There is something cozy about every single video you all do. Thanks for putting them out. It's a nice reprieve from modernity for a few minutes each day.
It reminds me what a hard physical work "house work" has been and how much time was filled with basic survival needs like food and preservation for the winter.
‘Wood water’ made me think of when tea was referred to as ‘hot leaf juice’ in Avatar: The Last Airbender. 😂 I love Townsend’s videos and watch them with my kids. So much amazing and useful information!
My grandmother was born and raised in Scotland (lowlands) and everything could be solved by a good cup of tea and to this day one of the most comforting acts is preparing and enjoying a good strong cup of tea with a little sugar and cream.
you all prolly dont care at all but does someone know of a method to get back into an Instagram account?? I somehow lost the password. I would love any tricks you can give me.
What many people don't know, is that the tea that was thrown into the harbor was expiring/starting to rot already. The East India Company had too much stocked up, and were trying to sell it at full, regular price to the colonists.
I highly recommend the saurkraut vid, made gallons of it, everyone, even those who don't like it, really liked it. but like to add some garlic and one scotch bonnet pepper for a 2.5 gallon crock.... great stuff.
Teabags started about the time of the First World War. A tea merchant -- whose name escapes me -- gave away samples wrapped in bags. Some say the bags were of silk; others say linen. He expected the recipients would tear open the bags and brew their in the customary fashion, but many brewed their tea in the bags -- much easier to make tea this way in the trenches. After much demand for more tea in bags, the merchant sold them.
That was in 1908. According to tea historian James Norwood Pratt, "In 1908, a New York City tea importer named Thomas Sullivan made an effort to economize on his operating costs by sending samples out to his retail dealers and private customers in little silk bags sewn closed by hand [instead of little metal tins]. He was perplexed but delighted when virtually everybody placed orders. Only when they all complained that the tea he delivered wasn't packaged in those bags for convenience in steeping, did he get the idea to substitute gauze for the silk." However, the first tea bag patent was actually issued to somebody else, a Mr. Smith of London, in 1896.
Just discovered that Roberta C. Lawson and Mary Molaren of Milwaukee filed for a patent for tea bags in 1901. So there is a difference of opinion about who invented the tea bag, but all parties agree that it was not Thomas Lipton.
Growing up I didn't have much use for tea. When I was in the Navy I wound up in Kenya on a two day tour of Tsavo park and was given tea during dinner. It was amazing! I found a new appreciation for tea.
When I was growing up my mom showed me how to pick peppermint herbs from the field and boil them to make tea. She would also dry them and make tea later.
I keep three different kinds of mint growing in the garden. Then I made up three pots of them just outside the back door. So nice to step out the door, pick some mint and make myself a nice cup of tea on a cold or rainy day. Sunshine in a cup. Also is nice make some and chill it in the fridge on a hot day. Stomach ache? A little peppermint tea helps. I love my mint plants! Your mom knew what she was doing! 🥰🌱
Found this channel this year, fell in love! Appreciate everything your doing! There's a certain wholesome feel to it that myself and a few friends find grounding and relaxing. I've fallen asleep to a few recipes and vids during a hard time. Seems weird but it was really kind and pure and made me feel safe. Now a couple of us get together and cook old recipes outside. Thank you.
Regarding food served with tea in the 18th century, of the many images of tea, people drinking tea, or still-lifes of tea from the 18th century, there aren't many that show more than one small plate of toast, or perhaps rusks, on the table with the tea. Most of the images I've seen have actually shown the tea table filled with the teapot, cups, saucers, tea caddy, etc., with no room for any food at all. I did read a reference (can't remember where it was from, though) to New Year and Christmas holiday celebrations from different colonies, and it mentioned serving tea to holiday visitors, with a kind of buffet table of food available to them as well. Plum cake, smoked meat, and other things that could be served cold, seemed to be the menu on those occasions.
See The Crumpet Controversy episode for a 1769 recipe for 'Tea Crumpets' and a discussion of crumpets, pikelets and muffins. ruclips.net/video/rP4peyGcLPY/видео.html
I'm really enjoying these videos. I have been binge watching the cooking videos today. Tea talk caught my eye. I'm going to watch the medicinal herbs next.
Love the presentation. One small point: when 18C writers talk of 'beer', they often refer to 'smallbeer'....at least in England.... a very weak brewed beer, practically non-alcoholic, which was the main drink for working people throughout the ages. This was because the available water was often undrinkable, contaminated etc. The only way to ensure reasonable hydration was by brewing, which destrpyed the impurities and guaranteed a kind of purity. In my own village in Devon [England...old version] there used to be ten breweries/ale-houses in the length of a small country street. Dating form the 16th century. This does not mean widespread alcoholism....but housewives [goodwives] would brew the smallbeer and the neighbours would buy it to quench thirst. For children as well as adults. So when our chroniclers write of beer consumption, this is often misinterpreted as the sort of strong ale we think of nowadays. Here in the southwest, cider....strong cider, was the strong manly drink for field workers, tradesmen etc. Scrumpy. It could make you go blind, according to folk wisdom. It could also cure practically anything. Apparently. So smallbeer for breakfast seems relatively benign. Country people would have never afforded tea, nor taken to a townie affectation of that kind. ... Hoping you continue to make these fascinating films. Many thanks.
