Dear Oliver,
December is an important month in the history of tea in the “New World” as early
Europeans dubbed the lands across the Atlantic. These early settlers were reliant
on European goods and services for many of the staples that they were
accustomed to using and enjoying in their daily lives. Tea was one of the valuable
commodities primarily traded by the East India Company.
By 1773, the East India Company had a virtual monopoly on tea shipped to the
colonies, which was set in place by British Parliament in the Tea Act. This act
granted the company preferred status and a monopoly on tea exports to the
colonies, exemption on export taxes, and refunds on certain surplus teas. All this
cut out independent colonial shippers and merchants.
According to the Britannica Online Encyclopedia, this “...drove the normally
conservative colonial merchants into an alliance with radicals led by Samuel
Adams and his Sons of Liberty. In such cities as New York, Philadelphia, and
Charleston, tea agents resigned or canceled orders, and merchants refused
consignments. In Boston, however, the royal governor Thomas Hutchinson
determined to uphold the law and maintained that three arriving ships, the
Dartmouth, Eleanor, and Beaver should be allowed to deposit their cargoes and
that appropriate duties should be honored.” Another ship, the William, was also
destined for Boston but had run aground in Cape Cod.
Interestingly, all the additional cargo from the ships that reached Boston was
allowed by authorities and unloaded except the tea, which was left floating in the
harbor. Efforts were made by Patriots such as Adams to return the tea, but
Governor Hutchinson refused.
This decision in Massachusetts led to the bold act that is now widely known as
“The Boston Tea Party.” On December 16, 1773 at Griffin’s Wharf in Boston, a
group of local men covered in blankets and wearing Native American headdresses boarded these three ships and dumped the contents of the tea chests into the sea.
Not surprisingly, British Parliament was outraged and quickly passed the
“Coercive Acts.” The unhappy colonists changed this to the “Intolerable Acts,”
which effectively shut off all sea trade to the area until reimbursement for the lost
tea was made. This was a pivotal moment that served to unite the colonies in the
quest for independence.
Charleston, S.C. in 1780, published c. 1850 by G.P. Putnam, New York. From the collections of the South Carolina Historical Society.
As stated, Boston was not the only city receiving tea from the East India Company. Oliver Pluff’s home city of Charles Town (Charleston) was also involved in the December drama. Another chapter of the Colonies’ Sons of Liberty was located there and local Patriot Christopher Gadsden initiated efforts to refuse a tea shipment arriving on the London days earlier on December 1, 1773.
Ultimately, this shipment was unloaded and locked away in the basement of the
city’s Old Exchange building and the London sailed on for New York. This,
however, was a less than perfect solution. Joseph Cummins writes in the book
“Ten Tea Parties,” that “the British were not entirely unhappy with this
resolution.” And, the Charleston Tea Party was “not equal in criminality to the
proceedings in other Colonies.” This sentiment did little to ease tensions in
Charles Town where Gadsden and others learned that Charles Town was the only
port that had accepted the tea. Furthermore, it was now being sold in the area.
During this time, Gadsden initiated an effort to eliminate tea usage in the region,
but this proved futile as households began hoarding and buying any tea they
could access. Charlestonians were not ready to give up tea.
Meanwhile, the Coercive Acts proved just as unpopular to other colonies as in
Boston and thus set the stage for massive agreement with various colonial leaders and membership in the Sons of Liberty swelled. Charlestonians supported
Boston’s boycott and sent food to their northern neighbors, but did not initially
boycott all European vessels.
HMS Britannia in Charleston Harbor, painting by George Hyde Chambers, 1834
Finally, in 1774 after a ship called Magna Carta twice arrived in the port carrying
tea, did Charlestonians, according to Cummins, get serious about a widespread
tea boycott. So, along with the other large cities and smaller colonial towns such
as Chestertown, York, Annapolis, Edenton, Wilmington, and Greenwich – tea took
its place in history leading to the Revolutionary War.
For more detailed information, earlier Oliver Pluff blog posts such as the March 7-
9 histories detail much of Charleston’s early tea experience. These include local
newspaper accounts and first-hand information about the early role of tea in the
area. In addition, the tab History of Tea includes local Charleston information as
well.
