Tea and Sugar

February 2, 2018
Rock Sugar

In the United States, our love for tea has its roots for the most part from England.  Of course, other countries have a tea culture, but since our start for the most part came from English settlements.  The English as we all know have had a passion for tea since the early 1600s.  Both tea and coffee had their start on the continent around the same moment in history.  But it seems tea became the beverage of choice and has remained successfully so since modern times.  For the most part the English began love their love for tea because of one irresistible component.  Sugar.  This habit has shaped the course of history, global fashions, and the economic front through the unfortunate slave trade.

During the 1600’s the wife of Charles the ll, Catherine of Braganza, introduced high society to the wonders of sugar.  Because of the high price of the commodity, only the upper classes were able to afford it.  It was at this time that sugar was introduced to edibles, wine, raw consumption, and all to increase the energy levels within the body.  Later in the 1700’s sugar was being blamed for rotting teeth and gout.  It quickly lost favor amongst the upper class, loosening its grip on being available to only the upper crust of society.

The working class of the time consumed beer and cider for its calorific and analgesic properties, necessary requirements for a long day of grinding labor.  The one issue with coming to work tipsy were accidents in the workplace.  Tea, sweetened with sugar on the other hand, gave the workers an added boost of caffeine and sugar for energy and an added benefit of focus.  The beverage allowed for more work to be done, while cutting back on accidents.  Allowing for more focus on work resulting in the first industrial era.

Tea and sugar also added to the coffers of the British empire, which funded the expansion of the countries dominance over the world stage.  For the most part.

Source: www.theteashelf.com/when-tea-met-sugar/