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More Tea, Vicar? - Gentle teatime classics Music on the theme of tea, with a hint of coffee thrown in for those who like their caffeine from beans, not leaves! A light-hearted brew of old favourites and familiar songs for tongue in cheek listening while sipping the glorious nectar which is tea! 'Give me tea sweet and weak. Bring me the Times and do not speak' - A.P. Herbert We British have been drinking tea for more than 350 years. It is a pastime that has become closely identified with us. According to national statistics, every man, woman and child consumes at least four cups a day, and there is almost no occasion where a nice cup of tea is not appropriate. But tea has been enjoyed universally for more than four thousand years. So what are its origins and how did it become the world's favourite drink? According to Chinese mythology, in 2737 BC the Chinese Emperor, Shen Nung, who was also a scholar and an herbalist, was sitting beneath a tree whilst his servant boiled drinking water. A leaf fell from a tree and dropped into the water and Shen Nung decided to try the brew. That tree was of a wild tea variety. From earliest times, tea was renowned for its properties as a healthy, refreshing drink. By the time of the Tang Dynasty (618 - 906 AD), tea had become China's national drink and the word ch'a was used to describe tea. As Buddhist priests travelled around China and Japan, the spread and the cultivation of tea followed them. The first mention of tea outside of China and Japan is attributed to the Arabs in 850 AD and it was they who were reputed to have brought it to Europe via Venice in the middle of the sixteenth century. However, it was the Portuguese and the Dutch who developed a thriving sea tea trade in Europe. By 1610, there were regular shipments of tea to ports in France, Holland and the Baltic coast. England entered the tea trade via the East India Company in the mid to late 17th century. As the popularity of tea spread here, it also became an essential part of people's entertainment outside of the home. Tea gardens opened all over the country, with tea being served as the high point of the afternoon. Dancing was also included as part of the entertainment, and so the 'tea dance' arrived and was to remain fashionable up until the Second World War when it lost its wide popularity. However, 'tea dances' have survived and are still held today. The very English custom of taking afternoon tea was started by Anna, the Seventh Duchess of Bedford, in the early 1800s. Around the same time, another aristocrat initiated a long lasting contribution to the British tea drinking tradition. Lord John Sandwich gave his name to what has become a mainstay of British cuisine. The tea bag, invented in America in 1908, would revolutionise the tea industry and today 82% of all tea sold in the UK is in tea-bag form. On our CD of popular songs associated with tea, both as a drink and a relaxing pastime, we have not overlooked the dedicated coffee drinkers amongst us. So included on the menu are several inviting, musically nostalgic varieties. Whatever your choice is, pour another cuppa and enjoy our refreshing Collection.