I'm driving down the road today and realize that I've been back in the US five months now, after four months of being there. What made me think of this? Strangely, I was thinking about how long it would have been had I stayed the two months longer that I was supposed to stay there. I would have only been back here three months then. All relevant information, no?
I was thinking about some of the difference I found between a country divided by a common language (that's what they say right?) and truthfully, I think any American that had never been to the UK before would have been thrown through a bit of a loop at the differences between the two countries. My daughter and I were talking about my trip there as a teenager, and how some things confused me. The one thing that always humors her is how I complained that, in Italy, they served us weeds for salad. My mother tried convincing me that they were in fact different kinds of lettuces in the world and these were simply one of those cases. Being an arrogant teenager, I refused to consider the fact that they were in fact lettuce, and insisted for many years to come that we were fed weeds. Victoria seems to find this funny. I suppose it's a good thing I've been feeding her "weeds" all along and this didn't upset her on our trip there. Crisis averted. Whew.
We stayed in Wales for three of our four months and had some differences there. I think Americans would be shocked at the freezer space (or lack of) since we are so used to buying large quantities and freezing things. This became apparent when we were there for (American) Thanksgiving and couldn't buy a turkey until a day or so before due lack of space in the freezer. We ended up buying a turkey breast. It was only three of us for this occasion so wasn't that big of a deal. (If you remember, my friend Kerry came to visit and to experience American Thanksgiving foods. Keep in mind, the freezer in Wales was tiny - and we usually stocked bagged ice and ice cream in it.
Speaking of freezer space, that is another thing Americans would be confused about. Where's the ice? I personally do not know anyone in the UK who has an ice maker in their freezer - where I don't know anyone in the US without one! As rare as freezer space was for us, this particular one in Wales held two bags of ice and we bought accordingly. But when we'd go out to restaurants, we'd have to specify that we'd like ice in our beverage. Americans reading this will gasp and find that inconceivable.
Also, beverages did not come with refills. In America, you finish your drink and they come along with either a pitcher of tea or another full glass of soda or whatever you are drinking (and by soda I mean Coke, Pepsi, Sprite, 7up, Mountian Dew, etc etc etc.). This simply does not occur in the UK. If you want more of your beverage of choice, be prepared to pay for a second glass. Of course this excludes adult beverages in both countries.
Restaurants are far different in the UK. The first thing you will notice is the lack of drive through windows. In the US, most places have a drive-though window. In Wales, while there, the only drive through windows we could find were at McDonalds. Thank goodness because the drivers window on the borrowed car I was driving (thanks again Sian and Ian for the car! and very sorry about the accident!) did not go down, which would have made drive through windows a royal pain in the butt. Since we rarely go through them here in the US, it wasn't that much of a loss to us. With that said, most restaurants around us were actually pubs. Small, usually more dark than light, carpet on the floors, and a bar where you went and ordered any food you'd like and pay for it upfront. In America, we call them bars and we go to them to drink and socialize but rarely eat anything more than bar food (potato chips, nachos, buffalo wings, etc). Very few restaurants we went to actually had waitresses. The Wyndstay Pizzeria in Machynlleth had waitresses though, which was one of our favorite places. Pricey for pizza (if we are talking American prices) but this was in the UK and all food there was considerably higher. But we didn't eat our too often. Not only did the price affect us but the amount of service we ever received frustrated us to no end. I emailed back a list of all the American restaurants we wanted to eat at upon our arrival. I don't think I cooked for the first two weeks! Seemed we were constantly in awe of how much ice our glass had at all times! ;)
Oh that reminds me - tips! We rarely had to tip there. Staff makes a decent salary and people don't have to tip as much. Compared to the US, where waiters and waitresses only make minimum wage or less, and they make the most of their money in tips. The opposite is true in the UK. They all were shocked when I tipped. Go figure.
