Tea played an integral role in the development and continuation of the Industrial Revolution. Throughout the late 1700’s and early 1800’s a massive transition occurred, which revolutionized the entire manufacturing process. This shift began in Europe where production became heavily machine based, and massive urbanization occurred. Farmers flocked to newly developing cities in search of work, and factories provided many with jobs. Labor was mundane and required very little training; however, it was often long, boring, dangerous, and grueling.
Tea stood behind every step of this monumental shift in society. Throughout the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century, decreased taxes on tea and more efficient transportation technology made tea widely more available to the general public. European working class citizens could now afford something that was once only consumed by the wealthy. Soon tea was an everyday luxury for a vast majority of the middle class. The benefits of tea consumption were truly immeasurable. The initial lure of tea was the caffeine boost it provided for long shifts of factory work. Workers now had something that could push them through days of grueling, unfulfilling work. Tea’s good taste was another benefit leading to its increasing popularity.
However, one of the most important yet at the same time unpraised advantages of tea was its ability to prevent mass pandemic. The process of boiling the water used for tea, and the tannic acid in the drink itself allowed consumers to fend off diseases such as cholera, typhoid, and dysentery. If these epidemics were to be released into the densely packed cities that were prevalent throughout the Industrial Revolution, the effects would be devastating. Luckily tea enabled society to avoid a massive population decrease. As a result the workforce remained high, and employees were constantly available for factory work. The large supply of workers was critical to the continuation of the Industrial Revolution, and without tea it would never have been able to be upheld. Tea’s valuable health benefits were integral to the success and length of the Industrial Revolution.
While tea became a part of daily life during the industrial revolution, industrialization conversely had little effect on the production of tea. Ever since its origins and up to today, tea is picked by hand by the result of difficult human labor. Only low quality tea can be harvested by machine. As industrialization lead into the making of the modern world, tea production remained stuck in the past, reminiscent, in fact, of the labor conditions during the beginnings of industrialization. However, new the new steamboats of the time increased the speed at which tea could be traded, and hence made tea more universally available. The rate of change in other industries and the key developments of the Industrial Revolution do not apply to tea in all cases, but nevertheless, tea and industrialization are very interconnected.
Tea stood behind every step of this monumental shift in society. Throughout the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century, decreased taxes on tea and more efficient transportation technology made tea widely more available to the general public. European working class citizens could now afford something that was once only consumed by the wealthy. Soon tea was an everyday luxury for a vast majority of the middle class. The benefits of tea consumption were truly immeasurable. The initial lure of tea was the caffeine boost it provided for long shifts of factory work. Workers now had something that could push them through days of grueling, unfulfilling work. Tea’s good taste was another benefit leading to its increasing popularity.
However, one of the most important yet at the same time unpraised advantages of tea was its ability to prevent mass pandemic. The process of boiling the water used for tea, and the tannic acid in the drink itself allowed consumers to fend off diseases such as cholera, typhoid, and dysentery. If these epidemics were to be released into the densely packed cities that were prevalent throughout the Industrial Revolution, the effects would be devastating. Luckily tea enabled society to avoid a massive population decrease. As a result the workforce remained high, and employees were constantly available for factory work. The large supply of workers was critical to the continuation of the Industrial Revolution, and without tea it would never have been able to be upheld. Tea’s valuable health benefits were integral to the success and length of the Industrial Revolution.
While tea became a part of daily life during the industrial revolution, industrialization conversely had little effect on the production of tea. Ever since its origins and up to today, tea is picked by hand by the result of difficult human labor. Only low quality tea can be harvested by machine. As industrialization lead into the making of the modern world, tea production remained stuck in the past, reminiscent, in fact, of the labor conditions during the beginnings of industrialization. However, new the new steamboats of the time increased the speed at which tea could be traded, and hence made tea more universally available. The rate of change in other industries and the key developments of the Industrial Revolution do not apply to tea in all cases, but nevertheless, tea and industrialization are very interconnected.