I love your presentations I’m really hoping for a presentation on Rum and it’s overwhelming popularity in Colonial America as it was important if not more important than tea both socially and economically. Thank you
I wanted to thank you for all the wonderful material you put out and for your beautiful store your family has worked so hard to put together (we love that everything is handmade and of the highest quality. Totally worth the price). Even if I'm not interested in the topic of your videos, I still watch almost every one just because I love the coziness--the set of your production and your attire. More than anything, it's John's humble personality that makes the channel worth it. The videos with Ivy are my favorite as the father-daughter dynamic is so heartwarming. Also wanted to thank you for committing to never, ever getting involved in modern politics. I appreciate taking refuge in the 18th century! I am happy to start supporting your content and your store in order to really give back what you've given my family. Thank you again.
They did use tea strainers in the 18th century, sterling, natural material, wood, porcelain as well as a fine cheese cloth material. Chocolate was most common prior to tea and coffee. There were grades, sometimes more than half a dozen for each variety of tea, appealing to various classes.
Ordered the tea after watching this video, and I love it! Tastes like a smoked, mild fermented puehr tea. Fermented as opposed to the raw puehr teas. A few stems, but not a bad value, mixed well, and flavorful. Though, if strong teas or coffees aren't your norm, you will probably find adding milk or cream a necessity.
I don't know if this is true, but I understand that Catherine of Braganza (Portuguese queen of Charles II) was mainly responsible for making tea popular in England.
When Jon took the first sip of tea,. I had to pause the video to go make a pot of tea & some toast. March 2020 & At Home watching RUclips. Always love your videos.
The stream does actually start at 16:00 minutes into the video. The 4pm EST thing in the pre-stream card threw me off. But yes, 16:00 is the correct time.
I used to read that Russians would stick a sugar lump inside their lip and that would sweeten their tea as they sipped. Also they would use jam in the tea to sweeten it. So once my husband got me some Russian jam so I was excited to try it. It was a beautiful red color and looked delicious. It was from a bush that we use mostly for landscaping and not eating. I'm blocking on the name right now. Anyway I popped the top and a horrible stink wafted up. At first I couldn't believe it was coming from the jam but it was. It smelled like old stinky feet socks and dog poo. Truly, gross. I accused my husband of not loving me. He laughed and said that only old time Russians still ate that flavor. I guess it just shows that you use what you have when times are tough. Needless to say I drank my tea plain that day. But I did have fun terrorising my kids with stinky feet jam.
Your background looks lovely. I wish i could do historical reenactment stuff, but they always conflict with my viola lessons and concerts 😔 but I know what I'll be doin when I graduate in a few years! 😃
If you brew your tea for so long the tannins leach from the leaves into the water giving it that bitter taste and the need for sugar, try steeping it for 30 seconds numerous times and drinking smaller ammounts, the Chinese way, called gung fu, it gives a better flavour every time, great video, your channel gives us so much information. Cheers
Always a pleasure to learn in an informal way and when it's fun,you remember it more and the past becomes more real to us modern people.Mr. J.T."NutmegDaddy"!
This is what I want my house to look like. I live in Bensalem, Bucks County, Northeast of Philadelphia. You'd be surprised how much Colonial History happened all around here!
In Newfoundland, the oldest and some rural people were still heating their homes with cast iron wood stoves during my childhood; these were lit early in the morning and they were kept going until people were asleep at night. The teapot was left on the stove all day long; they just added more water and leaves as needed thru the day; it was STRONG! It was served with lots of milk and sugar (probably to render it palatable, & to cool it down a bit), in bone China tea cup-&-saucer combos. Little children were never given these tea cups, because the handles were known for breaking; the tea was poured and served by carrying on the saucer. The adults would sweeten and add lots of milk to it and then use the handle of the teacup to pour the tea in the saucer for consumption and to perch the cup to one side. I’m given to understand that it wasn’t until the 1990's that the technology of fine bone China/porcelain gave us teacups with handles that were sturdy enough to be used for safely and reliably hoisting the teacups to the lips. I’m hoping that someone else can correct/confirm the time and change to the cup handle technology.
Coffee (with pepper) had been popular among the Arabs, who passed it to the French, since the 15th century. Spain got chocolate(only as a drink) from the Mexica.
What, for breakfast?! Tay? Wha’d’you mean tay?! - that pernicious, new-fangled China-leaf? Ha! That’s for indolent effetes! Give us our ale and small-beer, our perry, and cider!
There were plenty of hot drinks before tea, coffee and chocolate! Mostly ale, wine or milk-based, seasoned with different spices and fruits and/or sweetened with some kind of sugar. Often a mix of ale or wine and milk and sometimes with eggs added. Lots of wierd combinations (like watered down beer and sourmilk) but I also found something we would nowadays consider a custard (warm milk with cinnamon, vanilla or orange peel thickened with egg yolks and rice starch), although I am not sure how old that one is (called eggmilk, from Scandinavian source). Warmed up beer, wine or milk has certainly been enjoyed by people since ancient times, so one can only imagine how many variations have been made up in all those years!
The most common hot drink probably was herb tea made with local herbs because it would be free. Lemon Balm, Stinging Nettles & Pine Needles were healthful, nutritous & enjoyable but there were many more, Dandelion Flower & Calendula being two.