Food usually tasted different even when we tried to make things we had here in the US. For instance, we made tacos. Close but very different. Hamburgers were tastier there though. And bacon? Nope. Even their "streaky" bacon (which is supposed to be close to our bacon) wasn't it. Their bacon is more like what we know as Canadian bacon. Probably much healthier. Good but not what we know bacon to be.
We could discuss driving on the opposite side of the road but we won't. Let's just say it's a HUGE adjustment.
People looking at you like you just slapped them. Seriously! Mostly up in Scotland people either looked at me funny or just ignored me after they heard my accent. Mostly though, people were curious about why I was there. I'm sure most Americans don't just choose to go to Mid Wales for three months. I'm not sure if Welsh or British or Scottish people find American accents sexy at all, but I know that in America, women melt over British accents.
There's a million other things to discuss but will hold on to them for now.
Love ~ Peace ~ Happiness
Marianne
Monday, June 10, 2013
Wednesday, May 29, 2013
Chicago and Back in 24 hours
 |
| This is a big water fountain in Millennium Park. There are two of them. Water shoots out of the persons mouth onto the ground below - often covered with children enjoying the water. |
Anyone that knows me well, or actually, even just a little bit, knows that I love Chicago. I've been to Chicago, London, New York, Dallas, Atlanta. Give me Chicago any day. Ok, maybe London over Chicago but Chicago is much more affordable to get to and once you get there, you can afford to eat food there too!
We arrived in Chicago around 1pm their time and went straight to the hotel and checked in. We stayed just outside Chicago this time in a very affordable hotel. It's about a forty minute drive to Chicago from here but considering we weren't paying for the hotel, it would do. Usually, if I have my choice, I'd stay in Champagne Lodge and Luxury Suites but recently, they changed it to a members only hotel. Yes, can you believe it? The thought reminds me of joining Sams Club. A few months back, I checked their pricing on their website and I don't believe the $25 option was available then but it is now. But still... really? I'm don't pay a membership fee to stay at the Hilton Hotels. Just Sayin....
Ok - on to my trip. We went from the hotel in Indiana to downtown Chicago this time on the train. It was an Amtrak type train and cost us roughly $7 per person each way. Not bad considering if I'd driven into the city, I'd pay approx $10 for tolls, $5 for parking, and whatever the gas would cost for 40 minutes in driving, excluding any delays due to construction, accidents, etc. Riding the train was awesome going in to town. I was able to stretch out, drink a bottle of water, watch the scenery going by without worrying about crashing into other cars or driving off the road, and occasionally close my eyes and daydream. It took roughly an hour and a half to get there vs. forty minutes, but by the time you park and get on another train to take you into downtown, it's about the same amount of time, if not less.
We are sitting at the train station waiting and there was this woman there whom I late found out was 67 years old. Let me tell you, this woman was awesome. She was with a friend of hers and she seemed so fun and full of life, it made me want to be more like her. That is one of the awesome things about Chicago and bigger cities. People watching is awesome.
The train took us to Millennium park where we exited and hit the street. Ok, I will reveal my real meaning to go to Chicago other than my love of the place. Chicago has hundreds of #Ingress Portals and I wanted to play enough to get me to the highest level available right now. Turns out that is impossible most places except at Millennium Park because of the high buildings and the horrible GPS signals there due to them. We were able to play a little bit but it was easy to get discouraged thanks to all the high buildings that I love Chicago for. It's such a double edge sword!
We walked miles and miles in a day. Walking the streets of Chicago. Flowers were in bloom which were pretty but I had noticed on the train into the city that the trees didn't have leaves on them yet, as opposed to Dayton. It amazed me how much a few hours more north could make in that aspect. We passed a lot of really cool features in the city by just taking our time and walking around. I randomly took photos of just " things" like fire hydrants, trains, parking garage ticket machines, etc. Things that make the " city " the " city" .
