 | Antique silver tea set by Barnards Click here for description and pictures | Antique Silver Tea Set Hallmarks London 1834 By Barnards |
 | Antique silver tea kettle Click here for description and pictures | Antique Silver Tea Kettle with Stand & Burner. The kettle has a swirl reeded pattern to the lower part of the body , the lower part of the spout and also on the domed part of the hinged lid. It also has a gadrooned pattern around the top rim and a shaped part dark wood handle and finial. |
 | Silver Tea set Click here for description and pictures | Silver Tea Set Hallmarks Sheffield 1897 |
In the 17th Century Great Britain saw a huge expansion of trade world wide but particularly with China, Arabia and the Americas. New commodities such as tea, coffee and chocolate became available to those used to solely beer, wine, cider and water. The excitement this created was significant, it soon became very fashionable for people to be seen drinking tea.
This new fashion created the need for new vessels in which to prepare and serve the new commodities. A whole new industry was created to meet this demand. New items such as teapots, cream jugs, tea urns, tea kettles, sugar bowls, caddy spoons were the society must haves much like the Iphone and Ipod today.
By the mid 1600's tea was widely available in Europe but was very expensive and initially enjoyed by the rich and wealthy. Coffee by comparison was being imported into Europe by the Venetians at a lower cost and became more widely available. This promoted a whole string of “coffee houses” being established across Europe and the UK.
The social nature of drinking tea and coffee was soon established and remains strong today. Sadly the beautifully crafted tea services and coffee pots have given way to steam boilers and plastic cups for the majority.
The true taste of real tea can only be experienced through the traditional tea leaf being brewed in the traditional teapot surrounded by a stunning antique silver tea service. This website has been created to allow you to purchase these traditional and valuable items which you can treasure for years to come and maybe recreate that original excitement.