Orleans House on the Riverside at Twickenham is currently presenting an exhibition Twinings In Twickenham'.

This fascinating exhibition is as packed with interest as a good cuppa is with flavour. Intriguing exhibits, ranging from portraits to pots, give a glimpse of not only the Twining business but also the tea trade, the family's role in promoting tea in this country (we weren't always addicted to it), and the activities of sisters Louisa and Elizabeth Twining. Louisa wrote and illustrated books on Christian imagery, while Elizabeth was a renowned botanical illustrator and founded St John's Hospital in Twickenham. Examples of work by both are on show.

Tea was so costly in the eighteenth century that it was kept in locked tea caddies and drunk with a ritual and etiquette only marginally less complex than a Japanese tea ceremony, as revealed by a computer animation.

It was drunk from delicate little bowls (teacups with handles didn't appear until 1810); some are on display alongside covetable teapots. Other exhibits include old photos and prints showing tea growing and processing; tea compressed into bricks, blocks and balls to facilitate transport; samples of tea to smell; and an object explaining how we came to tip' waiters.

Do go and see it! The exhibition runs until August 27.

Janet Halliday