Earliest tea receipt from 1644

Unless you’re self employed and need to keep track of every single piece of expenditure I doubt you’ll collect your till receipts. The most likely outcome is that every so often you dig deep into your trouser pockets or purses and pull the receipts out, casually look at the most expensive item, wish you hadn’t spent so much and then ditch them in the bin. Now there is a reason I am talking about receipts today and it relates back to UKVending’s wonderful range of teas.

A stately home near Leeds called Temple Newsam House, recently hit the headlines because curators and renovators at the house discovered what is believed to be a 374 year old bill with ‘one of the earliest’ mentions of tea in England.

In 1644 tea was known as China Drink and the receipt clearly states that the buyer had bought bottles for medicinal purposes. In the 1640’s tea was an especially rare commodity and also expensive making it the preserve of the rich and well to do.

The discovery of the bill delighted the UK Tea Association whose spokesman said that it was a “lovely and very special find.