The Duchess' 50 Tea Recipes

**The Duchess' 50 Tea Recipes** was released on Kakaopage on July 12, 2019. An official English translation was later released on Tapas. The plot is focused on Chloe Battenberg, a duchess who wants to share her love of tea in a nation that hates tea!

## Synopsis

Duchess Chloé Battenberg is a spineless softy at the mercy of society snobs, disparaging servants, and a cold husband. When an office worker (and recovering pushover) awakens as Chloé, she can’t believe it. But she’s DONE with this pity party, so let's make it a tea party! Each cup is perfectly brewed to defeat prejudices and coffee-predilections—and served with a side of business savvy—but is it enough to stir her husband and bring Chloé the respect she deserves? Come spill the tea with Chloé!

## Characters

### House Battenberg

* **Chloé Battenberg** - The main protagonist. She is the Duchess of Battenberg and wants to bring tea to everyone, despite the bad reputation of tea. She shares her knowledge of tea with her friends, royalty, and her husband to destigmatize her favorite drink. Chloe is actually **Park Hajeong**, a 28 year-old female office worker from Korea who passed out in her world and woke up in another world, replacing Chloe.
* **Duke Alphonse Battenberg** - Chloe's husband, a stoic husband who only married Chloe to fulfill his role as a Duke. He later grows to like Chloe and learns about tea through her.
* **Ellie** - a young maid with glasses and brown hair in braids. She mostly handles the laundry, but eventually serves Chloe after being bullied by other maids. She grows to like tea and looks forward to whenever Chloe shares a new recipe with her.
* **Jacob, Balt, and Cain** - knights of the Battenberg Dukedom. They are among the first to be treated to Chloe's tea recipes and are quick to help her.
* **Cale** - the butler of House Battenberg. Originally in charge of household matters, he turned over the responsibility to Chloe after she proved she was more than capable of the role.
* **Jacklyn** - the chief kitchen maid of House Battenberg. She was skeptical of Chloe being the kitchen due to an incident involving her being blamed by the old Chloe. After seeing a change in Chloe, she gives her full support and even helps Chloe with her tea recipes.
* **Yeojin** - Chloe's financial advisor hired by Alphonse. She is from the Qing Kingdom, a land similar to Korea. She was skeptical of Chloe's knowledge of tea considering the prejudice surrounding it in the empire. However, she changed her mind after being served tea by Chloe. She helps manage Chloe's financials from Triple Sweet, the tea shop Chloe started.

### Nobility

* **Lady Belladonna** - a lady who insults Chloe. She believes those from the East is a barbarians for drinking "dry leaves in water" and "sitting on the floor". Her uncle traveled to the East and tried making tea, but it tasted horrible, thus validating their views of the "barbaric culture" in countries like Bharat and On. Her purple hair is featured in two large curls past her shoulders.
* **Mrs. Mason** - a countess who raised Alphonse after his parents passed away. She was unsure of Chloe fulfilling her role as a duchess, but changed her mind and entrusted Alphonse's happiness to Chloe. She enjoys peppermint sweets, leading Chloe to introduce mint tea to her.
* **Prince Arthur Vladmir** - a playboy prince. He enjoys various wines and spirits while avoiding his duties as a prince of the empire. He is romantically interested in Chloe, though he doesn't realize it until later.
* **Emperor Joji Waltbal Marcedes Vladmir** - a light-hearted yet firm leader of the empire. He entrusts Chloe with various diplomatic events through the help of her knowledge and skill in teas. His preferred tea is Assam.

## Other Information

### Trivia

* The first time Chloe is shown drinking tea, after ordering boxes of it, is in Chapter 5. She drinks a simple black tea, and also learns the water used is soft water, similar to the water available in Korea.
	+ Note: soft water is free of minerals, whereas hard water, commonly found in Europe and even the United States, contains minerals (source in manga: https://www.freedrinkingwater.com/water-education/quality-water-hard.htm )
* While tea wasn't the popular drink of the nobles, coffee replaced its role. Chloe and Alphonse try to have coffee in a coffee shop, but Chloe was excluded because women weren't allowed inside. Coffee shops were a men's only space. Alphonse ended up buying the coffee shop so he and Chloe could enjoy the rest of their date (Ch. 38).
* Chloe hosts her first tea party in Chapter 15. Among the invited nobility is Lady Belladonna, who insults Chloe and calls tea drinkers in the East "barbarians". The tea featured at the tea party is an oolong tea with a milky flavor and scent, despite no milk being used at all. This tea won over the ladies and made the tea party a success.
* Real world references to tea and other cultures are made in the manga to connect them with the world Chloe lives in. Examples:
	+ The country of "On" in the east has dumplings, most likely a version of China (Ch. 10)
	+ Drinking chamomile tea with honey and milk became popular in Spain (Ch. 12)
	+ Yeojin's appearance, according to Chloe, is similar to those from Korea (Ch. 44)
* The first time Chloe has On cuisine is in Chapter 38 while she and Alphonse are on a date. The architecture and cuisine shown at the On restaurant implies a Chinese background. After tasting the food, Chloe recommends serving jasmine tea with the meal to cut back on the oily taste. The restaurant owner and Prince Arthur lend a hand in the promotion.

### External Links

* Korean release at *Kakaopage*
* Official English release at *Tapas*

* *AniList* page
* *Anime Planet* page
* *Baka-Updates Manga* page
* *Kitsu* page