CANNON fire has heralded the arrival of guest cuppas on the menu at a hotel.

Gunpowder tea is the first of a series of unusual infusions on offer at the King's Head, in the Market Place, Richmond, North Yorkshire, each month.

The launch was marked by the visit to the hotel of a 12in cannon, on loan from the nearby Green Howards regimental museum.

It took pride of place in a display of tea-making equipment which traced the taking of tea from Georgian times to the trenches of the First World War.

The tiny cannon was originally fired to signal the serving of gunpowder tea in the Army. On the days it was fired, the men could look forward to a tot of rum in their brew.

Gunpowder tea is tightly rolled into tiny green pellets which resemble gunpowder. When boiling water is poured over it, the leaves expand to produce a green tea which is drunk with lemon or a splash of rum, rather than milk.

The teas which have been lined up for the hotel's special season are supplied by Michael Harrison, of Northern Select Foods, in Catterick Village.

Future infusions could include oolong, black dragon and jasmine monkey king. The hotel is open to suggestions from visitors for other teas.

Kay Robinson, hotel manager, said: "The King's Head was built in the early 1700s. By that time, tea drinking was becoming ever more popular. It replaced ale and gin to become England's most popular drink by the end of that century."