How did England become a nation of tea drinkers? Wanting to know the almost-400 year history of tea in this country, I paid a visit to Bramah Tea & Coffee Museums.

Tea was believed to be first brought to England around 1600. In the Netherland, where it was popular before arriving in England, tea was sold as medicine rather than as a beverage. Tea did not become an everyday drink as it is now until decades later. But as the East India Company started trading with China and importing it in mass quantities, tea would become an ingrained part of life in England.

Entrance to the Tea Museum. This area used to see six thousand cartons of tea pass through everyday.	Museum founder Mr.Edward Bramah. He taught me the history of tea using his home made visual aids.

Tea Gardens is one example of tea's place in the English lifestyle. For the people of London destroyed by the Great Fire and the plague, going to the garden and chatting with friends was a popular form of recreation. Eventually, these gardens started to serve the new drink brought all the way from China, tea, and developed into social gathering spots. Nearly hundred such gardens existed in and around London.

Industrial Revolution further increased the demand for tea. After long and hard hours at work, laborers would drink warm tea with milk and sugar to unwind. Coffee was available at the time as well, but tea was preferred since roasting beans took too much time and trouble.

The museum also deals with Japanese tea	Police officers on horseback

So tea continued to be enjoyed by English people of all classes, but after World War II, the world around tea started to change. This, in the next Tea Report: London Edition.