On Saturday July 20, 2019, the Pioneer Home Museum hosted our first Victorian Tea at the Gopher Creek Coffee Company. It was a celebration of tea and in particular the traditional Victorian afternoon tea enjoyed by millions of people around the world today.
The Frame House, built in 1888, holds an eclectic collection of artefacts from this time period used for tea. I am sure the lady of the house, Mrs. Abbie Frame, hosted many tea parties there.
Chinese legend tells that in 2737 BC, the Chinese emperor Shen Nung, a renowned herbalist, was sitting under a tea tree when some of its leaves blew into his boiling drinking water. He decided to try it, thus green tea was discovered.
Tea did not gain popularity in Britain until Catherine of Braganza, a Portuguese princess, married Charles the Second in the 1600s. She was a tea addict and made it a fashionable beverage.
Like today, wealthy Victorians wanted to imitate the royal life. Afternoon tea became a social event in the mid-1800s popularized by Anna Maria Russell, the Duchess of Bedford. It is said that she would have a sinking feeling in between a large breakfast and a late dinner at around 8 or 9 p.m. She began requesting tea be brought to her boudoir along with light sandwiches to tide her over.
The Duchess’ well-heeled friends began joining her and the practice of afternoon tea spread in aristocratic circles.
Submitted by Deanna Doucette, Museum Coordinator