My favorite part of Chicago will always be Millennium Park. Probably the most known park in the city, due to the "Bean". What is the "Bean"? Very few people actually know that it's really called the "Cloud Gate". It's in the center of AT&T Plaza in Millennium Park in the Loop Community of Chicago. It was designed by Indian born British artist Anish Kapoor and construction was started on it in 2004 and finished in 2006. It's made of 168 stainless steel plates welded together seamlessly. It really is an amazing piece of art. Make sure you go see it if you are in Chicago.
.jpg)
The food in Chicago is always out of this world. This trip we only ate at two of my favorite haunts. Millers Pub and Portillos. Millers Pub has the most amazing prime rib you will find in the city but make sure you are super hungry or plan on sharing it with someone. It's a lot of food when you order that. Portillos has the most amazing salads. Their chopped salad can't be beat. I actually take a cooler and bring them home with me when I'm anywhere near one of them in that area for dinner that night.
One of my favorite pizza places in Chicago is Gino's East. Their famous for their deep dish pizza but I promise you - one piece is enough.
 |
| Gino's East Pizza |
 |
| Prime Rib at Millers Pub |
 |
| Chopped Salad for Portillos |
We stopped at Albanese Candy Factory on the way home for some candy as a surprise for Victoria. They had this HUGE chocolate fountain that ran from the ceiling to the .... pot? I don't know what you call it since I'm not a candy maker... but it was pretty impressive.
 |
| Yes! That's chocolate all the way up there! |
Chicago has everything NY has in terms of shopping. They both have their pro's and con's but I prefer Chicago.
Here's to traveling and exploring wherever you are at this time of your life.
Love ~ Peace ~ Happiness
Marianne
Tuesday, March 19, 2013
Tea Comes to England
This was from Kendra Hunt Wilhelm's Thesis on Tea and I wanted to share it with you..
Tea Comes to England
In spite of its early discovery in Asia, tea was unknown to Europeans until the 16th century. The first western reference to tea was in a 1559 volume of travel literature entitled Voyages and Travels, compiled by Giambattaista Ramusio (Jonnes 1982: 101). It describes tea as a hot drink with medicinal qualities. In the 1560's, Father Gasper da Cruz mentions tea in a letter home to Portugal from China, and Father Louis Almeda does the same in a letter sent from Japan to Italy. In spite of these early reports of tea it was not brought to Europe until 1610. It was introduced to Britain by the Dutch and there is no record of its earliest entry into Tea was a rare luxury good and a social nicety for the rich. Served primarily to men, it was first called Cha, from the Cantonese slang for tea. The name changed later to Tay, or Tee, when the British trading post moved from Canton to Amoy, where the word for tea is T'e (Ukers 1935: 23).
In 1662 Catherine of Braganza of Portugal married Charles II and brought with her the preference for tea, which had already become common in Europe. As tea was her temperance drink of choice, it gained social acceptance among the aristocracy as she replaced wine, ale and spirits with tea as the court drink (Mintz 1985: 110).
In an attempt to please Charles II, the English East India Company brought small gifts of tea from Europe for Catherine in 1664 and 1666. Other than these gifts, the English East India company did not consider tea to be worth importing from China until 1668, and it was not considered a serious trading commodity for at least another nine years (Ukers 1935). In 1669 all imports from Holland were prohibited, including tea, granting the English East India Company a monopoly over this commodity.
First sold in apothecaries and a few coffeehouses, the acceptance of tea into British culture was relatively slow. In 1667 Thomas Garraway, the owner of a coffeehouse known as Garraway's, was one of the first to serve tea. According to Garraway's advertisements tea in Britain had only been used as a "regalia in high treatments." He advertised it as a medicinal drink, capable of curing almost anything, and charged £6 to £10 for a pound. His coffee house was a center for mercantile transactions, and he sold tea both by the pound, and prepared tea. Garraway's was not the only coffee house that served as more than simply a place to purchase, and drink, the new stimulant beverages.