Calvin Smith but the Asian counties had tea for centuries so of course they will know but for the colonial people who didn't have tea for a long time they won't know how to do it properly.
I imagine stuff like mulled wines and hot toddies were in existence before tea and chocolate became common. I also think the times would have spread slightly differently, given the different regions they come from. Tea had to be shipped all the way from China, but coffee came from Turkey and the Middle East - substantially closer to Britain. Chocolate is from Mexico, thus hit Europe in the 1500s-1600s, but I suppose there is also the question of when they were taken up in America.
Man you really get into character, dude in the blue vest and black tricorn. I like the camera guy in back of the camera getting into things and how the other friend got into the action and stole your tea
I have watched a lot of your videos and it's amazing all the different ways you keep coming up with to feel what it was most likely like to live in the 18th century. This is a passion you do to death and it's obvious that you love this time period. Me also. I started to love the 18th century when I read the Outlander series back when there were only 3 books. I was 13 then and 38 now. Diana Gabledon does a very good job including historical non-fiction in those books and it's highly enjoyable if you have never read them. I was a fan wwaayyyyyy before the TV series. The books are way better and much less sappy.
Just saw this episode and ordered some bohea! It is definitely smoky! I'm getting used to the flavor profile. Will not be dumping it into the Potomac. Thanks for the insight!
I spent 4 years in China as an ex-pat, and I came to appreciate the various origins. XiHu LongJing is a very popular one, and I visited a farm where they were growing it. The teas from the Huangshan area of Anhui province were my favorites.
You should make Jas. Townsend & Son pop top bottles with the current Townsend’s or older logo or ones with either. I prefer the old name and the old logo. The new one is nice but ... it just isn’t the same. Same thing with the hand thrown mugs...I liked those a lot more. I don’t really care for a lot of modern style mugs. I like it when something looks old and or natural.
Tea imparts it’s flavor in the cup it’s served in. I made the mistake of drinking tea from my coffee cup and thereafter (for a week) my coffee tasted like a terrible mixture of the two. You must use a cup specifically for tea if possible.
Bohea! Huzzah! I remember somewhere (grew up in Boston) a few personal accounts of Bostonians during the time of the tea party asking for special medical reasons to be able to have their tea.. One woman specifically asked to have her green tea. Wish i could find the accounts.
Sadly, I did not receive any notification of the live stream and missed this one! As a lifelong tea drinker, however, I still really enjoyed it. Good to see the nutmeg mugs are back - I wasn't fast enough to snag one last time!
Hello, I do living history of the 1850 time period as a civilian (North Texas Civilian Historians). As I understand it tea bowl 'sets' (bowl, matching cooling saucer, & plain bowl saucer) were still in use through this time. I've been fortunate to find several sets for our ducational displays. I can remember in the 1960s my grandmother cooling her morning coffee in the saucer. I also remember the criticism for her being so 'hick' or crude. The critics were the historically ignorant. Thank-you for your time and the wealth of information you provide.
On tea bags, some of the earliest tea bags were silk cloth or loose canvas. Silk teabags were quite popular in the Victorian era, especially amongst nobility. Before the invention of the teabag, bundled or tied tea bundles were sometimes used, although the loose filtered and plain loose were likely more common. As for an actual date of invention however, I can not say. Now a question. So the cast iron wood stove was invented in the mid 16th. I've seen vids on earthen ovens, but not any here on the wood stove. Is that something planned? Overlooked as they historically were a luxury item?
Re: tea caddies - My grandmother had a couple of British tea caddies from the late 18th century. One was made of some beautiful burled wood and ivory trim and facing on the inside edges of the hinged lid. There was a lock on the box with a small, brass key. Inside the box, there was a second, tight-fitting lid, similarly built and trimmed. The inside of that compartment was metal lined. The other tea caddy was similar, but constructed from 2 different types of wood rather than ivory. Sadly, I don't know what happened to them. I think my aunt might have just taken them but it wouldn't surprise me if my mother sold them after my grandmother died.
"Reuse tea leaves"? That reminds me of a scene from "The Great Escape," where Blythe, "The Forger" lamented to Hendley, "The Scrounger" that he's had to reuse his tea leaves s many times, that the flavor was weak.
There is a great episode of the revisionist history podcast about the Boston Tea Party. It mentions that a great way to research tea and other traded goods is by looking into the insurance papers that go with it.
I grew up in a tea-drinking family but drink both, tea and coffee. I well remember my uncle taking all the used tea bags around the table, putting them in his cup an adding hot water. My English/irish Canadian grandfather always kept a pot of water on the wood stove and every time he passed it he added loose tea.
Organic black chai with milk and sugar will bring you out of both a chill and the blues...teas are strong anti-oxigens and green tea in Japan helped radiation sickness back when.
Ask an Englishman who formulated the mix for their breakfast tea, 9 chance out of 10 he won't know that it came from New York. The British had a fight on to get tea to be their top drink over beer. Alcohol problems in society gave the most push. Sadly they lost a lot of vitamins when they stopped drinking beer. My camp tea in the morning includes a packet of instant oatmeal. Learned it from Chippewa trapper. Very good and time efficient.
