Professor researches the history tea as drink, meal - Daily Titan

Cal State Fullerton professor April A. Bullock, Ph.D, explains the origins of tea time as a meal for the high class on Tuesday morning at the Ruby Gerontology Center.
DEANNA TROMBLEY / Daily Titan

Cal State Fullerton professor of Liberal Studies April A. Bullock, Ph.D., discussed her research on tea as a drink and meal in ?Tea Time: A History,? on Tuesday morning at the Ruby Gerontology Center.

She traces the popular history of tea in England to the late 17th century, when King Charles II took the throne along with his Portuguese wife, Catherine of Braganza.

?People often credit Catherine of Braganza with making it fashionable to drink tea in England,? Bullock said.

Because tea was initially expensive and difficult for English residents to acquire, usually through trade with China, it was initially a luxury item, Bullock said.

As a result, a significant amount of tradition rose around that concept, especially for wealthier individuals who were the first to make a mealtime centered around tea.

English traditions with tea did not completely reach the United States, but many individuals still enjoyed it. Bullock pointed to George and Martha Washington as examples of colonial Americans who enjoyed tea.

Bullock said the idea of tea time as an evening meal, sometimes called ?high tea,? expanded to English working-class households in the 1840s.

Taking a break from work for afternoon tea was popular among the middle and upper class in England. That eventually spread to the United States.

?You can?t drive a mile without running into a tea house in the 1920s in America,? she said.

Afternoon tea declined in the 20th century. ?If you watch even old British sitcoms from the 1970s, 1960s, there?s a tea lady who comes around in the afternoon and brings people tea, and cakes or cookies, in the afternoon as part of their break,? Bullock said.

Shortly afterward, such customs fell out of favor. ?I haven?t entirely worked out why, but I think at least a big part of that has to do with changing workplace patterns,? she said.

However, drinking tea is still popular in England, and referring to an evening meal as ?tea? is still common throughout the United Kingdom.

Bullock explained the connection between history and England?s demand for tea. ?They helped the Chinese to develop opium, and that ends up badly for all involved,? she said.

That need for tea was a contributing factor for Britain to colonize India. ?The British steal a bunch of tea from China and take it to India, and actually they found native tea in India,? Bullock said.

Although children today frequently hold ?tea parties? without any food or drinks as a practice of imagination, Bullock said that people sometimes held tea parties for their children, and even catering services existed to fill that niche.

?Food figures very prominently in children?s tea parties, especially in the 18th and 19th centuries,? Bullock said. ?You stuff them with cake, and you stuff them with bread and butter, and you give them another round of cake before they go home to make sure that they?re happy.?

Attendee Rebecca Stewart was surprised at the concept of having tea parties for very young children; she thought that tea parties for children were mostly a make-believe activity for them to express their imagination.

?It kinda sounds silly, but as a mother, I wouldn?t serve hot beverages to little ones,? Stewart said. ?I?ve never known anybody to have a real hot-water tea party amongst children here; not in all my life.?

Stewart?s husband, Abe Weisbrot, shared her surprise. ?Maybe the affluent could afford to have folks there to make sure the kids didn?t hurt themselves, but it still seems sort of different from what you would expect,? he said.

Bullock hopes to publish the entirety of her findings in a book, also tentatively named Tea Time: A History, in a few years.

Source: http://www.dailytitan.com/2013/09/professor-researches-the-history-tea-as-drink-meal/

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