Tea sets from around the world

Tea has been a preferred brew for millenia – a whole history of tea drinking can be discovered here

As we look at our amazing store of treasures we realise that we have had and still have so many examples of tea sets from all around the world – the one below is Chinese Export silver by Wang Hing crafted in Hong Kong dating from the last years of the 19th century. The one above is dates from 1826 , by Joseph Angell and was crafted in London England

Both are in the same style – a tea pot , a coffee or hot water pot , a sugar bowl and a cream jug

So why was tea so popular in the 19th century

Tea wasn’t just a beverage in 19th century England—it was a cultural phenomenon that transformed British society. From humble beginnings as an exotic luxury in the 1700s, tea evolved to become the nation’s defining drink during the Victorian era.

The East India Company’s monopoly on tea trade ended in 1833, causing prices to fall dramatically. Simultaneously, the establishment of tea plantations in India and Ceylon reduced Britain’s dependence on expensive Chinese imports.

The Victorian middle class embraced tea with particular enthusiasm. Unlike coffee houses, which remained predominantly male spaces, tea rooms and domestic tea gatherings welcomed women, creating new social opportunities. The ritual of “afternoon tea,” popularized by Anna, Duchess of Bedford in the 1840s, became a cornerstone of Victorian social life.

The tea party became to way to entertain and impress the neighbours and our amazing collection of tea ware shows how to impress

In the 19th century Britain was the centre of a huge trading network and as a result had great influence on fashions as well as an almost limitless ability to consume

Through its trading network Britain imported tea sets from China

We have many Chinese Export silver tea sets – hand crafted sets made up of a tea pot, a sugar bowl and a cream jug. The shape, the use very much in the Western taste. But looking carefully you see the influence of the Chinese craftsmen in the motifs and detail

At the turn of the 20th century Japan joined in the export silver trade and once again we see exquisite tea ets made for those foreigners