Deb Carsey Sometimes but mostly I use instant apple and cinnamon oatmeal. If you use plain it is palatable, but if you carry some sugar and cinnamon it's much better. It's an expedient meal that saves fuel and water. Much the same as cold flour or pinole.
A group of friends and I went for tea at the Boston tea party museum. You can taste the teas and snacks that people ate at the time or opt for scones and sandwiches.
I use to drink coffee, quit because the acidity did hell on my stomach and just because. But I found black tea works as a coffee substitute for a little bump in the morning.
Jon - I've used Oliver Pluff & Co teas and I've been very pleased with their products. I'm hooked on their Bohea. After watching this tea segment I just added nutmeg to a cup of tea. Nutmeg seems to float on top like powdered wood with mixed added flavoring. I'll have to try mixing with the dry tea in the strainer in brewing. Have you used Muscovado (aka Barbados) sugar in your tea?
Heated 'mulled' red wine was very popular throughout all of Europe, I'm certain it made it's way to the Americas very early on, as it was a perfect drink for the winter months.
One of benefits of tea was that people that drank it were a lot healthier than those who didn't. Considering circumstances in large cities (eg. London) with open sewage, unsanitary conditions and disease. Just simply the tradition of boiling water and pre-heating of the teapot by filling it with boiling water, then pouring it out, then adding hot water and making the tea, sterilized everything! Which they didn't know about at the time! So those who drank it thought it was the tea that gave them immunity or a lesser chance of getting diseases.
Colonial Bohea tea - 3oz - is no longer available on Amazon.....you can get a lb of it, but it's a lot more expensive. Thank you for these videos! It's so refreshing with all the history lessons as a part of the recipes. sigh~
There were hot beverages before coffee, tea, and chocolate--- herbal decoctions of course, mint the most common but chamomile and others. Most popular hot drinks from antiquity through the Renaissance were alcoholic beverages including hot mead, ale (wassail), cider, glog, hot buttered rum, sherry flips, and mulled wine among many others.
There is something cozy about every single video you all do. Thanks for putting them out. It's a nice reprieve from modernity for a few minutes each day.
1k1 Nights Mannheim,
Yes, quite inspiring. Makes me want to go and eat toast with buttered eggs and sip on tea.
It reminds me what a hard physical work "house work" has been and how much time was filled with basic survival needs like food and preservation for the winter.
‘Wood water’ made me think of when tea was referred to as ‘hot leaf juice’ in Avatar: The Last Airbender. 😂 I love Townsend’s videos and watch them with my kids. So much amazing and useful information!
Cartoon and video game food and drink are always awesome!
My grandmother was born and raised in Scotland (lowlands) and everything could be solved by a good cup of tea and to this day one of the most comforting acts is preparing and enjoying a good strong cup of tea with a little sugar and cream.
you all prolly dont care at all but does someone know of a method to get back into an Instagram account??
I somehow lost the password. I would love any tricks you can give me.
I like my tea steeped in Boston Harbor.
We need more appreciation for this joke.
I like it in the tears of magas
What many people don't know, is that the tea that was thrown into the harbor was expiring/starting to rot already. The East India Company had too much stocked up, and were trying to sell it at full, regular price to the colonists.
I would be out there trying to save the tea. Tell my husband get your butt out there now. And save me some tea.!
Daniel Taylor you also like OU. What does that say
Found this channel searching how to make pemmican. What freaking cool channel. Subbed.
As did I, haha. I am glad I was trying to learn about pemmican that day
I highly recommend the saurkraut vid, made gallons of it, everyone, even those who don't like it, really liked it.
but like to add some garlic and one scotch bonnet pepper for a 2.5 gallon crock.... great stuff.
Jas. has now done pemmican.
I don't have the URL :- (
Teabags started about the time of the First World War. A tea merchant -- whose name escapes me -- gave away samples wrapped in bags. Some say the bags were of silk; others say linen. He expected the recipients would tear open the bags and brew their in the customary fashion, but many brewed their tea in the bags -- much easier to make tea this way in the trenches. After much demand for more tea in bags, the merchant sold them.
That was in 1908. According to tea historian James Norwood Pratt, "In 1908, a New York City tea importer named Thomas Sullivan made an effort to economize on his operating costs by sending samples out to his retail dealers and private customers in little silk bags sewn closed by hand [instead of little metal tins]. He was perplexed but delighted when virtually everybody placed orders. Only when they all complained that the tea he delivered wasn't packaged in those bags for convenience in steeping, did he get the idea to substitute gauze for the silk." However, the first tea bag patent was actually issued to somebody else, a Mr. Smith of London, in 1896.
Very interesting history. Thanks for sharing.
Just discovered that Roberta C. Lawson and Mary Molaren of Milwaukee filed for a patent for tea bags in 1901. So there is a difference of opinion about who invented the tea bag, but all parties agree that it was not Thomas Lipton.
Very cool
i always liked that piece of history... and we take tea in bags for granted today. I enjoy a silicon teabag i bought at a farmer's market.
i flippin love this channel. i keep telling everyone about it!! love from Maryland xoxo
Growing up I didn't have much use for tea. When I was in the Navy I wound up in Kenya on a two day tour of Tsavo park and was given tea during dinner. It was amazing! I found a new appreciation for tea.
