London - Tea Capital Of The World

The British have long been known for their love ofepitome of fine food for the festive season.
tea -- a custom acquired from the Chinese back inIn 1834, Henry Charles Harrod opened a wholesale
the 16th Century, when British entrepreneursgrocery, specializing in tea, in Stepney in the east end
discovered this most refreshing of beverages andof London. In 1849, he shrewdly moved to the new
started to bring it to England, turning London into thedistrict of Knightsbridge, then in the countryside west
tea capital of the west.of London. This lay just south of the original royal
This started the tradition of the clippers: swift,hunting area of Hyde Park, which was due to be the
square-rigged sailing vessels, which would race eachlocation of the Great Exhibition of 1851.
other round the Cape of Good Hope in an effort toThis relocation paid off handsomely for Harrod and
be first to dock in London with the new harvest ofhis store grew and grew into the world famous
tea from China. One such tea clipper, The CuttyHarrods, now occupying an impressive site in the
Sark, is preserved and is moored on the Thames atsame location as the original shop. They still sell tea
Greenwich, to the east of London.today -- and a lot more besides. In fact their proud
The oldest tea merchant in the world is Twinings,boast is they sell anything you might want. To
who opened their tea warehouse in London in 1706.reinforce this, their telegraphic address is: "Everything,
Today they are still very much in business, still sellingLondon".
tea and still run by the Twining family.Taking afternoon tea in London has become
Two other tea merchants followed Twinings,something of a tradition. One of the most desirable
eventually diversifying into selling more general goods.locations for this is just along Piccadilly from Fortnum
The oldest of the two is Fortnum and Mason, theand Masons, at the Ritz Hotel, overlooking Green
world famous food store in Piccadilly. This wasPark.
started by William Fortnum -- a retired footman, who"Tea at the Ritz" became particularly popular in the
used to work in nearby St James's Palace, servingearly twentieth century, because it was the only
the then monarch, Queen Anne. He was already inplace young ladies could visit unchaperoned. Today, it
partnership with Hugh Mason, as he was allowed tois a delight to be savored, with or without your
keep the burnt down stubs of the candles that lit thechaperon! The standard of the tea, sandwiches
royal palace, which Mason melted down to make(another famous dish invented in London by The Earl
new candles for sale.of Sandwich) and the cakes is impeccable.
Fortnum and Mason opened just a year afterAnother excellent location for afternoon tea, when in
Twinings, in 1707, and immediately started to sell aLondon, is the English Tea Room of Brown's Hotel in
wide range of high quality food -- including tea -- toAlbemarle Street, Mayfair. This fine, traditional hotel
the royal household and the local gentry. They alsowas founded in 1837 by James Brown, butler to Lord
shipped tea to Florence Nightingale, when she wasByron and his wife, who was Lady Byron's maid.
nursing in The Crimea. They are still going strongTheir hotel quickly became a meeting place for the
today and, when you visit London, you must visitlocal nobility and today is frequented by a wide
"Fortnums", as they are known, and see the liveriedclientele carrying on the tradition of enjoying English
shop assistants. And, if you are seeking that specialafternoon tea.
Christmas gift, Fortnum and Mason gift hampers,Copyright 2006 Jon Michael and
presented in monogrammed wicker baskets are theLondonVacationSecrets.