The History of Tea and History of Bread and Wine on our Table

Instructor: Eva Eliscu
February 20 & 22
1-3 p.m.

Four fascinating topics in one course!

1. Tea Is the Answer to Everything: (The History of Tea)
The arrival of tea and coffee in Europe during the 17th century caused many changes in the lives of Europeans and the people of the British Colonies. The story of tea is a story of imperialism, industrialization, and world domination – one cup at the time. England emerged as the first global superpower because of its adoption of a new system of manufacturing – the factory was born, and this was the start of the Industrial Revolution. Linking the British Imperial expansion from the Far East and the Industrial expansion of Europe was tea.

2. Arrival of Coffee and Cacao in the 17th century Europe

3. he History of Bread and Wine on our Table
Paintings and written documents help us to understand how important bread has been to our survival. On the wealthy man’s table, we find rolls of white bread; the merchants ate grain bread. The common poor man ate bread baked of a mixture including bran flour. These large loaves of bread were also sliced and used as bread trenchers – in other words, plates.

Wine became part of the cradle of Western thought process when Greek thinkers laid the foundation for modern Western politics, philosophy, science, and law. The Romans made wine a social symbol, a mark of wealth and status of the drinker. The best wine ended up in the wealthy man’s goblet.

4. Everyday life and dining at Chateau Versailles

Eva Eliscu is a Swedish-born culinary consultant and lecturer on the history and customs of the dining table and producer of the San Miguel’s Annual Food in Film Festival in Mexico. She was educated in Sweden, Switzerland, and the US. She has experience as a guest speaker on various cruise ships and has presented her lectures at international libraries, gourmet and culinary groups, and food and wine festivals, as well as special interest groups.