My favourite channel on RUclips, couldn't fault it. John and crew, you do a fantastic job. Love it!
"Nutmeg, it's a verb" would be great on a shirt.
---- Interesting ---- "teabag" is also a verb ----
I'd wear that shirt.
@@albinoorca me, too
They did have tisanes, herbal teas made from local herbs, but those were considered more medicinal than recreational.
Like chamomile?
Ha ha, I've fallen down the youtube hole and shall be binging this channel for the next few days at least! Subscribed!
Something became so popular that people decided to hate it? Oh my, some things never change! :D
18th century hipsters.
When I was growing up my mom showed me how to pick peppermint herbs from the field and boil them to make tea. She would also dry them and make tea later.
I did the same thing with my Nan🙂
Herbal "teas" are actually tisanes. Peppermint is so uplifting, I miss the scent on a rainy summer day.
I keep three different kinds of mint growing in the garden. Then I made up three pots of them just outside the back door. So nice to step out the door, pick some mint and make myself a nice cup of tea on a cold or rainy day. Sunshine in a cup. Also is nice make some and chill it in the fridge on a hot day. Stomach ache? A little peppermint tea helps. I love my mint plants! Your mom knew what she was doing! 🥰🌱
Found this channel this year, fell in love! Appreciate everything your doing! There's a certain wholesome feel to it that myself and a few friends find grounding and relaxing. I've fallen asleep to a few recipes and vids during a hard time. Seems weird but it was really kind and pure and made me feel safe.
Now a couple of us get together and cook old recipes outside.
Thank you.
Such a treat to enjoy a cup of tea with y'all. Love the great content and your wonderful humor. Thanks for sharing in what you love.
Regarding food served with tea in the 18th century, of the many images of tea, people drinking tea, or still-lifes of tea from the 18th century, there aren't many that show more than one small plate of toast, or perhaps rusks, on the table with the tea. Most of the images I've seen have actually shown the tea table filled with the teapot, cups, saucers, tea caddy, etc., with no room for any food at all. I did read a reference (can't remember where it was from, though) to New Year and Christmas holiday celebrations from different colonies, and it mentioned serving tea to holiday visitors, with a kind of buffet table of food available to them as well. Plum cake, smoked meat, and other things that could be served cold, seemed to be the menu on those occasions.
See The Crumpet Controversy episode for a 1769 recipe for 'Tea Crumpets' and a discussion of crumpets, pikelets and muffins.
ruclips.net/video/rP4peyGcLPY/видео.html
I'm really enjoying these videos. I have been binge watching the cooking videos today. Tea talk caught my eye. I'm going to watch the medicinal herbs next.
I was an Oolong drinker for many years, but lately I've developed a taste for Loyd's tea (Polish import) with a hint of orange.
Love the presentation. One small point: when 18C writers talk of 'beer', they often refer to 'smallbeer'....at least in England.... a very weak brewed beer, practically non-alcoholic, which was the main drink for working people throughout the ages. This was because the available water was often undrinkable, contaminated etc. The only way to ensure reasonable hydration was by brewing, which destrpyed the impurities and guaranteed a kind of purity.
In my own village in Devon [England...old version] there used to be ten breweries/ale-houses in the length of a small country street. Dating form the 16th century. This does not mean widespread alcoholism....but housewives [goodwives] would brew the smallbeer and the neighbours would buy it to quench thirst. For children as well as adults.
So when our chroniclers write of beer consumption, this is often misinterpreted as the sort of strong ale we think of nowadays. Here in the southwest, cider....strong cider, was the strong manly drink for field workers, tradesmen etc. Scrumpy. It could make you go blind, according to folk wisdom. It could also cure practically anything. Apparently.
So smallbeer for breakfast seems relatively benign. Country people would have never afforded tea, nor taken to a townie affectation of that kind. ...
Hoping you continue to make these fascinating films. Many thanks.
Woodwater + nutmeg = Tea
( this would be great on a T-shirt or cup).
I love your presentations I’m really hoping for a presentation on Rum and it’s overwhelming popularity in Colonial America as it was important if not more important than tea both socially and economically. Thank you
John, youre the best history channel there is. Your positivity and knowledge are amazing. Thanks for everything you do!!
@26:22 Thank you, Kyle! Great work and stream.
I wanted to thank you for all the wonderful material you put out and for your beautiful store your family has worked so hard to put together (we love that everything is handmade and of the highest quality. Totally worth the price). Even if I'm not interested in the topic of your videos, I still watch almost every one just because I love the coziness--the set of your production and your attire. More than anything, it's John's humble personality that makes the channel worth it. The videos with Ivy are my favorite as the father-daughter dynamic is so heartwarming.
Also wanted to thank you for committing to never, ever getting involved in modern politics. I appreciate taking refuge in the 18th century!
I am happy to start supporting your content and your store in order to really give back what you've given my family. Thank you again.
Really enjoying your live streaming! You are a pleasure to listen too.
Growing up, mom always grew peppermint and other plants to make her own amazing tea.
They did use tea strainers in the 18th century, sterling, natural material, wood, porcelain as well as a fine cheese cloth material. Chocolate was most common prior to tea and coffee. There were grades, sometimes more than half a dozen for each variety of tea, appealing to various classes.
