TEA VERUS BEER. A Veritable Storm in a Teacup.

Te Aroha News, Volume I, Issue 30, 29 December 1883, Page 3

TEA VERU S BEER. A Veritable Storm in a Teacup.

An amusing controversy has for some time past boen filling the columns of several of the London papers under the title of "Tea versus Beer. Dr Edwards, Dean of Bangor, in a lecture which he recently delivered in Wales, happened to remark that too much tea-drinking was a dangerous habit, and that a generation of nervous discontented poople was being created by excessdive indulgence in the seductive beverage distilled from the leaves of the tea plant. The report of this lecture at once attracted theattention of journalists, and the Dean was good humouredly chaffed in almost every paper in England. The reverend gentleman naturally wished to defend the position he had taken up. He accordingly wrote to the papers stating that at the meeting in question he was speaking jocularly ; nevertheless he insisted on the truth of his statement that tea, taken in excess, was a very injurious drink, and he also reminded teetotal advocates that there was need for temperance in the consumption of tea, as well as of beer, wine and spirits. After this letter appeared everybody had something to say on the matter. The " lleteree," in a humourous article, entitled the "Tea Fiend," described the "awful effects " of tea drinking on a happy husband, and a London mob. Mr Sala, too, in thb •'Illustrated London News" made merry over the Dean's onslaught on the teapot. The "Prince of Journalists," as Mr Sala is sometimes termed, quoted as the earliest medical opinion on tea, that of Dr. Salmon in the "Family Dictionary," published in 1712. The doctor there recommends " thee," as he calls it, as a remedy for gout and dropsies, but goes on to say that there is little difference between English " thee " (which was only slae leaves gathered when young) and Indian "thee," and the learned physician therefoi'e advises the use of English rather than Indian " thee." " Truth " contained a long and exceedingly clever article on the subject, in the course of which the writer (presumably Mr Labouchere) said : " The other day a great doctor remarked to mo there would not be so much harm in tea if it were not for the quantity of cream commonly used with it. 1 repeated this to a lady, who declared that her own doctor had told her that very [ morning that tea was unwholesome, but if fche only took plenty of cream in it, it would not do her nearly so much harm. I then began to reflect. Whatever the doctors say, I have no doubt that the general substitu- ; tion of tea for beer has been an undoubted benefit to the labourer. The tea-drinking artisan consults his own strength as well as the interests of his pocket. Then again, whilst tea morning and evening, taken with a meal, is probably wholesome enough, the exceesive indulgence in additional afternoon teas may justify to some extent what j the Dean of Bangor says about weakening the stomach and pre-disposing to stronger drinks. On the otherhand, no doubt a cup of tea at the right time will often stave off a headache, and enable us to go through our three hours before dinner with less strain and greatly improved temper. This is the real secret of afternoon tea. Its use is to oil the social machinery in doing the work of the current "At Home." In this capacity tea is effective, and in moderation I do not see why it need be dangerous. The use of tea at night is another very mixed question. If your nerves are fatigued tea will often make you sleep, but if you are over-excited it will keep you awake and restless. As a rule, most late workers are in the habit of sipping tea. Many do not find that it injures the sleep, and I suppose that most doctors would agree that, if this is the case, tea for the student is far better than alcohol in any shape. These remarks also apply to coffee. Black coffee in hot countries seems to be the great panacea for all the woes of life. It apparently suits some late students and business men better than tea in times of pressure, and it is certainly superior to any form of alcohol. A head clerk in one of the largest offices in London told me that during a fortnight of commercial panic, when all the employes were kept working overtime, most of them took to stimulants. My friend said, ' 1 foresaw what was coming, and when the crisis arrived I cut off all alcohol and substituted coffee. At the end of the fortnight most of my colleagues were knocked up, whilo I was as fresh as a bird. 1 " One amusing incident in the discussion occurs in a letter to the %< Daily Telegraph," in which a working man accounts for the extraordinary energy with which his wife pressed tea-drinking at home, by stating that she was trying to consume as much of it as possible, to enable her to get a Brittania metal tea pot and a set of china which were to be "given away" by an enterprising grocer when a certain quantity of tea had been purchased. This pernicious system is no doubt very common in poor neighbourhoods, and is a ready means of getting rid of large quantities of inferior tea. After all this discussion there can only be one opinion among sensible people, and that is, that tea, like every other drink, is injurious, if taken in excess ; but that it is a healthful and invigorating beverage when taken, as it should bo in moderation.