Tea (or Coffee) and Low Carb Cookie/Biscuits

If you are a regular reader, you will know that I do enjoy a cup of tea 😀

So, this post is about ... you guessed it! Tea 😊

Did you know that "although tea originated from China, a lot of people associate it primarily with the United Kingdom, since it was the British who helped popularize tea in Europe. As a result, tea drinking became a big part of British culture. It even has its own holiday, National Tea Day, celebrated April 21.

Contrary to popular misconception, tea wasn’t introduced to Europe by the British; it was Dutch sailors who first brought it to the European continent from China. The earliest known mention of tea by an Englishman was by an agent for the British East India Company in 1615.

English coffeehouses began to serve green tea in the mid-17th century. The new drink was popular mostly among the upper classes and merchants, since it was several times more expensive than coffee, and very few people could afford it. Charles II’s Portuguese bride, Catherine of Braganza, made tea popular as a court beverage, making it an acceptable drink for both ladies and gentlemen.

In 1667, the British East India Company began to import Chinese tea through their agent in Bantam (present-day Indonesia). The first tea shop in London was opened by Thomas Twining in 1706. It still operates today at No. 216, Strand, making it the longest-standing ratepayer in London. Twinings holds a royal warrant, which means it supplies tea to the royal family.

In 1720, the British Parliament banned the import of Asian textiles, and many merchants decided to focus on importing tea instead. By the mid-18th century, tea became the main import of the British East India Company. In addition to importing tea from China, the British began to grow it in India. As a result, tea became more affordable and therefore more popular among the middle class. At certain point, it was more popular than coffee, chocolate, and alcohol.

By the early 19th century, the working class could afford tea as well, and the drink transformed from luxury to commodity. Black tea overtook green tea in popularity, and many people started to drink it with sugar and milk. And so the UK became and still remains one of the biggest tea consumers in the world, with an average annual per capita tea supply of 4.18 lbs.

While the British usually serve tea with milk and sugar, it is not uncommon to drink it with lemon or black. Tea is often accompanied with biscuits (which can be dunked into the tea), scones, crumpets, cake and/or sandwiches.

National Tea Day in the United Kingdom was first observed in 2016, and is celebrated on April 21", the date is in my diary ready for next year 😊

Words taken from article here

image from here

Are you a tea drinker or do you prefer coffee?

These Low Carb Chocolate Cookie / Biscuits, go well with either

see more details here

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All the best Jan