Ordered the tea after watching this video, and I love it! Tastes like a smoked, mild fermented puehr tea. Fermented as opposed to the raw puehr teas. A few stems, but not a bad value, mixed well, and flavorful. Though, if strong teas or coffees aren't your norm, you will probably find adding milk or cream a necessity.
Puehr tastes like dirt to me.
I don't know if this is true, but I understand that Catherine of Braganza (Portuguese queen of Charles II) was mainly responsible for making tea popular in England.
Yes, she brought tea to the English Court.
Your excitement is contagious!!! Missed the live but so thankful for utube. Love your channel.
I can't believe I get this content delivered straight to my phone for free. 😊😊😊 Always happy when I receive a new video notification.
When Jon took the first sip of tea,. I had to pause the video to go make a pot of tea & some toast. March 2020 & At Home watching RUclips. Always love your videos.
Yes !!! I love eating breakfast, drinking tea & watching these magnificent vids!!!
Other hot beverages....
Negis, Possetts, Mulled ale or cider. Warmed milk.
kissel
I like hot milk infused with saffron, cinnamon and sugar.
Renaissance Ear-Candy me too! And a shake of nutmeg!
Wassail, I believe, goes back at least as far as medieval times.
The stream does actually start at 16:00 minutes into the video.
The 4pm EST thing in the pre-stream card threw me off. But yes, 16:00 is the correct time.
Thank you.
You're welcome. Just trying to help out.
JustOneAsbesto thanks for the heads up
Pre-Bolshevik Russia also had a huge tea culture.
Russia is still the largest consumer of tea per person in the world.
Nathan Hines - Pre-, during, & post-...
I used to read that Russians would stick a sugar lump inside their lip and that would sweeten their tea as they sipped.
Also they would use jam in the tea to sweeten it. So once my husband got me some Russian jam so I was excited to try it. It was a beautiful red color and looked delicious. It was from a bush that we use mostly for landscaping and not eating. I'm blocking on the name right now. Anyway I popped the top and a horrible stink wafted up. At first I couldn't believe it was coming from the jam but it was. It smelled like old stinky feet socks and dog poo. Truly, gross.
I accused my husband of not loving me. He laughed and said that only old time Russians still ate that flavor. I guess it just shows that you use what you have when times are tough.
Needless to say I drank my tea plain that day. But I did have fun terrorising my kids with stinky feet jam.
It was a viburnum berry jam.
Russians also pioneered chaga tea.
Your background looks lovely. I wish i could do historical reenactment stuff, but they always conflict with my viola lessons and concerts 😔 but I know what I'll be doin when I graduate in a few years! 😃
Tally Hawthorn, wow are you studying to be a musician? I always wondered how you could make a living from classical music.
JobbyBandit the hardest part will be finding a nice affordable area near where ever I could get into an orchestra. 😂
Tally Hawthorn ah I see, I hope it goes well!
Are you graduated yet? 😁
If you brew your tea for so long the tannins leach from the leaves into the water giving it that bitter taste and the need for sugar, try steeping it for 30 seconds numerous times and drinking smaller ammounts, the Chinese way, called gung fu, it gives a better flavour every time, great video, your channel gives us so much information. Cheers
It would be great if you could sell molds for those toys. People could make their own roosters, soldiers, etc.
Always a pleasure to learn in an informal way and when it's fun,you remember it more and the past becomes more real to us modern people.Mr. J.T."NutmegDaddy"!
"Tea? Yah mean dat Saxon wood water?" -A Scotsman at some time.
Next video, MOONSHINE!
Books feel so good in the hand I hope they stay around for a long time
Love all the great content
These videos are well worth the watch
Thank you for all you hard work
P.S. Whoever does the music does a FABULOUS job. LOVE LOVE LOVE the music!!!
"Beaten" herbs or spices should be interpreted to mean pound to dust in a mortar and pestle.
This was really excellent, thank you!
Lapsong!! I love this tea!
Drew Ziegler search lapsang soushong, you'll get better results
Well, this inspired me to buy some Wuyi Tea through your link, as well as a tea ball. I just HAD to get into tea recently!
If you like a strong black, smokey tea, try lapsang souschong.
Do u know the story of lapsang souschong
@@doranobannon7696 Afraid not. Do tell, if you please.
Talk about charisma!
Keep on keeping on Townsend.
I bought some tea in Boston a few years back...they Charged Sales TAX on tea WTF!!!! Wasn't there a war about such things??
This is what I want my house to look like. I live in Bensalem, Bucks County, Northeast of Philadelphia. You'd be surprised how much Colonial History happened all around here!
Dave Assanowicz - My dad was from Langhorne!!
Was your assistant saying you need to sell a tea-(T-)shirt?
In Newfoundland, the oldest and some rural people were still heating their homes with cast iron wood stoves during my childhood; these were lit early in the morning and they were kept going until people were asleep at night. The teapot was left on the stove all day long; they just added more water and leaves as needed thru the day; it was STRONG! It was served with lots of milk and sugar (probably to render it palatable, & to cool it down a bit), in bone China tea cup-&-saucer combos. Little children were never given these tea cups, because the handles were known for breaking; the tea was poured and served by carrying on the saucer. The adults would sweeten and add lots of milk to it and then use the handle of the teacup to pour the tea in the saucer for consumption and to perch the cup to one side. I’m given to understand that it wasn’t until the 1990's that the technology of fine bone China/porcelain gave us teacups with handles that were sturdy enough to be used for safely and reliably hoisting the teacups to the lips. I’m hoping that someone else can correct/confirm the time and change to the cup handle technology.