Coffee houses were hubs of business and trade news, and patronized entirely by men. As coffee houses were places of sobriety and moderation, they were known as locales for discussions about literature, politics and art. One would go to a coffee house to read newspapers, hear the latest trade news, and to see friends. Most coffee houses had a distinct character and clientele, and every profession, trade and class had its coffee house of choice. By the 18th century, as coffee and tea began to enter the home, many of these coffee houses evolved into male only clubs. One of the better known coffee houses to evolve in this manner was established by Edward Lloyd in 1687. It later became the famous insurance company Lloyds of London (Twinings 1956: 7).
Coffee houses were so active in political discussion that the government felt threatened by them and made an attempt to abolish them. On December 29, 1675, Charles II issued a proclamation ordering that all coffee houses close permanently by January 10, 1676, as they were the "...resort of idle and disaffected persons" (Ukers 1935: 45). The outcry against this was so great he was forced to reverse his decision on January 8, and the coffee houses remained open (Ukers 1935: 45).
Catherine of Braganza's choice of tea was instrumental in the popularization of tea in Britain. Because tea was introduced primarily through male frequented coffee houses, there would have been far less social acceptability for women to drink this beverage had it not been for her example. Catherine of Braganza's use of tea as a court beverage, rather than a medicinal drink, influenced its popularity in literary circles around 1685. By 1686 tea was selling in markets, and the English East India Company considered it to be a part of their regular trade. It was no longer only a specialty item brought back by a ship's captain for personal use (Ukers 1935).
Until the 1700's, tea was a small part of Europe's trade with Asia. Prices were unstable until the 1710's, when direct regular trade between China and the East India companies created a situation in which larger quantities of tea were ordered because of an increased demand. In 1720, English Parliament prohibited the import of finished Asian textiles, with the goal of encouraging local textile manufacture. Until this time tea had been viewed as a secondary commodity, but now it was regarded with increasing interest, and it replaced silk as the primary Chinese export. Fortunately for the merchants who were forced to stop importing silk, tea drinking was gaining popularity in Britain.
Because of the increased tea trade a direct trade route was swiftly created between Canton and Britain, and tea prices stabilized (Smith 1992: 275). The market was flooded with green tea from China. Both tea and coffee were increasing in popularity during the beginning of the eighteenth century, but coffee became more difficult to import as demand for these two commodities grew.
Until the beginning of the eighteenth century, the only regions of the world supplying coffee were Arabia, New Guinea and Eritrea, a province in Ethiopia. All of these area were then free of European control, and incapable of increasing the amount of coffee produced. Although the Dutch attempted to grow coffee in other regions of the world, Arabian coffee remained the most popular. Coffee supply and prices were unstable, and rising demand pushed prices higher. Tea supply and prices stabilized earlier than coffee, so merchants preferred to deal in this commodity, and consequently advertised it more vigorously (Smith 1992: 275).
It has been suggested that tea gained popularity over chocolate and coffee in the late 1700's because it was more patriotic to drink tea, as it came from British colonies, whereas coffee came from the non-British Arabia, and chocolate from the Spanish and Portuguese controlled Americas (Smith 1992: 277). This was true during later years, but this theory neatly overlooks the historical fact that during the time in which tea actually supplanted coffee, both commodities were imported from politically independent nations; coffee came from Arabia, and tea was grown in China. It was not until the early nineteenth century that tea was grown in British colonies such as Java, India and Sri Lanka.
The amount of tea imported increased again in the first half of the eighteenth century. From 1650 to 1700, Britain imported about 181,500 lbs of tea. In the 1750's about 40 million lbs of tea were legally imported to Britain. However, as the smuggling trade was active in the eighteenth century, and it is very difficult to estimate how much tea was actually imported and consumed (Schivelbusch 1993). It is likely that as much tea was being smuggled in from Europe as was legally imported by the English East India Company. Sawdust, sand, and other floor sweepings were sometimes added to the tea by smugglers and traders to increase its volume despite legislation passed against the practice in 1725 (Drummond and Wilbraham 1939: 242). It is hard to imagine what this would have done to the quality of the taste of the tea, and how an infusion made of tea that was often mixed with these other "ingredients" could have become popular. It has been suggested that this adulteration of green tea made the public wary, so there was a change in preference to black teas. It is uncertain, however, why the demand for tea, green or black, increased so quickly during this time period, especially given the for questionable quality.
