Tea, Coffee and Chocolate inQueen Anne’s Reign 1702 -1714 - Rosemary Morris

Information and purchase links at Rosemary Morris' BWL author page

http://bwlpublishing.ca/authors/morris-rosemary-romance-historical-uk/

About Rosemary Morris

I live in Hertfordshire, near inspirational countryside and within easy access of London, which is useful when I want to visit places of historical interest in the capital city.

My historical romances, rich in facts, are written in my office, aka the former spare bedroom, furnished with a large waxed oak desk and an 8ft by 6 ft bookcase which contains my historical non-fiction for research, some of the classics, favourite novels and books of poetry.

To enhance my novels, I enjoy researching food and costume, politics and economics, social history, religion and other topics.

Although, as the saying goes, they did things differently in the past, emotions have not changed, but the characters in my novels are of their time, not 21^st century people dressed in costume. Before I begin a new book, I name my main characters and fill in detailed character profiles. By the time I write the first sentence, I can visualise them and know the hero and heroine almost as well as I know my friends. 

My novels have themes which modern day readers can relate to. For example, in The Captain and The Countess rank and wealth do not guarantee happiness.

Tea, Coffee and Chocolate inQueen Anne’s Reign 1702 -1714

These beverages were so popular that on the 16^th December 1704 at the House of Commons a Committee of wayes and means resolved to double the duties on Coffee Tea and Chocolate.

Tea

The price of black tea fluctuated. In 1704 the price was between twelve and sixteen shillings a pound. Between 1706 and 1710 the minimum price was fourteen shillings per pound and the maximum price was thirty-two shillings.

Green tea cost as little as thirteen shillings and sixpence in 1705 and as much as twenty-six shillings a pound in 1707.

The variations in the cost were due to the age of the tea and whether leaves had been brewed, dried and mixed with cheaper tea.

On the 26^th August 1710, an advertisement for tea was published in The Tatler.

Bohea Tea made of the same Materials that Foreign Bohea is made of, 16s a Pound. Sold by R. Fary only at the Bell in Grace Church Street, Druggist. Note, The Natural Pecko Tea will remain, after Infusion, of a light grey Colour. All other Bohea Tea, tho’ there be White in it, will change colour, and it is artificial.

Coffee

Coffee Houses where men gathered to converse and read free broadsheets were popular. The price of coffee was mentioned in an advertisement in The Postman in 27/30^th April 1706.

Whereas Coffee was formerly sold at 2s 6d per pound and is now already amounted to betwixt 6s and 7s per pound, the Majority of Retailers have thought it reasonable to request their Customers to pay 3 half pence per Dish and do assure that no person that sells Coffee for 1d a Dish can make good Coffee.

Care was taken in the  manufacture coffee. For example.

Thomas Burges, Druggist, removed from Snow Hill to the Blew Anchor in Fleet Street, near Serjeants Inn, sells the best of coffee roasted in the new way, having a better flavour, and is a much sweeter way than the common method of roasting Coffee.

Chocolate

Chocolate Houses began to close when tea and coffee became more popular than chocolate, although the drink was still served at home by those who could afford it first thing in the morning.

There were two types of chocolate the most popular, Caraco, at 3s a pound and Martineco, at 2s 6p a pound, both of which were roasted, ground and sold plain or mixed with sugar.

In 1703 a man advertised his invention, a machine for making better quality chocolate which was 1s cheaper than the current prices.

However, it is worth noting that the duty on the nuts was high enough to make smuggling worthwhile. On the 14^th/17^th April, 1704 the London Post reported.

Last week 6 Sacks of Cocoa Nuts were seiz’d by a Customs Officer.

Excerpt from The Captain and The Countess

A gust of wind urged Edward and Lindsay forward through the door and into the noisy, smoke-filled coffeehouse. They made their way to the counter which was presided over by a good-looking female.

A flirtatious gleam appeared in her eyes. “What’s your pleasure, gentlemen?”

Edward handed her four pennies. “A bowl of coffee apiece.”

She indicated a lad of some ten years or more dressed in breeches, full-sleeved shirt, and apron. “He’ll serve you.”

Edward seized Lindsay by the arm and guided him to a bench to prevent his friend making advances toward the woman. “Don’t venture down that road unless you would welcome the pox.”

They sat facing the fire, above which lidded iron pots of water hung from hooks. The boy soon set bowls of steaming coffee on the trestle table before them. Edward laughed at the expectant look on the child’s face. “A penny for your trouble.”

The coin disappeared into a pocket before the boy darted off to serve another customer.

Edward sighed.

“Want to be back on board?”

“Yes, the wait is interminable but my uncle, Admiral Rooke, will see me right.”

“All very well for those with grand connections,” Lindsay teased.

Edward laughed as he punched his fist playfully.

Equally playful, Lindsay parried the blow.

Oh, it was good to be with an old friend.

Lindsay pointed to one of the many frames hanging on the wall. “A lock of mermaid’s hair,” he mocked. “And look at the horseshoes. One would think one was in a farrier’s shop.” He eyed a shelf. “Do you see those pills and potions? Nectar from the East to rejuvenate a man. I am surprised they don’t claim all those remedies are as infallible as the Pope.”

“Howard, Lindsay, as I live and breathe.”

They looked up at an elderly man—with a turban on his head—who wore a rust-coloured banyan. Both of them stood to salute the senior officer. “Captain Dennison,” they chorused.

“Nay, lads, I’ve retired. I live nearby with m’married daughter. Sit yourselves down. No need to salute.” Two gentlemen on the bench opposite Edward and Lindsay moved to make room for Dennison. “Boy,” he shouted. “Coffee laced with rum.” He gazed at Edward. “Heard about your trouble, m’lad. Can’t condone insubordination. I ran a tight ship but none called me tyrant. Never did approve of bullies. Well, who knows better than the two of you? Those were the days.”

