When tea was really expensive ...

[lorash]

A couple of hundred years ago when tea was really expensive what was the common drink of the people?

[boxtops]

Beer

[B00]

water

[shoota]

Small beer 'cause the water wasn't fit to drink.

[islasmum]

Or, if you look at any of Hogarth's pictures - gin.

[marje]

Gin

[dickythecook]

Wot ish tissh worter stuffff wereov youu speeks

[shoota]

Or cider and perry.

[aelmpvw]

gin? oh for the good old days

[shoota]

http://www.essentially-england.com/english-food-in-the-1800s-what-did-we-eat.html

[B00]

That's a fascinating link shoota, and features foods which seem for the upper classes? I'm sure the lower classes didn't eat and drink like that surely?

[B00]

Nevermind, this'll teach me to speed read....

" Ale was drank across the population and gin was a widespread drink amongst the lower classes."

[DTCwordfan]

Mediaeval times, wine and mead (it was 5C warmer in 1215 than now - and we were growing red wine as far north as Luton, white up into Scotland). With the mini-ice age, things tipped to grain drinks such as beer, cider and perry. The middle income latched onto chocolate and coffee as well in the 17thC onwards, gin, cheap wine and water being for the masses in England, firewater hooch north of the border...

[pusskin]

Brilliant link shoota, thats terrific x

[cazzz1975]

the stories about the times around the pictures "beer street" and "gin lane" are quite sad, it goes to show that even in the past they had the same sorts of problems as we see today

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beer_Street_and_Gin_Lane

[plautus]

"Drunk for a penny, dead drunk for tuppence"
That was before the Exchequer had the bright idea of taxing it. Happy days!

[lorash]

Thanks for all the interesting answers