Tomorrow is the annual First Assembly of God Ladies Tea - Victorian this year. I figured I would post something on tea drinking. This information comes from various internet sites. Here goes.
It is believed that Chinese herbal tea was discovered by Emperor Shen Nung of China in 2737 BC. Well although the custom of drinking tea dates back to the 3rd millennium BC in China, it was not until the mid 17th Century that the first tea appeared in England. Afternoon tea was introduced in England by Anna, the seventh Duchess of Bedford, in year 1840. During the 1880's upper class and society women would change into long gowns, gloves and hats for their afternoon tea which was usually served in the drawing room between four and five o'clock.
Accordingly, as tea drinking blossomed in England, so too did it in the English colonies (i.e. Jamaica, India, the entire Caribbean, etc.)
A little superstition with your tea, perhaps? To stir tea in the pot is to stir up strife. Bubbles in your cup show that kisses are coming, but if you put in milk before the sugar . . . you risk losing your sweetheart. If a girl allows a man to pour out a second cup of tea for her she will succumb to his designs. (I have been unable to discover whether it works the other way around.) And of course there is the advance information given by a floating tea-leaf that a stranger is coming, the number of taps with one hand it takes to shake it off the back of the other hand showing how many days there are to wait. People who make tea with water which is not boiling must expect a lot of strangers.
By the way, if you are in the Florida City area you can still make the party tomorrow,2-4pm at the Goldcoaster clubhouse. Please call 305-992-0225 for directions or pick-up.
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