However, tea's acceptance by British masses was quite slow. It was in late 1700 that tea's popularity picked up. As tea came from British colonies, it came to be viewed as a national drink, with patriotic sentiments attached to it. Another reason which contributed to its popularity was the ease of its preparation technique. While coffee grounds could be brewed only once, and reusing the same ground yielded a much inferior flavour, tea leaves could be brewed several times without any significant drop in the quality of liquor. As tea was a high class drink and hence expensive, the British masses bought second hand, brewed leaves and brewed them longer to compensate. Tea was thus gradually finding place in British everyday life.

Soon, tea began to be sold in London coffee houses. Tea was heavily advertised as a medicinal drink which helped maintain health and beauty. The coffee house owners charged heavily for a cup of tea, as much as 6-10 pounds per cup. The government soon imposed various taxes, regulations and restrictions on sale of tea, with a view to cash in on the growing tea trend. This even led to tea being smuggled into England. Finally the taxes were waived off to stop this illegal smuggling.