Summary
TEA: A dark history. Laurie Taylor talks to the historian, Seren Charrington-Hollins, about the exploitation, wars & intrigue at the heart of the history of that most 'British' hot beverage. Also, Sarah Besky, Associate Professor in the Departments of International and Comparative Labour & Labour Relations, Law, and History in at Cornell University, discusses her study of mass market black tea, one of the world’s most recognized commodities, and one which is still rooted in the colonial plantation.
Producer: Jayne Egerton
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | Take some time for yourself with soothing classical music from the mindful mix, the Science of |
| 0:07.0 | Happiness Podcast. |
| 0:08.0 | For the last 20 years I've dedicated my career to exploring the science of living a happier more meaningful life and I want |
| 0:14.4 | to share that science with you. |
| 0:16.1 | And just one thing, deep calm with Michael Mosley. |
| 0:19.4 | I want to help you tap in to your hidden relaxation response system and open the door to that |
| 0:25.5 | calmer place within. Listen on BBC Sounds. |
| 0:36.8 | BBC Sounds, music radio podcasts. This is a Thinking Loud Podcasts, and for more details and much, much more about thinking aloud, go to our website at BBC.co. UK. |
| 0:47.0 | Every nation in creation has its favorite drink. |
| 0:51.0 | France is famous for its wine, its beer in Germany. Turkey has its |
| 0:56.4 | copy and they serve it black of an ink. Russians go for vodka and England |
| 1:02.1 | loves his key. |
| 1:05.0 | Oh the factories may be roaring |
| 1:09.0 | with a boomer lac-a-zuma-lac-a-wee |
| 1:12.0 | But there isn't any roar when the clocks join. Buelek, Zuma like a wee. |
| 1:12.6 | But there isn't any roar when the clock strikes for. |
| 1:15.9 | Everything stops for tea. |
| 1:18.4 | Oh a lawyer. |
| 1:19.5 | Hello, that was Jack Buchanan back in the 1930ss lauding a very British punctuation mark the simple cup of tea and in |
| 1:29.4 | Buchanan's time it seems having a cup that was indeed a simple affair. When you sat down in the late afternoon |
| 1:35.2 | at a friend's or relations house you went invited to choose between black green jasmine, |
| 1:41.4 | fruit or ulong tea, but merely served your host's favourite brand, mostly |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from BBC, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of BBC and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.

