An infusion of black tea leaves imported by trading companies, served hot, optionally sweetened with a little West Indian sugar or lengthened with milk. The social drink of 18th-century Britain, around which conversations and clubs formed.

Why this dish? The anchor says it: Smith appreciated tea, a beverage then fashionable throughout Britain. As an economist, he analysed precisely those colonial commodities — tea, sugar — whose rise transformed trade and habits. His cup was also an object of study.

Here is a drink I cannot examine without thinking of the commerce that brings it to me. These leaves have crossed the seas from the Orient, the sugar that accompanies it comes from the American islands — think of the multitude of hands required for this cup to arrive before me. Boil the water freely, scald the teapot first, then let it steep for the time it takes to read a page. I add a cloud of milk; as for sugar, I use it with measure, for it costs men more trouble than one imagines.

How it was made : In the 18th century, tea remained expensive and heavily taxed; it was stored in lockable caddies. It was served in small handleless cups of imported porcelain. The debate 'milk first or tea first' dates from this era, linked to the fragility of porcelain against boiling water.

The contemporary twist : Present it as an 'Enlightenment tea ceremony': scalded teapot, butter shortbread on the side, and a sugar bowl to dip into sparingly — a nod to Smith mindful of the true cost of things.

Sources : Adam Smith, An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations (1776)

Adam Smith · Charactorium