The Abuse of Hot Liquors
Dr Annie Gray, Research Associate, University of York

Afternoon tea, by Stereometric (http://bit.ly/1FUiI32) used under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

• Thursday 18 June 2015, 12.30PM to 2.30pm
• £12.95, please email Belmont.room@bettysandtaylors.co.uk or call 01904 659142 for additional details.
• Belmont Rooms, Bettys York, St Helen's Square (map)

No wheelchair access.

Event details

Tea, coffee and chocolate are everywhere in modern Britain. But have you ever wondered exactly where they came from, why we’re so attached to them, and whether we’ve always looked upon them as the ubiquitous substances we know and love today?

Food historian and University of York research associate, Dr Annie Gray, will explore the rich history of three interlinked beverages. She’ll show how tea and feminism go hand-in-hand, talk about the perceived dangers of coffee consumption if you’re a man, and chart the path of chocolate from rich drink to cheap confectionery.

Annie will challenge the myths around our favourite hot beverages, and give you a new perspective on your daily brew. You can also pick her brains about cooking with tea, coffee and chocolate, as we consider how our usage of them has changed. As part of the event, you’ll be able to sit down to a Bettys Cream Tea (and you’ll learn about how that tradition came to be as well).

Speaker biography

Food historian Dr Annie Gray is a popular lecturer, performer and consultant to the heritage industry, as well as a researcher. She has degrees from Oxford, York and Liverpool, and specialises in food and dining from 1650 onwards. She is the resident food historian on Radio 4’s The Kitchen Cabinet, and a regular contributor to TV programmes ranging from James Martin: Home Comforts, to The Great British Bake Off.

Additional links

Follow Annie Gray on her blog, Twitter and website.