By the early 18th century tea was being sold in liquid as well as leaf form in coffee houses, apothecaries, as well as in shops that catered to the female market. Tea was very expensive. In 1665 it sold for 16 to 50 shillings a pound, that at a time when the average skilled workman earned less than 20 shillings a week.

In 1700 only 70 pounds of tea was imported to England; by 1730 that had risen to about a million pounds. The lure of tea was extreme and by the 1730’s poor working people were partaking of the beverage, though it had been “recycled”. Servants often dried the tea leaves after they had been used and then sold them in the underground economy as did workers in tea shops. This resulted in even wider dissemination of the brew. By the middle of the 18th century, recycled tea had found its way into most corners of society, and tea could be bought by the “pinch” which made it more accessible to all classes and wove this beverage into the very fabric of English life.




By 1784, smuggling had become so widespread that the Commutation Act was passed which saw taxes reduced and the official tea price cut in half. But tea still remained expensive and smuggling still continued. However, a wider segment of society could now enjoy the Tea Storagebeverage. In the last decade of the century more than 20 million pounds of tea was imported into England annually, Still, fresh tea remained a luxury item and the wealthy and influential still practiced an elegant ritual when preparing and drinking tea. Not only were there specially designed locked storage boxes for tea, but there were special cups and spoons, sugar bowls, tea pots, tea strainers and milk jugs, not to mention special tables and clothing (tea gowns worn between morning and evening) utilized just for tea time

Tea Storage – Late 17th to mid 18th Century
In the 17th century, tea was stored in metal, glass, silver or china containers, In the first half of the 18th century wooden
“tea boxes” were being advertised by cabinetmakers. These tea boxes were designed to hold canisters in wood or metal. As tea was a valuable commodity, tea boxes came with lock and key, lest the tea be pilfered.