Although Wellington reportedly has more cafes per capita than anywhere else in the world, and we can debate the merits of the best coffee, best coffee provider, and even best coffee bean for hours, the humble tea has a longer history than its darker and richer compadre.
Let’s start in Blighty, where the United Kingdom had been the largest per capita tea consumer in the world since the 18th century, and by 1840 it controlled tea production in much of the subcontinent. With this in mind, it’s not surprising that tea was the beverage of choice when the settlers arrived in New Zealand around about the same time.
At the turn of the century, tea kiosks popped up in well-frequented leisure spots like Oriental Bay, Miramar, Kelburn, Island Bay, and Days Bay, and by the 1920s the big department stores like Kirkcaldie & Stains, DIC, and James Smiths were replicating the tea rooms of their English counterparts.