Enjoyed this episode. Listened to it twice.
Coffee (with pepper) had been popular among the Arabs, who passed it to the French, since the 15th century. Spain got chocolate(only as a drink) from the Mexica.
david bradley what kind of pepper and how was this arabic coffee brewed? I quite fancy giving it a go.
david bradley ...pepper in coffee? I gotta try that! 👍🏼
What, for breakfast?! Tay? Wha’d’you mean tay?! - that pernicious, new-fangled China-leaf? Ha! That’s for indolent effetes! Give us our ale and small-beer, our perry, and cider!
There were plenty of hot drinks before tea, coffee and chocolate! Mostly ale, wine or milk-based, seasoned with different spices and fruits and/or sweetened with some kind of sugar. Often a mix of ale or wine and milk and sometimes with eggs added. Lots of wierd combinations (like watered down beer and sourmilk) but I also found something we would nowadays consider a custard (warm milk with cinnamon, vanilla or orange peel thickened with egg yolks and rice starch), although I am not sure how old that one is (called eggmilk, from Scandinavian source).
Warmed up beer, wine or milk has certainly been enjoyed by people since ancient times, so one can only imagine how many variations have been made up in all those years!
Sarah Algelius - You’re absolutely right. There is plenty of ancient textual (even archaeological) material referring to hot beverages.
The most common hot drink probably was herb tea made with local herbs because it would be free. Lemon Balm, Stinging Nettles & Pine Needles were healthful, nutritous & enjoyable but there were many more, Dandelion Flower & Calendula being two.
Did they widely understand about how water temperature affects the taste of tea?
I imagine the Chinese had a long understanding of needing lower temp hot water to get the best effect from green tea.
Calvin Smith but the Asian counties had tea for centuries so of course they will know but for the colonial people who didn't have tea for a long time they won't know how to do it properly.
I imagine stuff like mulled wines and hot toddies were in existence before tea and chocolate became common. I also think the times would have spread slightly differently, given the different regions they come from. Tea had to be shipped all the way from China, but coffee came from Turkey and the Middle East - substantially closer to Britain. Chocolate is from Mexico, thus hit Europe in the 1500s-1600s, but I suppose there is also the question of when they were taken up in America.
Man you really get into character, dude in the blue vest and black tricorn. I like the camera guy in back of the camera getting into things and how the other friend got into the action and stole your tea
Lol John!!! You just drank out of another cup...you crack me up!!! Keep up the great work...love the vids
I have watched a lot of your videos and it's amazing all the different ways you keep coming up with to feel what it was most likely like to live in the 18th century. This is a passion you do to death and it's obvious that you love this time period. Me also. I started to love the 18th century when I read the Outlander series back when there were only 3 books. I was 13 then and 38 now. Diana Gabledon does a very good job including historical non-fiction in those books and it's highly enjoyable if you have never read them. I was a fan wwaayyyyyy before the TV series. The books are way better and much less sappy.
He really said "Hello Nutmeg Daddy"
47:45
Just saw this episode and ordered some bohea! It is definitely smoky! I'm getting used to the flavor profile. Will not be dumping it into the Potomac. Thanks for the insight!
I spent 4 years in China as an ex-pat, and I came to appreciate the various origins. XiHu LongJing is a very popular one, and I visited a farm where they were growing it. The teas from the Huangshan area of Anhui province were my favorites.
You should make Jas. Townsend & Son pop top bottles with the current Townsend’s or older logo or ones with either. I prefer the old name and the old logo. The new one is nice but ... it just isn’t the same. Same thing with the hand thrown mugs...I liked those a lot more. I don’t really care for a lot of modern style mugs. I like it when something looks old and or natural.
A relative of mine was involved in the tea party. Comfort Starr.
Tea imparts it’s flavor in the cup it’s served in. I made the mistake of drinking tea from my coffee cup and thereafter (for a week) my coffee tasted like a terrible mixture of the two. You must use a cup specifically for tea if possible.
Bohea! Huzzah! I remember somewhere (grew up in Boston) a few personal accounts
of Bostonians during the time of the tea party asking for special medical reasons to
be able to have their tea.. One woman specifically asked to have her green tea. Wish
i could find the accounts.
Sadly, I did not receive any notification of the live stream and missed this one! As a lifelong tea drinker, however, I still really enjoyed it. Good to see the nutmeg mugs are back - I wasn't fast enough to snag one last time!
Hello, I do living history of the 1850 time period as a civilian (North Texas Civilian Historians). As I understand it tea bowl 'sets' (bowl, matching cooling saucer, & plain bowl saucer) were still in use through this time. I've been fortunate to find several sets for our ducational displays. I can remember in the 1960s my grandmother cooling her morning coffee in the saucer. I also remember the criticism for her being so 'hick' or crude. The critics were the historically ignorant. Thank-you for your time and the wealth of information you provide.
