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The Health Debate
Then tea first arrived in Britain it was not
advertised as a beverage, but as a medicine. In 1657 it was considered an
effective treatment for gout, and in 1659 the first advertisement for tea,
printed by Thomas Garraway owner of the London coffeehouse Garraway's,
claimed tea would not only, "...maketh the body active and lusty" but also
"...removeth the obstructions of the Spleen..." and "very good against the
Stone and Gravel, cleaning the Kidneys and Uriters, being drank with
Virgins Honey instead of Sugar" (Ukers
1935: 39). Garaway wanted to convince the British consumers that tea
was an effective cure-all, so as to increase his trade.
Dr. Cornelius Decker of Amsterdam, also known as Dr. Bontekoe, was one of
the strongest advocates of tea drinking. In the late 1670's he prescribed
the consumption of eight to ten cups of tea a day, and claimed to drink 50
to 200 cups daily. However, he may have been under the employment of the
East India Company while making these recommendations which would have
greatly skewed his professional opinion (Ukers 1935: 32). A Dutch physician
wrote "Nothing is comparable to this plant. Those who use it are for that
reason, alone, exempt from all maladies and reach an extreme old age" (Jonnes 1982: 101). But not all
physicians of the seventeenth century agreed that tea drinking was
beneficial to one's health. An unnamed German doctor wrote in direct
negation to the Dutch doctor quoted above, that tea "Hastens the death of
those that drink it, especially if they have passed the age of 40 years"
(Jonnes 1982: 101).
The question of tea's health effects was still not settled almost a
century later as tea was becoming more widespread. This increasing
popularity was in spite of French physician's Gui Patin's labelling tea
the "impermanent novelty of the century." He later realized his mistake
and started praising tea as an effective gout treatment in 1657 (Jonnes 1982: 101). Dr. Samuel Johnson
defended tea, and was known to drink as many as sixteen cups of tea at one
tea party. Tea was viewed by many as a morally acceptable alternative to
alcohol, partly due to the influence of Catherine of Braganza. However, in
spite of her choice of tea as the official court beverage in the 1660's,
many members of the temperance movement condemned tea along with alcohol.
The well known preacher John Wesley spoke about tea in the same terms as
he did other strong drink because of its stimulant qualities, calling it
harmful to the body and soul. Jonas Hanway, a London merchant, agreed when
he wrote in 1756 that tea was, "...pernicious to health, obstructing
industry and impoverishing the nation" (Ukers 1935: 47). In the next year in an
essay on tea Mr. Hxxxx wrote, "What an army has gin and tea destroyed."
(Drummond and Wilbraham 1939:
243) By the mid-eighteenth century the overwhelming opinion was that
tea drinking was detrimental to the health. In 1730 a Scottish doctor
named Thomas Short claimed tea drinking caused disastrous ailments.
Many objected to tea on social or economic grounds, rather than for
physical health reasons. Political economist Arthur Young objected to tea
in the late eighteenth century, as he was upset by the amount of time lost
to the taking of a tea break. He was also disturbed that members of the
working class who could often not afford a hot meal in the middle of the
day would drink tea instead. It made them feel they had eaten a meal, and
this made them consume a smaller amount of nutritious foods (Ukers 1935: 47). Tea has no nutritional
value, aside from the empty calories provided by the sugar that was added
to the tea by this time. Previous to tea, the beverage of choice to the
working class was home brewed beer. In spite of the detrimental effects of
the alcohol content some argued that there was more nutritional content in
beer than tea (Drummond and Wilbraham
1939). Short argued that people would spend money buying tea, a luxury
good, rather than food. In fact, however, many of the working class who
purchased tea bought very cheap grades, or once used tea leaves, from
wealthier families.
Sugar was commonly added to tea by the early eighteenth century so many of
the arguments for and against tea were caught up in the debate surrounding
sugar. It is not clear when sugar was first added to tea as a sweetener.
When initially introduced in Britain tea, was drunk in Chinese style,
without milk or sugar, but as the popularity of both tea and sugar
increased people began to add sugar to their tea. In 1678 Cornelis
Bontekoe, the Dutch "tea doctor" advocated heavy tea drinking in a
pamphlet, but warned against taking sugar with it at the end of the
pamphlet, thereby indicating that some were engaged in this practice (Smith 1992: 263).
Thomas Tryon, an English author popular in the late 17th century,
advocated sugar in moderation, as he considered it dangerous if eaten in
large quantities. Tryon believed that sugar was safe if consumed with
bitter herbs. The herbs contain healthful properties and the sugar
sweetens the herbs so they can be consumed. Although Tryon does not
mention tea it fits his scheme of safe sugar consumption. It is a bitter
herb that mixes well with sugar and, especially if sugar is added in
moderation, the medicinal qualities of tea would cancel out sugar's
harmful effects (Smith 1992:
270).
Why and when the British began adding sugar to their tea at the beginning
of the 18th century may always remain a mystery, as is the question of why
the Chinese never begun. Sugar was a known sweetener in China, and often
added to other foods and beverages, such as wine, so the addition of sugar
to tea might have been a logical. The addition of sugar to tea in Britain
reinforced the demand for both commodities, and fostered plantation
agriculture in the British colonies. Sweetened tea was drunk heavily by
the working classes during break periods. The caffeine in tea made it
possible to work the long hours asked of the workers, and the sugar
provided a short term boost of energy and some empty calories that,
although not as beneficial as a meal, ensured the worker would get through
the day.
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