Glossary: D

D'Aeth, Thomas

A wealthy merchant of the East India Company who employed Thomas Twining and introduced him to tea and coffee, the new drinks from the East.

Darjeeling

A very high quality black tea grown in the Himalayan Mountains in North India. It is most often referred to as the champagne of teas.

Dengyo Daishi

A Japanese Buddhist monk who spent two years (803-5) in China. He returned to Japan with tea seeds which he planted at his monastery. It is said that he later served the new drink to the Emperor Saga, who ordered tea to be grown more widely.

Devereux Court

The site of Tom's Coffee House, Thomas Twining's original coffee house. Devereux Court was situated just off London's Strand. The location no longer exists, although adjacent buildings eventually became Twinings shop at 216 Strand.

Dooar

Tea grown in the Dooar district located in Central India.

Duchess of Bedford

It is said that Anna, 7th Duchess of Bedford invented afternoon tea sometime during the 1840s. Although her simple pot of tea with a light snack was originally introduced to counteract her hunger pangs, it soon developed into a popular social occasion among the fashionable classes.

Dull

Tea liquor which is not clear or bright. – Little reflection in the liquor – usually denotes a lower quality of tea.

Dust

A term which has been used to describe the smallest particles of a tea leaf.