A tea chest is a type of wooden case originally produced and used to ship
tea
Tea is an aromatic beverage prepared by pouring hot or boiling water over cured or fresh leaves of '' Camellia sinensis'', an evergreen shrub native to East Asia which probably originated in the borderlands of southwestern China and northe ...
to the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
,
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
, and
New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
. The conventional tea chest is a case with
rivet
A rivet is a permanent mechanical fastener. Before being installed, a rivet consists of a smooth cylindrical shaft with a head on one end. The end opposite to the head is called the ''tail''. On installation, the rivet is placed in a punched ...
ed metal edges, of approximate size .
The term is now used more widely to indicate similarly sized cases, including
cardboard
Cardboard is a generic term for heavy paper-based products. The construction can range from a thick paper known as paperboard to corrugated fiberboard which is made of multiple plies of material. Natural cardboards can range from grey to light b ...
cases, produced for various home and commercial uses.
Wooden
tea caddies are also occasionally referred to as "tea chests".
History
A tea chest holds 42 to 58 kilograms of tea; the size depends on the origin and client. Sizes vary from 400×400×620 to 500×500×750 mm.
The traditional construction was of very thin wood held at the edges with metal edges, riveted to the sheets. Internally, tea chests were often lined with
metal foil
A foil is a very thin sheet of metal, typically made by hammering or rolling.Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. "foil". Encyclopedia Britannica, 6 Nov. 2008https://www.britannica.com/technology/foil-metallurgy.Accessed 11 September 2022. Fo ...
, and strengthened with inch-by-inch boards at the edges.
The foil was stated as
lead
Lead is a chemical element with the symbol Pb (from the Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a heavy metal that is denser than most common materials. Lead is soft and malleable, and also has a relatively low melting point. When freshly cu ...
in a
Bushell's
Bushells is an Australian company that produces tea and coffee.
History
Bushell's was founded by Alfred Bushell in 1883, when he opened a tea shop in Queensland. His sons moved the enterprise to Sydney in 1899 and began selling tea commercia ...
1925 advertisement
but later changed to
aluminium foil
Aluminium foil (or aluminum foil in North American English; often informally called tin foil) is aluminium prepared in thin metal leaves with a thickness less than ; thinner gauges down to are also commonly used. Standard household foil is typ ...
.
Tea chests were one-trip affairs, so they were generally sold for non-food use.
During the 1950s throughout the UK, tea chests began to be used as basic
basses
Bass or Basses may refer to:
Fish
* Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species
Music
* Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range:
** Bass (instrument), including:
** Acoustic bass ...
in
skiffle
Skiffle is a genre of folk music with influences from American folk music, blues, country, bluegrass, and jazz, generally performed with a mixture of manufactured and homemade or improvised instruments. Originating as a form in the United States ...
groups, such as
the Quarrymen
The Quarrymen (also written as "the Quarry Men") are a British skiffle/rock and roll group, formed by John Lennon in Liverpool in 1956, which evolved into the Beatles in 1960. Originally consisting of Lennon and several schoolfriends, the Quar ...
.
See also
*
Crate
A crate is a large shipping container, often made of wood, typically used to transport or store large, heavy items. Steel and aluminium crates are also used. Specialized crates were designed for specific products, and were often made to be reusa ...
*
Milk crate
Milk crates are square or rectangular interlocking boxes that are used to transport milk and other products from dairies to retail establishments.
In English-speaking parts of Europe the term "bottle crate" is more common but in the United Sta ...
References
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Food storage containers
Tea