Tea in England 1657

Tea made its first real introduction into England in 1657 from the Continent. By this time Holland was already very familiar with the new found medicinal beverage from Asia.

Below we will see what was being said about tea in London at that time.

In 1657, the first real evidence of tea in England was in the form of an ad in a newspaper by Thomas Garway in 1658. It read, “That excellent and by all physicians approved drink called by Chineans tcha, by other nations Tay alias Tea is sold at the Sultaness Head a Cophee house in Sweetings Rents by the Royal Exchange London.”

Tea was new, and it was advertised as follows by Thomas Garaway.

A Seventeeth Century View of Tea from England:

Garway’s Broadstreet

Following is the text of the famous broadsheet or advertising leaflet circulated by coffeehouse proprietor Thomas Garway, the first to sell tea in England, with contemporary spelling, but today’s punctuation.

“The Drink is declared to be most wholesome, preserving in perfect health until extreme Old Age."

The particular virtues are these:

• It maketh the Body active and lusty.
• It helpeth the Head-ach, giddiness and heaviness thereof.
• It removeth the Obstructions of the Spleen.
• It is very good against the Stone and Gavel, cleansing the Kidneys and Uriters being drunk with Virgin’s Honey instead of sugar.
• It taketh away the difficult of breathing, opening Obstructions.
• It is good against Lipitude, Distillations, and cleareth the sight.
• It removeth Lassitude, and cleareth and purifieth adult Humors and hot Liver.
• It is good against Crudities, strengthening the weakness of the Ventricle or Stomack, causing good Appetite and Digestion, and particularly for Men of corpulent Body and such as are the great eaters of Flesh.
• It vanquisheth heavy Dreams, easeth the Brain, and strengtheneth the Memory.
• It overcometh superfluous Sleep, and prevents Sleepiness in general, a draught of the Unfusion being taken, so that without trouble whole nights may be spend in study without hurt to the Body, in that it moderately healeth and bindeth the mouth of the stomach.