One reason tea became more popular than coffee lies in the nature of its preparation. Coffee grounds can only be used to make coffee once, as reusing grounds yields coffee with a far inferior taste. Tea leaves, however, can be used several times without a marked taste difference, although the resulting beverage is weaker than the original infusion. Until tea dropped in price in the middle of the nineteenth century, members of the working class in Britain bought second hand tea leaves from the bourgeoisie and let the tea steep longer to compensate. The amount of tea used can also be reduced, and a weak cup of tea is far more palatable than a weak cup of coffee. The price of tea per pound is always higher than that of coffee, but a smaller amount of tea is used per cup than coffee, making it more economical. (Drummond and Wilbraham 1939).
Chinese tea was imported until 1833. Due to increasing tensions between Britain and China, trade was restricted in 1831 when China only allowed foreign merchants contact with the Canton port. In 1834 all ports were closed to foreign vessels by an Imperial Edict from the Chinese Emperor until the end of the Britain-China war in 1842 (Ukers 1935: 77).
The first tea from Java did not appear until 1835, and very little was produced in Java until a few decades later, so it is not clear where the British imported the bulk of their tea from between 1834 and 1842. The tea trade with India did not start around 1838. However, prices for this tea were very high and supply was not regular until the 1860's. In Sri Lanka (Ceylon) tea was not grown until the 1880's. Although tea drinking was common, consumption remained modest, at about three pounds per person a year, until the 1840's when consumption began to skyrocket. (Ukers 1935)
Clipper ships, first built in the early 1830's in the United States, provided the fastest means of transporting tea between China and the west. They became common in the early 1840's, in Britain when trade with China resumed. They could travel to China and back in the same amount of time an earlier ship sailed half the voyage. Tea Clippers were vital to the tea trade until the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869 and were in operation until the end of the 1880's. During their heyday the Tea Clippers caught the attention of the public and there were many popular and well publicized races between ships, often with large prizes for the crew of the winning ship (Ukers 1935). The increase of tea on the British market due to the clipper ships aided in driving down the price of tea so members of the working class could afford it.
Blending teas began around 1870 when tea merchants such as Twinings began to blend different varieties of tea from differing regions to achieve a stable taste. Twining's English Breakfast Blend, for example, has tasted essentially the same for decades. Now the consumer was sure of exactly what flavor she or he was buying, and would be more likely to buy more once a favorite blend was discovered. A reduction of import duties lowered the price of tea, so buying more of the favored blend was economically easier than ever before. Tea prices plummeted with the introduction of black tea from Sri Lanka in the middle to late 1880's.
During the First World War there was a strong temperance movement and tea became a popular alternative to alcohol. By 1938 the per capita yearly tea consumption reached 9.11 pounds, and tea was firmly established in British culture.
Click here to view and purchase British tea and biscuits!
Tea Comes to England
In spite of its early discovery in Asia, tea was unknown to Europeans until the 16th century. The first western reference to tea was in a 1559 volume of travel literature entitled Voyages and Travels, compiled by Giambattaista Ramusio (Jonnes 1982: 101). It describes tea as a hot drink with medicinal qualities. In the 1560's, Father Gasper da Cruz mentions tea in a letter home to Portugal from China, and Father Louis Almeda does the same in a letter sent from Japan to Italy. In spite of these early reports of tea it was not brought to Europe until 1610. It was introduced to Britain by the Dutch and there is no record of its earliest entry into Tea was a rare luxury good and a social nicety for the rich. Served primarily to men, it was first called Cha, from the Cantonese slang for tea. The name changed later to Tay, or Tee, when the British trading post moved from Canton to Amoy, where the word for tea is T'e (Ukers 1935: 23).