On tea bags, some of the earliest tea bags were silk cloth or loose canvas. Silk teabags were quite popular in the Victorian era, especially amongst nobility. Before the invention of the teabag, bundled or tied tea bundles were sometimes used, although the loose filtered and plain loose were likely more common. As for an actual date of invention however, I can not say.
Now a question.
So the cast iron wood stove was invented in the mid 16th. I've seen vids on earthen ovens, but not any here on the wood stove. Is that something planned? Overlooked as they historically were a luxury item?
Where did you get your copy of the use of tobacco, tea, coffee, chocolate, and drams?
Re: tea caddies - My grandmother had a couple of British tea caddies from the late 18th century. One was made of some beautiful burled wood and ivory trim and facing on the inside edges of the hinged lid. There was a lock on the box with a small, brass key. Inside the box, there was a second, tight-fitting lid, similarly built and trimmed. The inside of that compartment was metal lined. The other tea caddy was similar, but constructed from 2 different types of wood rather than ivory. Sadly, I don't know what happened to them. I think my aunt might have just taken them but it wouldn't surprise me if my mother sold them after my grandmother died.
They drank granatus, wassail, hot sweet rose water, and hot cider (close to wassail) before tea and coffee.
"Reuse tea leaves"? That reminds me of a scene from "The Great Escape," where Blythe, "The Forger" lamented to Hendley, "The Scrounger" that he's had to reuse his tea leaves s many times, that the flavor was weak.
There is a great episode of the revisionist history podcast about the Boston Tea Party. It mentions that a great way to research tea and other traded goods is by looking into the insurance papers that go with it.
Love the way John gets dressed up !!!
This is such wholesome and pure content.
Love chaga mushroom tea
ruclips.net/video/KWWAvuBBgIg/видео.html
I grew up in a tea-drinking family but drink both, tea and coffee. I well remember my uncle taking all the used tea bags around the table, putting them in his cup an adding hot water. My English/irish Canadian grandfather always kept a pot of water on the wood stove and every time he passed it he added loose tea.
Boiling water? Not merely"hot".
I would love to get one of those bamboo tea strainers.
Organic black chai with milk and sugar will bring you out of both a chill and the blues...teas are strong anti-oxigens and green tea in Japan helped radiation sickness back when.
Lmao! I love your reaction to the medicine bottle!! 😂😂😂💓💞💖
Ask an Englishman who formulated the mix for their breakfast tea, 9 chance out of 10 he won't know that it came from New York. The British had a fight on to get tea to be their top drink over beer. Alcohol problems in society gave the most push. Sadly they lost a lot of vitamins when they stopped drinking beer. My camp tea in the morning includes a packet of instant oatmeal. Learned it from Chippewa trapper. Very good and time efficient.
Wait what? You put oatmeal in the tea? Do you do anything else to flavor it up?
Deb Carsey Sometimes but mostly I use instant apple and cinnamon oatmeal. If you use plain it is palatable, but if you carry some sugar and cinnamon it's much better. It's an expedient meal that saves fuel and water. Much the same as cold flour or pinole.
When you make new shirts please get more in 2XL..
I ordered two cans through the link.
Thanks!
A group of friends and I went for tea at the Boston tea party museum. You can taste the teas and snacks that people ate at the time or opt for scones and sandwiches.
I use to drink coffee, quit because the acidity did hell on my stomach and just because. But I found black tea works as a coffee substitute for a little bump in the morning.
I would totally hang framed copies of the orginal printings of these drink and food recipes in my kitchen.
Jon - I've used Oliver Pluff & Co teas and I've been very pleased with their products. I'm hooked on their Bohea. After watching this tea segment I just added nutmeg to a cup of tea. Nutmeg seems to float on top like powdered wood with mixed added flavoring. I'll have to try mixing with the dry tea in the strainer in brewing.
Have you used Muscovado (aka Barbados) sugar in your tea?
Wouldn’t hot drinks prior to tea and coffee be things like herbal infusions and mulled wine and cider?
Heated 'mulled' red wine was very popular throughout all of Europe, I'm certain it made it's way to the Americas very early on, as it was a perfect drink for the winter months.
Mulled wine would have been the hot drink before coffee or tea.
And hot cider, aleberry, caudle, grog, herbal teas, hot buttered rum, hot toddy, or posset.
One of benefits of tea was that people that drank it were a lot healthier than those who didn't. Considering circumstances in large cities (eg. London) with open sewage, unsanitary conditions and disease. Just simply the tradition of boiling water and pre-heating of the teapot by filling it with boiling water, then pouring it out, then adding hot water and making the tea, sterilized everything! Which they didn't know about at the time! So those who drank it thought it was the tea that gave them immunity or a lesser chance of getting diseases.
plus for some reason they were much busier than everyone else too ...
Amazing!!! Best Chanel on the tube... very smart
Colonial Bohea tea - 3oz - is no longer available on Amazon.....you can get a lb of it, but it's a lot more expensive. Thank you for these videos! It's so refreshing with all the history lessons as a part of the recipes. sigh~
There were hot beverages before coffee, tea, and chocolate--- herbal decoctions of course, mint the most common but chamomile and others. Most popular hot drinks from antiquity through the Renaissance were alcoholic beverages including hot mead, ale (wassail), cider, glog, hot buttered rum, sherry flips, and mulled wine among many others.