The Ultimate Tea Trendsetter- Anna, The 7th Duchess of Bedford
by Lady Dawnya Sasse
Some people unknowingly start tea trends. Sometimes, those trends last for hundreds of years, changing society, the economy, and the world. Anna, the wife of the seventh Duke of Bedford, was one such innocent trend-setter.
Imagine sweet Anna beginning her day as all other aristocratic people would in the early decades of the 19th century. In the first light of morning, she drinks some ale. She butters her thick brown bread.
She eats her boiled beef as her breakfast and goes on about her business. Around mid-day, she partakes of a light lunch, maybe consisting of a slice of bread and cheese.
Anna is a busy woman, seeing to her duties as Duchess, socializing with the elite, planning parties and running a household. Her full-course, typical heavy English dinner is not scheduled until 8:00 that evening.
But by 5:00, Anna is famished, her early-morning breakfast eight or nine hours past. Luckily for Anna, who writes that she has “a sinking feeling” around that time of day, her staff attends to her every wish and delivers small servings of bread and butter, cakes, assorted sweets, and tea to her at 5:00.
Whether Anna was hypoglycemic, whether she had an enormous appetite, or whether she was simply able to fill her hunger pangs better than most people, we’ll never know, but she had tea served every day at 5:00.
Since Anna’s world was often built around the social activities of the wealthy, she began to invite friends in for the 5:00 “low” tea. Other aristocratic matrons took note, and soon people were being invited in for afternoon tea all over the country.
But afternoon tea wasn’t the only trend that Anna set. Did you know that it was because of her that men and women began to literally tread a common ground?
As the English fell in love with the ritual of afternoon tea and the inherent socializing that came with it, public areas called tea gardens were opened. Here in the beauty of the outdoors, for the first time, women were able to attend and patronize a public area whether or not they were accompanied by men, and they could do so without criticism! (Thank you, Anna!) Men, women, couples, and children could stroll through beautiful flower gardens, listen to musicians, play cards, or partake of tasty refreshments, all because Anna started a tea-trend!
But the domino-effect of Anna’s afternoon tea wasn’t finished yet. Every waitress or waiter since Anna’s time will be thankful to her when they know how her trendsetting affects their wages!
Anna’s establishment of afternoon tea resulted in the creation of tea gardens where waiters had the benefit of the first tips, a historical precedent that has continued into modern times.
Since the hot water for tea often came from kitchens that were far away, the speed of the server drastically affected the temperature of the water. Patrons to the tea gardens, upon being seated, put coins into boxes labeled T.I.P.S., “To Insure Prompt Service,” thereby encouraging their servers to be speedy and deliver hotter water for tastier tea. Tips are now given to servers as a matter of fact, based on the quickness and quality of the service.
Bless your hungry soul, Anna. Your afternoon tea was just the starting point for trends that have lasted more than a hundred and fifty years.
(C) Dawnya Sasse - 2006
Dawnya Sasse is the creator of the ultimate tea business training school allowing students to discover the secrets of the tea industy,"quickly and easily" without ever leaving home.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Why do some people succeed in the tea business? Discover how to "Unlock the Secrets of the Billion Dollar Tea Industry from the Comfort of Your Own Computer" and make your tea dream a reality. Free audio mini course http://www.StartATeaBusiness.com
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
This article may be distributed freely on your website, as long as this entire article, including links and this resource box are unchanged.
Copyright 2006 Dawnya Sasse All Rights Reserved. Tea Events http://www.TeaEvents.com
by Lady Dawnya Sasse
Some people unknowingly start tea trends. Sometimes, those trends last for hundreds of years, changing society, the economy, and the world. Anna, the wife of the seventh Duke of Bedford, was one such innocent trend-setter.
Imagine sweet Anna beginning her day as all other aristocratic people would in the early decades of the 19th century. In the first light of morning, she drinks some ale. She butters her thick brown bread.
She eats her boiled beef as her breakfast and goes on about her business. Around mid-day, she partakes of a light lunch, maybe consisting of a slice of bread and cheese.
Anna is a busy woman, seeing to her duties as Duchess, socializing with the elite, planning parties and running a household. Her full-course, typical heavy English dinner is not scheduled until 8:00 that evening.
But by 5:00, Anna is famished, her early-morning breakfast eight or nine hours past. Luckily for Anna, who writes that she has “a sinking feeling” around that time of day, her staff attends to her every wish and delivers small servings of bread and butter, cakes, assorted sweets, and tea to her at 5:00.
Whether Anna was hypoglycemic, whether she had an enormous appetite, or whether she was simply able to fill her hunger pangs better than most people, we’ll never know, but she had tea served every day at 5:00.
Since Anna’s world was often built around the social activities of the wealthy, she began to invite friends in for the 5:00 “low” tea. Other aristocratic matrons took note, and soon people were being invited in for afternoon tea all over the country.
But afternoon tea wasn’t the only trend that Anna set. Did you know that it was because of her that men and women began to literally tread a common ground?
As the English fell in love with the ritual of afternoon tea and the inherent socializing that came with it, public areas called tea gardens were opened. Here in the beauty of the outdoors, for the first time, women were able to attend and patronize a public area whether or not they were accompanied by men, and they could do so without criticism! (Thank you, Anna!) Men, women, couples, and children could stroll through beautiful flower gardens, listen to musicians, play cards, or partake of tasty refreshments, all because Anna started a tea-trend!
But the domino-effect of Anna’s afternoon tea wasn’t finished yet. Every waitress or waiter since Anna’s time will be thankful to her when they know how her trendsetting affects their wages!
Anna’s establishment of afternoon tea resulted in the creation of tea gardens where waiters had the benefit of the first tips, a historical precedent that has continued into modern times.
Since the hot water for tea often came from kitchens that were far away, the speed of the server drastically affected the temperature of the water. Patrons to the tea gardens, upon being seated, put coins into boxes labeled T.I.P.S., “To Insure Prompt Service,” thereby encouraging their servers to be speedy and deliver hotter water for tastier tea. Tips are now given to servers as a matter of fact, based on the quickness and quality of the service.
Bless your hungry soul, Anna. Your afternoon tea was just the starting point for trends that have lasted more than a hundred and fifty years.
(C) Dawnya Sasse - 2006
Dawnya Sasse is the creator of the ultimate tea business training school allowing students to discover the secrets of the tea industy,"quickly and easily" without ever leaving home.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Why do some people succeed in the tea business? Discover how to "Unlock the Secrets of the Billion Dollar Tea Industry from the Comfort of Your Own Computer" and make your tea dream a reality. Free audio mini course http://www.StartATeaBusiness.com
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
This article may be distributed freely on your website, as long as this entire article, including links and this resource box are unchanged.
Copyright 2006 Dawnya Sasse All Rights Reserved. Tea Events http://www.TeaEvents.com
posted by Lady Dawnya at 11:15 AM
<< Home