The History of the Tea Cosy

The English, Irish, Norwegians and the Danish have all, at some point, been credited with the invention of the tea cosy. One popular theory would have it that the first tea cosy came into being in 1600’s Ireland where it is claimed, farmers would typically have a pot of tea with their evening meal. The story goes that on one particular evening a farmer reached across the dinner table and his hat fell off, covering the teapot. When he later removed the hat to pour more tea he found that his tea was still nice and hot. His wife then decided to knit a purpose made hat for the pot, and she called this hat a ‘cosy’. However, charming as this story is, it is unlikely to be true as tea drinking at this time was a pastime too expensive for any but the rich.

The tea cosy in now a common everyday object but it comes, in fact, from noble origins, and was not only invented to keep the contents of teapot and it’s contents hot, but also to prolong social occasions. It’s history begins when tea was first introduced to Britain in the 1660’s, when King Charles II married Catherine of Braganzo, a Portuguese Infanta, who brought a love of taking tea with her from Portugal.

The importing of such a luxury item was very costly and a pleasure only the aristocracy could afford until around 1750, when Colonialism and the ever-increasing empire meant that exotic goods could be brought to Britain more cheaply, and tea became Britain's national drink.

Although the history of the tea cosy may have begun when tea first arrived on British shores in the 1660’s, the first documented use of a tea cosy was in 1887. It was probably Anna Russel, the Duchess of Bedford, who in establishing the activity of taking ‘afternoon tea’ (an event so British that we still refer to four o' clock as ‘tea time’), would have brought about the popularity of the tea cosy. During this era ‘well to do’ ladies had little to occupy their idle days, so the introduction of afternoon tea was a welcome diversion. It was also an important opportunity for networking and keeping up to date with all the aristocracy gossip and topical news.

The tea party would be served at a table, often in the garden in clement weather, and the matriarchal figure would pour everyone's tea. In her absence another lady would perform this role, which is where the expression "shall I be mother?” originated. With all the ladies absorbed in chattering and exchanging tit-bits of news at tea time the forgotten tea pot would often go cold. To prevent this eventuality from curtailing the tea party, the tea cosy became a usual sight on the tea table.

Interestingly, the original term given to the afternoon teas created by the Duchess of Bedford was not ‘high tea’ as we might call it today, but was in fact 'low tea’. High tea was taken later in the day (around six ‘o clock), and was a meal of whatever was left over from lunch, accompanied by tea, and was taken by farm labourers and the like after a hard day's toil.

Tea cosies then flourished during the late 19th century where they appeared in many households across Britain, motivated by the obsession with decorating and covering objects characteristic of the Victorian era. Tea cosies started to be used in North America in the same period. Newspapers of the time reveal that tea cosies enjoyed a sudden and unexpected rise in public favour amongst women who hosted tea parties, and even included advice columns on how to make one: “some very handsome ones are made of remnants of heavy brocade, but linen is generally used, embroidered or not according to taste, as these covers are washable.” (article of the Boston Journal, 25 November 1879).