<P> Black tea overtook green tea in popularity in the 1720s when sugar and milk were added to tea, a practice that was not done in China . The growth in the import of tea parallels that of sugar in the 18th century . Between 1720 and 1750 the imports of tea to Britain through the British East India Company more than quadrupled . Fernand Braudel queried, "is it true to say the new drink replaced gin in England?" By 1766, exports from Canton stood at six million pounds on British boats, compared with 4.5 on Dutch ships, 2.4 on Swedish, 2.1 on French . Veritable "tea fleets" grew up . Tea was particularly interesting to the Atlantic world not only because it was easy to cultivate but also because of how easy it was to prepare and its ability to revive the spirits and cure mild colds . </P> <P> Thomas Twining opened the first known tea shop in 1706, which still remains at 216 Strand, London . In 1787, the company created its logo, still in use today, which is thought to be the world's oldest commercial logo that has been in continuous use since its inception . Under Associated British Foods since 1964, Stephen Twining now represents the company's tenth generation . In 2006, Twinings celebrated its 300th anniversary with a special tea and associated tea caddies . Twining's is a Royal Warrant holder (appointed by HM The Queen). </P> <P> Some scholars suggest that tea played a role in British Industrial Revolution . Afternoon tea possibly became a way to increase the number of hours labourers could work in factories; the stimulants in the tea, accompanied by sugary snacks would give workers energy to finish the day's work . Further, tea helped alleviate some of the consequences of the urbanization that accompanied the industrial revolution: drinking tea required boiling the water, thereby killing water - borne diseases like dysentery, cholera, and typhoid . </P> <P> The popularity of tea occasioned the furtive export of slips, a small shoot for planting or twig for grafting to tea plants, from China to British India and its commercial cultivation there, beginning in 1840 . </P>

When did tea and coffee come to england