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The Portuguese Princess Who Taught England To Drink Tea

If Catherine of Braganza had not brought tea as a dowry, United Kingdom‘s national drink would probably be different today

There are many women who have left their mark in the millennial history of tea but one of the most famous among them has nothing to do with the cultivation of tea. Portuguese Princess Catherine of Braganza married King Charles II in the 17th century and brought her favorite beverage to her new home. And with this simple fact she inspired the fashion to drink tea in the higher society circles.

Perhaps this introduction confuses many of you. Indeed, when we talk about Britain, it is difficult to imagine this country without a cup of tea … everywhere. And we mean mostly black tea from India or Ceylon. But this was hardly the case in the 17th century.

The Portuguese princess arrives in England

In 1662, Catherine of Braganza, daughter of King Joao IV of Portugal, married Richard II, King of England, Scotland and Ireland. King Charles II preferred her to many other princesses because of her solid dowry. It included not only a considerable amount of money but also spices, jewels and the port cities of Tangier and Mumbai.

Catherine arrived at her new homeland with all her personal belongings, including boxes of loose tea. According to the legend, the boxes came with a label Transporte de Ervas Aromaticas (or transport of aromatic herbs – as translated from Portuguese). This later became the abbreviation T.E.A. – the name of the drink in English. Whether this is credible or not however, is not so important for our article.

What is important of our story is that when Catherine moved to England, people there already knew tea but only as a medicine. Some thought it was an energizing tonic, especially beneficial for the spleen. Others claimed it was a panacea. And that it cured everything from apoplexy and epilepsy to catarrh, colic, tuberculosis, kidney stones, lethargy, dizziness and even seizures.

However, no one consumed it as Portugese enjoyed it in their country at the same time. There, it was a popular drink among the aristocracy. Surprise? Not so much, as the kingdom has been importing it directly from its colony of Macao since the 16th century. And the English had to buy Chinese tea from the Dutch merchants who wanted a very high price for it.

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There were many spices and tea from distant lands in Catherine’s dowry.

The Portuguese princess becomes the queen of tea

The young Queen of England became the center of attention in the court. She was interesting both with her clothes and with the furniture and utensils she brought with her.

And also with her drinking tea habit.

This new, expensive and rare drink which the queen served in Chinese porcelain, also an unprecedented luxury in the English court, captivated the local nobles. Initially, maybe not so much with its taste. Due to the long journey from China to Europe and poor storage, the queen and her ladies have hardly enjoyed the high quality that you enjoy with your favoorite DelmarTe tea. The desire to imitate the exotic Catherine though, led many English aristocrats to include tea in their social engagements.

And so towards the end of the 17th century tea has slowly made its way into the English upper class. And with that originated the tea drinking ritual. Everything necessary for it noblemen had to import from China – porcelain sets with cups and saucers, teapots, sugar bowls … All those elegant, beautiful and again extremely expensive pots that Catherine had because Portugal was one of the routes by which porcelain got to Europe.

How was tea served during the time of Catherine of Braganza?

There are accounts of the way Catherine consumed tea with her female friends. It was generally in a bedchamber or a small room for entertaining guests near the bedchamber. There, tea was served in in the delicate pieces of porcelain. Moreover, inventories for wealthy households during the 17th and 18th centuries list tea equipage not in dining rooms, but in small private boudoirs.

In addition to tea, Catherine probably have served orange marmalade or fresh oranges which she received from her native Portugal. There is also a belief that Catherine expressed her sympathy for her guests through oranges. She gave fresh fruit to those she particularly liked. The rest had to enjoy the marmalade which was sometimes even a bit fremented already.

And what tea did Catherine of Braganza drink?

Although there is no information about this fact, we can assume that the Portuguese princess most likely drank green tea. Historians have come to this conclusion because they know for a fact that black tea became more popular in England only in the 1720s. Or five decades after Catherine brought her favorite beverage there.

This however may not be the most important thing. What is really important is that the tea price in England decreased due to the direct import in the 18th century from China. This led to an increase in consumption which went far beyond aristocratic circles.

So in the second half of the 18th century, tea had already become the national drink of England. Thanks to an elegant and exotic Portuguese princess, who, among other things, brought to her new home a few boxes of Camellia sinensis dried leaves.

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