In 1662 Catherine of Braganza of Portugal married Charles II and brought with her the preference for tea, which had already become common in Europe. As tea was her temperance drink of choice, it gained social acceptance among the aristocracy as she replaced wine, ale and spirits with tea as the court drink (Mintz 1985: 110).
First sold in apothecaries and a few coffeehouses, the acceptance of tea into British culture was relatively slow. In 1667 Thomas Garraway, the owner of a coffeehouse known as Garraway's, was one of the first to serve tea. According to Garraway's advertisements tea in Britain had only been used as a "regalia in high treatments." He advertised it as a medicinal drink, capable of curing almost anything, and charged £6 to £10 for a pound. His coffee house was a center for mercantile transactions, and he sold tea both by the pound, and prepared tea. Garraway's was not the only coffee house that served as more than simply a place to purchase, and drink, the new stimulant beverages.
Coffee houses were hubs of business and trade news, and patronized entirely by men. As coffee houses were places of sobriety and moderation, they were known as locales for discussions about literature, politics and art. One would go to a coffee house to read newspapers, hear the latest trade news, and to see friends. Most coffee houses had a distinct character and clientele, and every profession, trade and class had its coffee house of choice. By the 18th century, as coffee and tea began to enter the home, many of these coffee houses evolved into male only clubs. One of the better known coffee houses to evolve in this manner was established by Edward Lloyd in 1687. It later became the famous insurance company Lloyds of London (Twinings 1956: 7).
Coffee houses were so active in political discussion that the government felt threatened by them and made an attempt to abolish them. On December 29, 1675, Charles II issued a proclamation ordering that all coffee houses close permanently by January 10, 1676, as they were the "...resort of idle and disaffected persons" (Ukers 1935: 45). The outcry against this was so great he was forced to reverse his decision on January 8, and the coffee houses remained open (Ukers 1935: 45).
Catherine of Braganza's choice of tea was instrumental in the popularization of tea in Britain. Because tea was introduced primarily through male frequented coffee houses, there would have been far less social acceptability for women to drink this beverage had it not been for her example. Catherine of Braganza's use of tea as a court beverage, rather than a medicinal drink, influenced its popularity in literary circles around 1685. By 1686 tea was selling in markets, and the English East India Company considered it to be a part of their regular trade. It was no longer only a specialty item brought back by a ship's captain for personal use (Ukers 1935).
Until the 1700's, tea was a small part of Europe's trade with Asia. Prices were unstable until the 1710's, when direct regular trade between China and the East India companies created a situation in which larger quantities of tea were ordered because of an increased demand. In 1720, English Parliament prohibited the import of finished Asian textiles, with the goal of encouraging local textile manufacture. Until this time tea had been viewed as a secondary commodity, but now it was regarded with increasing interest, and it replaced silk as the primary Chinese export. Fortunately for the merchants who were forced to stop importing silk, tea drinking was gaining popularity in Britain.
Because of the increased tea trade a direct trade route was swiftly created between Canton and Britain, and tea prices stabilized (Smith 1992: 275). The market was flooded with green tea from China. Both tea and coffee were increasing in popularity during the beginning of the eighteenth century, but coffee became more difficult to import as demand for these two commodities grew.
Until the beginning of the eighteenth century, the only regions of the world supplying coffee were Arabia, New Guinea and Eritrea, a province in Ethiopia. All of these area were then free of European control, and incapable of increasing the amount of coffee produced. Although the Dutch attempted to grow coffee in other regions of the world, Arabian coffee remained the most popular. Coffee supply and prices were unstable, and rising demand pushed prices higher. Tea supply and prices stabilized earlier than coffee, so merchants preferred to deal in this commodity, and consequently advertised it more vigorously (Smith 1992: 275).
