorbitant price of Tea. Tea was kept on locked blending boxes. This prevented the servants from stealing the the expensive delight, and enabled the user to blend to their own tastes.
Coffee was drunk by the gallon in the coffee houses that had become fashionable,just after the Civil war.
Coffee was considered to be the cause of many national ‘troubles’.
During the late 1800s this all changed.
Tea became the Drink of Choice. After all, the production facilities where now vastly increased in area due to prodigious planting of the bushes for the Chinese BoneChina industry. The Ceramic was packed in Tea leafs to protect it.
Once we had cracked how to make bone china ourselves there was a lot of spare Tea available ,and so it became a commodity in its own right and down came the price....eventually.
This change over was slow because it required the development of a money conscious Middle class which only slowly came into being and expanded during the late 1800s. After all the upper Classes are not going to drink Packing waste.
It was initially available in loose leaf sold by the oz, only later becoming available in pre wrapped boxes. Then finally the ultimate low point....teabags.
Coffee has in recent years has a resurgence,*sigh.*
Night. :)
If any of that seems a little bit off, it’s because dear moosie is having us on.
“Fee Fi, Fo Fum. I smell the blood of an Englishmun.
Be he alive or be he dead, I’ll grind his bones to make my ... cups.”
Very interesting, Moosie!
Thanks!! :o]