All caddies carried locks on
them and it was typical in the 18th century for
the lady of the house to keep the caddy key on
her chatelaine
around her waist. This meant the servant and butler
of the house would not be tempted to try such
a precious commodity. It was usual for the tea
ceremony, with all the delicate Chinese porcelain
tea wares, to be performed when the ladies retired
after dinner to take tea in the drawing room.
Tea caddies by 1780 began to be made in mahogany
and were often Satinwood cross banded. They began
to become larger from 1784 when William Pitt’s
Commutation Act removed most of the hated tea
tax. An emergent middle class could start to take
tea for the first time as the average price of
tea dropped by three shillings a pound. Tea was
just beginning to become a national drink and
more people could try the taste of Chinese Bohea,
Green or Hyson tea.
By 1833 the East India Company in China lost
its monopoly of the tea trade and prices fell
again when Indian tea began to be imported for
the first time. The tea caddy became bigger and
often alongside the tea canisters within (which
were tin lined to keep the tea fresh), a mixing
bowl was inset in the centre for the consumer
to blend tea for their personal preference. Caddies
were often Sarcophagus in form and began to be
made in Walnut and Rosewood.
This short insight into the history of tea drinking
was an important catalyst in the 18th Century
in creating the polite society of which the period
was remembered for. A French visitor to these
isles noted in 1781, ‘The greatest mark
of civility and welcome they can show you, is
to invite you to drink tea with them’
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