It has been suggested that tea gained popularity over chocolate and coffee in the late 1700's because it was more patriotic to drink tea, as it came from British colonies, whereas coffee came from the non-British Arabia, and chocolate from the Spanish and Portuguese controlled Americas (Smith 1992: 277). This was true during later years, but this theory neatly overlooks the historical fact that during the time in which tea actually supplanted coffee, both commodities were imported from politically independent nations; coffee came from Arabia, and tea was grown in China. It was not until the early nineteenth century that tea was grown in British colonies such as Java, India and Sri Lanka.
The amount of tea imported increased again in the first half of the eighteenth century. From 1650 to 1700, Britain imported about 181,500 lbs of tea. In the 1750's about 40 million lbs of tea were legally imported to Britain. However, as the smuggling trade was active in the eighteenth century, and it is very difficult to estimate how much tea was actually imported and consumed (Schivelbusch 1993). It is likely that as much tea was being smuggled in from Europe as was legally imported by the English East India Company. Sawdust, sand, and other floor sweepings were sometimes added to the tea by smugglers and traders to increase its volume despite legislation passed against the practice in 1725 (Drummond and Wilbraham 1939: 242). It is hard to imagine what this would have done to the quality of the taste of the tea, and how an infusion made of tea that was often mixed with these other "ingredients" could have become popular. It has been suggested that this adulteration of green tea made the public wary, so there was a change in preference to black teas. It is uncertain, however, why the demand for tea, green or black, increased so quickly during this time period, especially given the for questionable quality.
One reason tea became more popular than coffee lies in the nature of its preparation. Coffee grounds can only be used to make coffee once, as reusing grounds yields coffee with a far inferior taste. Tea leaves, however, can be used several times without a marked taste difference, although the resulting beverage is weaker than the original infusion. Until tea dropped in price in the middle of the nineteenth century, members of the working class in Britain bought second hand tea leaves from the bourgeoisie and let the tea steep longer to compensate. The amount of tea used can also be reduced, and a weak cup of tea is far more palatable than a weak cup of coffee. The price of tea per pound is always higher than that of coffee, but a smaller amount of tea is used per cup than coffee, making it more economical. (Drummond and Wilbraham 1939).
Chinese tea was imported until 1833. Due to increasing tensions between Britain and China, trade was restricted in 1831 when China only allowed foreign merchants contact with the Canton port. In 1834 all ports were closed to foreign vessels by an Imperial Edict from the Chinese Emperor until the end of the Britain-China war in 1842 (Ukers 1935: 77).
 |
| English Breakfast Tea |
The first tea from Java did not appear until 1835, and very little was produced in Java until a few decades later, so it is not clear where the British imported the bulk of their tea from between 1834 and 1842. The tea trade with India did not start around 1838. However, prices for this tea were very high and supply was not regular until the 1860's. In Sri Lanka (Ceylon) tea was not grown until the 1880's. Although tea drinking was common, consumption remained modest, at about three pounds per person a year, until the 1840's when consumption began to skyrocket. (Ukers 1935)
Clipper ships, first built in the early 1830's in the United States, provided the fastest means of transporting tea between China and the west. They became common in the early 1840's, in Britain when trade with China resumed. They could travel to China and back in the same amount of time an earlier ship sailed half the voyage. Tea Clippers were vital to the tea trade until the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869 and were in operation until the end of the 1880's. During their heyday the Tea Clippers caught the attention of the public and there were many popular and well publicized races between ships, often with large prizes for the crew of the winning ship (Ukers 1935). The increase of tea on the British market due to the clipper ships aided in driving down the price of tea so members of the working class could afford it.
Blending teas began around 1870 when tea merchants such as Twinings began to blend different varieties of tea from differing regions to achieve a stable taste. Twining's English Breakfast Blend, for example, has tasted essentially the same for decades. Now the consumer was sure of exactly what flavor she or he was buying, and would be more likely to buy more once a favorite blend was discovered. A reduction of import duties lowered the price of tea, so buying more of the favored blend was economically easier than ever before. Tea prices plummeted with the introduction of black tea from Sri Lanka in the middle to late 1880's.