Tea’s popularity hasn’t waned in the following centuries. Currently, according to
the online site Statista, on average, every American consumed 430 grams or almost a pound of tea a piece in 2022. That translates to more than $13 billion spent in 2021 on tea. These numbers make the United States the leading tea importer and much tea still arrives in the giant sea-going vessels of today. According to U.S. Customs, tea imports are currently tax free (although other fees are charged.) Additionally, residents can personally bring any amount of leaf tea into the country with them as long as it is declared upon arrival.
According to a 2014 article in The Washington Post, “Americans favorite kind is black tea, which accounts for more than half of all tea consumed in the country.”
One big difference in the current American appetite for tea that strays from the
country’s early roots, is the preference of iced tea as well as the traditional hot
varieties. And, unlike elaborate tea rituals of the past, convenience is the name of
the game as well. Premade, prebagged, or served as takeout, tea is here to stay
and ready to go!
As the United States prepares to honor its Veterans this November 11, it is interesting to note the role of tea and coffee as traditional staples for troops both stateside and overseas during times of training, deployment, and conflict.
Although nutritional requirements, food preferences, available packaging, and many other changes have taken place since General George Washington marched the Continental Army, the value of hot drinks such as coffee and tea have remained at the top of the list - increasing military members’ welfare and morale in all endeavors.
The U.S. Department of Defense website states that the “military makes every effort to get coffee to the troops. During the Civil War, getting a hot cup of coffee was a real morale booster. Young William McKinley delivered hot coffee to his unit under fire at the battle of Antietam, Maryland — which he noted as he rose in politics, eventually being elected U.S. president in 1896.” In addition, during the civil war, “every break in a march, the troops would build a fire, heat water and use their musket butts to crush the beans. They would dump them in the water, and let it steep.”
World War I again brought this hot-beverage morale boost to the forefront, but in this case tea took a more active role. According to documents from the National Army Museum, “By the First World War (1914-18), Army food was basic, but filling. Each soldier could expect around 4,000 calories a day, with tinned rations and hard biscuits staples once again. But their diet also included vegetables, bread and jam, and boiled plum puddings. This was all washed down by copious amounts of tea.”
Tea held a prominent place in World War II as well. According to the Boston Tea Party Ship website, “Tea Canteens were spotted not only in the bombed-out streets of London, but also on the back lines of the war’s battlegrounds. Canteens followed the Allied troops as they crossed France and marched into Germany. Grateful communities from Wisconsin to Ceylon raised funds to sponsor these rolling tea wagons that brought a bit of home comfort to battle-weary soldiers.”
Black Tea was purchased from around the world and was a favorite of the British Allies, whereas Green Tea was more prominent in Japan.
According to the National Library of Medicine website, coffee was also vital in World War II in regard to morale. “The War Department considered coffee an essential element to the troops’ diet as it lifted the welfare and morale of the men. Military men believed that a warm cup of coffee completed the ration meal. In fact, the Army requisitioned “ten times” more coffee in 1942 than in 1941, before Pearl Harbor.
Interestingly, “the War Department developed different types of rations for the U.S. troops, and coffee allotments varied with ration type. The garrison ration was issued for peace times, troops traveling who were separated from field kitchens, and for national emergencies. For troops in active combat, the Army field forces commanders issued C, K, or D rations each including high-calorie foodstuffs. Powdered coffee was delivered in C-rations to military troops, whereas field ration K was issued with “5 grams soluble coffee” at breakfast only. In contrast, the peacetime or garrison ration consisted of two ounces of roasted and ground coffee.”
In more recent times, many U.S. miliary members regularly deploy to Middle Eastern countries, where U.S. leaders are now attempting to bring cultural awareness to the forefront so that peace-keeping goals can be more readily achieved. In an Army Press document titled “Through the Lens of Cultural Awareness: A Primer for US Armed Forces Deploying to Arab and Middle Eastern Countries,” the author William D. Wunderle urges cultural awareness curriculum for today’s military members. Tea and its culture are a part of this awareness and an entry in Munchery.com describes tea’s significant role: “As one delves into the world of Middle Eastern tea, a tapestry of flavors, traditions, and social customs unfolds, revealing the profound impact of this ancient beverage on daily life, social gatherings, and even diplomatic engagements.”