Edward retained a soft spot for the old man who had always encouraged him to set his sights high. “Indeed they were, sir.”

Captain Denison eyed the fine glass lantern, inadequate to completely illuminate the coffee shop. “More light is needed, I can scarce see.” He peered through the tobacco smoke. “By my faith, there’s young Manners. Now he’s a likely lad.

Novels by Rosemary Morris

Early 18^th Century novels:

Tangled Love, Far Beyond Rubies, The Captain and The Countess

Regency Novels

False Pretences, Sunday’s Child, Monday’s Child, Tuesday’s Child, Wednesday’s Child and Thursday’s Child.

Mediaeval Novel

Yvonne Lady of Cassio. The Lovages of Cassio Book One

www.rosemarymorris.co.uk

http://bookswelove.net/authors/morris-rosemary

20th Century Events by Katherine Pym

Buy Here

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20^th century carried a lot of weight. Prior to the 1920’s when my parents were born, the century suffered from a polio epidemic, the San Francisco Earthquake, WW-1 and the Bolshevik movement. The Czar & his family’s execution.

Spanish Flu Hospital

My grandfather had the Spanish flu that killed so many. With the hospital full, they found a pallet and wedged him in a corner, hoping he would survive. He did. 😊

In the 1920’s women threw their corsets in the bin. Shedding inhibitions, men and women drank bathtub gin and danced the charleston. My dad remembered when homemade brews exploded in the basement. 

Silent films morphed into talkies and the world paused at the harsh realities of the 

Great Depression.  Dad lived in the city and experienced long soup lines, issued clothing that my grandmother dyed, trying to disguise the humiliation of government handouts. My mom lived in the farmland and had more food at her disposal. Her aunties fashioned underwear out of printed flour sacks, and very comfortable they were too, or so she said.

Soup Kitchen

My parents witnessed the build-up of Nazi Germany, the Spanish Civil War, the jitter-bug, Hollywood’s greatest days, the biggest war ever, and the atomic bomb. 

Women painted their legs to simulate silk-stockings because none were available. Dad said his Navy whites were always stained orange after a night of dancing, which did not put the men in good stead with their superior officers.

After the war, Hollywood introduced black noir movies, where the scenes always seemed to take place at night, the streets wet as if it had rained. Women’s hats got 

smaller, their hair shorter. 

Into the 2^nd half of the century, we saw the rise of Communism and as a reaction to that, McCarthyism. Remarkable scientific marvels catapulted the world from a sleepy planet to OMG, don’t press that button.

WW-2

The Korean War marched around the periphery of our cynical thoughts. Eisenhower was president. Elvis Presley had women screaming, “Kiss me. Kiss me.” Hollywood put out incredible grade B movies where couples ‘necked’ the entire film.

Everyone swing-danced; later we did the ‘twist’, causing women’s waistlines to shrink. Dr Salk found the cure for polio and mom dragged us to the school where we were first in line to eat a sugar cube saturated with the vaccine. 

The Cuban Crisis. Fathers came home early from work and informed their families we only had hours to live. The planet went silent with fear as a shaky hand hovered over the Red Button of Doom. From then on, we ducked and covered under our school desk, breathing in dirt from the playground. 

Nuclear Fallout Map

The Beatles & Rolling Stones. A bevy of unfortunate killings: JFK, Martin Luther King, Malcomb X & Bobby Kennedy’s assassination. 

The Berlin Wall.

Race for the moon. In the Apollo Program, panels 32 & 16 on the LEM (Lunar Excursion Module) were my dad’s responsibility. He was proud of his work and once asked my grandmother what she thought of his part in it. She asked, “What do you mean?” Dad huffed a breath. “My part in men going to the moon and walking on it.”  My grandmother replied it was a hoax. No one could ever fly to the moon, much less stand on it. The whole thing had been filmed on a movie set. My dad stared at her in disbelief.

The best music came during the 60’s & 70’s, mostly connected with the Vietnam War. 

Two Cold Hippies

Hippies ran amok across the country but they were especially filled with love in San Francisco. Smoking weed, downing mushrooms and peyote buttons. LSD. Dancing naked in the streets with flowers in their hair. 

Going to dances were no longer popular. Stoned to the bone, everyone sat lotus-style on the floor or the grass (Woodstock-the world’s greatest example of sex, drugs, & rock’n roll) and listened to mind-bending music.  

I suppose I should mention Nixon’s Watergate; the assassination attempt on George Wallace. Hollywood advanced into the computer era with the green screens and the amazing special effects of Star Wars. Jimmy Carter’s Iran humiliation. 

Woodstock

The Berlin Wall

President Reagan’s attempted assassination, big hair and large shoulder pads. The movie Superman. Lady Diana’s wedding. 

The Shuttle exploded over Cape Canaveral, shutting down the program for a few years until the reason was documented and nailed in cement. Michael Jackson’s breakthrough that every musician wanted to copy, the Thriller video. 

In the 90’s, our world changed with the fall of Communism, the Berlin Wall sledgehammered into chunks of concrete. 

Our planet became smaller with the advent of the computers on the business and personal level. The internet came about with primitive chatrooms and emails. At the airport, a loved one could still accompany you to the gate, and you could carry on board a bottle of wine you wanted to give Auntie at the family reunion.  

Challenger Exploding

People live longer these days. Both in their 90’s when they left, my mom and dad saw so much. What do you suppose they’ll say about the baby boomers in the 21^st century (other than we ruined the world, which we considered our own parents to have done)? 

Hopefully, they’ll say: a lot.   

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Many thanks to Wikicommons Public Domain