During the First World War there was a strong temperance movement and tea became a popular alternative to alcohol. By 1938 the per capita yearly tea consumption reached 9.11 pounds, and tea was firmly established in British culture.
Click here to view and purchase British tea and biscuits!
Tuesday, January 29, 2013
November in Wales
November in Wales leads to some pleasant weather if it wasn't for all the rain. It rained and when we thought it had rained enough, it rained more just to prove to us that Mother Nature had a sense of humor. Whether that was a good or bad sense of humor - we are not quite sure of yet.
At this point, we had been in Wales for almost two months and had been doing quite a bit of driving around and checking things out. Victoria was singing with a Welsh choir once a week which I think was a good experience for her. We drove up and down the coast, admiring the scenery. Sheep abound everywhere in the area. The water was beautiful and the beaches led to some research being done about the rocks we found on the beaches there.
At this point, we had been in Wales for almost two months and had been doing quite a bit of driving around and checking things out. Victoria was singing with a Welsh choir once a week which I think was a good experience for her. We drove up and down the coast, admiring the scenery. Sheep abound everywhere in the area. The water was beautiful and the beaches led to some research being done about the rocks we found on the beaches there.
As the month grew on, the weather got colder. The rain continued. It made it rather dreary. We'd seen a considerable amount of the area by then. Thoughts of Thanksgiving started coming to mind. I started asking around about finding a turkey since I had very little success even finding sliced turkey for sandwiches, with alone anything that resembled the actual bird. I guess I had never given it much thought that turkeys are very American. I asked at Morrisons (http://www.morrisons.co.uk/), one of the local grocery stores (in Aberystwyth - about 45 minutes away) if they had or would be getting any. The very helpful man told me mid-November, in preparation for Christmas. Knowing that the freezer was barely big enough for the ice we had in it, I knew that would be perfect timing to buy a bird.
At one point, I couldn't drive for a few days, which was extremely frustrating. I stood up to walk somewhere and my foot was dead. Down I fell to the ground, apparently thinking my hand would stop me and I ended up falling onto it. Wow, did that hurt. I landed on my knee (which I had recently had knee injections) which scared me, and did considerably more damage to my hand. It was so bad, I actually went to hospital in Aberystwyth thanks to the kind help of Jayne Hopkins. I wasn't even able to drive because the car was a 5-speed and I couldn't use my left hand to change gears. Jayne was kind enough to come pick me up and take me to the hospital, where they x-rayed it and decided it was just badly bruised and twisted. It took a good month plus for all the swelling and the bruising to go away, but thank goodness it's as good as new again. And again, thanks to Jayne Hopkins for her very generous help.
Thanksgiving came and our friend Kerry came up and spent a few days with us. Taking him around and showing off the area was fun. We even went to Portmerian again! The weather was a bit cool but the rain held off a few days for some sightseeing! Thursday we cooked and cooked and had a typical American Thanksgiving with a turkey breast (decided a whole bird for three of us was a bit excessive! and expensive in the UK!), green bean casserole, mashed potatoes, rolls, dessert. We had a good time and afterward spent time finding the funniest and most weird videos online that we could come up with. We had a great time!
We tried not to hold onto many of our American ways, so much, as this was a trip to teach Victoria that there were other ways of doing things. Thanksgiving, however, was an exception. How could you turn down a chance to make amazingly good Thanksgiving food!? (Side note: good thing we did Thanksgiving too! We didn't do Christmas but more on that later!)
By this point in the month, we discovered we'd be needing wood before too long, since it was our ONLY source of heat for the house. They'd left us with quite a bit and a check to order more. The man delivered the wood the same day I called which happened to be Kerry's last few hours with us. Thank God too because I'm not sure I'd had gotten all this wood stacked alone! Trust me - there was more than what you can see here! Thanks again Kerry!
I'm off - till my next posting...
Love ~ Peace ~ Happiness
Always,
Marianne
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)