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Josiah Spode came from humble beginnings while growing up in England, and was at the tender age of six-years-old when he lost his father. Little Josiah watched his father being buried in a pauper’s grave; a basic burial with no frills or even a headstone, given to poor people of that era who couldn’t afford a conventional burial. At the age of seven, Josiah was put to work 12 hours a day in a pottery. In 1749, when Josiah was sixteen-years-old, he was given the good fortune to apprentice for a successful Staffordshire potter, Henry Whieldon. After learning his trade for five years, Josiah changed jobs and went to work as a skilled potter for Stoke potter, William Banks.
Josiah Spode did well, soon opening a small factory of his own. Due to Josiah’s outstanding skills, he prospered, purchasing William Banks’ factory where Josiah’s factory still remains to this day. Josiah created industry firsts within the realm of English ceramics. In 1784 Josiah earned a good reputation for his glazing techniques for blue under-glaze printing from hand-engraved plates made of copper, onto earthenware. Josiah’s technique established a secure future, not only for his Company, but for the industry as a whole that experienced phenomenal growth due to Josiah’s creativity.
In 1796, during the final years of the eighteenth century, Josiah Spode perfected a certain formulation technique producing the first fine bone china. Josiah’s ingenious creativity moved the entire potting industry forward. Fine bone china, known in its infancy as English china, was made with a bone dust combination resulting in a unique delicate translucency with brilliant whiteness; strong, with a resonance sounding similar to a bell; 
a sound only heard when fine bone china is gently ‘pinged’ with thumb and forefinger.
Josiah I’s son, Josiah II, honed his skills becoming one of the top marketing experts of his day, selling his father’s tableware creations from a shop in London, and employing the services of a traveling salesman to spread the word further afield. Two years after his father’s death in 1797, Josiah II had a thriving business selling fine bone china by the name Stoke china, gaining a Royal warrant from Prince Charles after visiting Josiah’s factory. This was the first of what were to be six Royal warrants the Company earned from impressed royalty.
And so, fine bone china is still as popular today with the aristocracy, royalty and discerning hotels and households the world over as it has always been, to serve tea in the manner it has always been meant to be served, and to bring out the absolute best flavor of any type of tea you choose to imbibe.
There are many uses for tea other than merely drinking the delicious infusion. One of tea’s alternative uses is for antiquing paper to give it the appearance of some long forgotten document aged by the passage of time.
Simply brew a strong pot of tea using one extra tea bag than usual. Let the tea brew for a few minutes and allow it to cool and you should be ready to create your masterpiece. Dip a ball of cotton into the liquid and begin wiping tea on one surface of the paper at a time. To antique the edges of the paper squeeze tea out of the teabag while holding the paper vertically. Repeat this process on all sides using fresh tea bags as necessary and allow the paper to dry thoroughly. For a more ancient look, rip the paper and re-stain the ripped parts. When you are satisfied with the way the paper looks, take a calligraphy pen and create a faux document.
Other uses for tea include diluting leftover cold or stewed tea from the teapot and feeding it liberally to houseplants. 
This method was taught to me by my mother whose houseplants grew beyond belief. I remember giving her a rubber plant for Mother’s Day one year–nine months later the plant had reached the ceiling and had begun to travel across it at will. Needless to say, the cold tea method of houseplant feeding encourages vigorous growth and healthy looking houseplants.
Teabags also contain medicinal value especially where cold sores are concerned. Simply place a used wet tea bag on the cold sore for two minutes for pain relief and to help kill bacteria. Tired puffy eyes or eyes with dark circles under them can benefit from cool wet teabags applied to closed eyes for 15 minutes. Your eyes will feel refreshed after the teabag treatment and the dark circles, puffiness, or bags under them should be considerably improved. Additionally, wet teabags can be applied to relieve sunburn, bug bites, razor burn, and small cuts and abrasions.
Ancient Chinese civilizations first used green tea for better health over 4,000 years ago. Infusions of green tea were administered to sufferers for the relief of ailments from a simple headache to psychosis. Today, green tea has been proven by the University of Purdue to be an effective combatant of cancer due to its catechin polyphenol content that includes epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG); a rich powerful antioxidant that inhibits the growth of cancer cells.
Antioxidants prevent free radicals, which are inhaled in the air we breathe or consumed in the food we eat. Generally, free radicals damage healthy cells and subsequently make you sick. Brightly colored fruits and vegetables such as yellow, red and green bell peppers; lemons; tomatoes; plums; blueberries; raspberries; and strawberries all contain quantities of antioxidants to boost the immune system and protect from cellular damage—and green tea is a powerful guardian amongst these plant-based disease fighters.
Green tea health benefits differ dramatically from black teas health benefits due to the fact that green tea is steamed 
during the little processing it requires, retaining its EGCG, while other teas lose most of this valuable chemical when undergoing fermentation in the oxidization process.
Research indicates that drinking green tea on a regular basis helps burn fat and elevates good (HDL) cholesterol levels while lowering bad (LDL) cholesterol levels in the blood, making green tea a healthy alternative to drinking coffee and a beneficial element to add to the diet. Green tea contains less caffeine than coffee, which is a bonus to those who, on the advice of their physician, need to reduce their daily caffeine intake. An average of six cups of green tea may be consumed to equal the caffeine content of just one cup of coffee.
Green tea is not just for drinking; green tea extract can be found as one of the main ingredients in a number of popular body pampering products including hand lotions and shampoos, conditioners and astringents to effectively work from the outside in. Drink green tea often for optimum health, from the inside — out!
Growing up in England, the ceremonious making and imbibing of pots of tea was practiced not only because it was the traditional beverage and drunk at every given opportunity, but it was also offered to guests by the host as common courtesy on entering the home. As well as being an established part of social intercourse, drinking tea was very much a problem solver and of paramount importance when working out problems that one had at any given moment.
Almost ritualistic in nature, tea magically held the answer to all problems, real or imagined, and was relied upon to make one feel more at ease. When the need arose, the best China tea service was carefully taken from the cabinet to serve as a special element in the problem-solving ritual. The fine bone China worked well for this purpose, as English tea such as the full-bodied flavor of PG Tips or Tetley tasted delicious when poured into delicate bone China teacups edged with gold leaf and adorned with hand-painted floral designs.
Looking back on the art of tea-making and the use of special vessels from which to partake of this precious liquid; the entire tea-making rite made those involved feel close and special, thus forming a solid cement for friendship and bonding. Many pots of English tea were consumed while “mulling over” problems and coming to mutually satisfactory solutions or arrangements.
The kettle was “put on” when one was upset or bewildered, tired or angry; it didn’t matter which kind of emotion was 
being felt; tea would help influence calm and make one feel oneself again. When the kettle was almost at a full rolling boil, some of the hot water was poured into the teapot warming it before the tea or teabags were added. Depending on how large a teapot one was using, the quantity of tea used was one teabag per person and one for the pot. When the kettle “whistled” signaling a full rolling boil, the water was poured over the tea and allowed to brew, or infuse, for three minutes. The tea was poured slowly from the fine China teapot into the ornate teacups sitting on their matching saucers, and optional milk and sugar were added to taste.
Cream off the top of the milk was offered as a special treat when milk was still delivered to one’s doorstep. Homogenized milk was just beginning to get popular and had a red foil top. Jersey milk had a gold foil top; our milk had a silver foil top and the cream rose to the top of the glass bottle. The birds, I remember, would peck holes in the foil if one left the milk on the doorstep too long.
Tea drinking is just as popular in England as it has always been; it truly is the great English tradition.
