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                                  Everyday Things that Changed the World
The everyday pleasures we take for granted have extraordinary stories to tell. Tea, coffee, chocolate, sugar and spices have inspired exploration, created fortunes, fuelled empires and changed the way we live. Discover the remarkable people, adventures and sometimes darker histories behind the flavours that conquered the world.
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The British answer to any problem or crisis is often a cup of tea.. But when and how did the British love affair with tea start? 

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 The first Coffee House opened in England in the mid 1600’s, and our love affair with the coffee  goes back a long time.

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Coffee Houses in 17th & 18th centuries played a central role in life in the cities; they were where men met to discuss the new ideas of the time & conduct business.  

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William of Orange became king of England after the Glorious Revolution of 1688, amongst other things he enacted a series of laws to encourage gin distillation.

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Perhaps the greatest theft of trade secrets in the history of mankind. This is the story of Robert Fortune who went to China to steal their secrets of tea. 

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 The Aztecs believed cocoa beans were a gift from the god of wisdom. The Spanish took the bean back to Spain, by the1650’s chocolate had arrived in England 

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In the 1600's sugar was a luxury for the rich and was used as a medicine. Few foodstuffs have had such an impact on human beings as sugar.

   

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Spices have been important to mankind for a long time but in the 1600's the quest for them caused wars and made men fortunes 

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