In a Military Times article, Brandon Friedman describes his personal experience with tea as a soldier in the Middle East, “…drinking tea with Iraqi and Afghan fighters between missions. It was how we bonded.”
Today, the Defense Logistics agency states that coffee is still in ration packages, but there are more brand-name foods available in them as well, creating a sense of home in the ready-to-eat packages. Military members consume these rations along with the same hot beverages they have been drinking for generations.
Some Oliver Pluff coffee varieties to try this Veterans’ Day are Colonial Blend or the Early American coffee trio, and possibly the Morning Mud, which definitely invokes a sense of military perseverance. East Indian brisk black tea or the Colonial Tea Collection certainly would do for an essential morale boost as would the caravan tea, which is a smoky campfire inspired tea.
This November 11, try sharing a cup of tea or coffee with a Veteran as a special way to say thank you.
]]>Still Life: Tea Set, c. 1781–1783, painting by Jean-Étienne Liotard
Dear Oliver,
I recently read a wonderful article about early Tea Customs and Rituals and I think you would enjoy it!
By the time the Revolutionary War took place, Tea was deeply entrenched into the daily lives of citizens in the original colonies and beyond. Although it was introduced from China in the 17th century, tea quickly became a staple for Europeans and thus the colonists arriving from Europe began to consume this new beverage as well.
As history shows, the path to readily available tea for the average consumer was fraught with political drama as the colonists used this commodity to protest unfair treatment by the British officials.
At first, tea was mainly accessed and consumed by wealthy individuals and families. The high cost and the expensive tea “equipment” made purchasing prohibitive for most people. But, according to Rodis Roth in “The Project Gutenberg eBook of Drinking Tea in 18th-Century America: Its Etiquette and Equipage,” by the middle of the 18th century when costs declined more people began to enjoy daily tea – possibly a third of all households took part in this ritual daily or at least on special occasions. “America was becoming a country of tea drinkers.”
Now, in the 21st century, it is easy to picture a scene where families consume tea in the mornings. Modern families sitting privately at home with a breakfast of toast or bread - drinking tea as a start to the day. This was exactly the case in the 18th century United States. Tea was regularly consumed in the mornings as a hot beverage with a light breakfast. Of course, it was all freshly baked or brewed and little came from pre-packaged or prepared boxes as we would see today, but in essence we can relate to a cup of morning tea.
In contrast, what is striking about the 18th century tea habits, is that tea was a common social event as well. As Roth proclaims, “The tea ceremony, sometimes simple, sometimes elaborate, was the very core of family life.” This second “social” tea was customary in the late afternoon or evening. During this later time, friends and visitors would come into the family home and enjoy tea together as a group event, sometimes adding punch and other beverages.
The afternoon tea we refer to today is likely more closely modeled from the British version. According to Henrietta Lovell in her book “Infused,” wealthy families created a tea ritual in the afternoon for a light snack before a late dinner. Afternoon tea served today at specialized shops or in exclusive hotels uses this model of tea and snacks.
Unknown 18C British Artist, A Tea Party
But, historically, in both countries families would set our their most lavish tea “sets” in full display on specialized tables. Often these tables folded and were only used for the special tea ceremony. They were frequently placed near the fire where the hostess served hot tea from the pre-positioned cups, which Roth notes, were presented in rows on rectangular tables and surrounding the pot on round tables. Sometimes the tables featured decorative linens, other times tea sets were placed directly on the table.
Teapot stand, Chelsea, England, 1759-1769
Prized sets of matching pots, cups, saucers, plus a creamer, sugar bowl, and a slop bowl were commonly made from porcelain and imported from China. Later, silver became fashionable for tea vessels as well. Silver accessories accompanied both types of tea services, especially popular were silver tea strainers and various tongs for sugar. Often the cups did not have handles as we routinely see today but were shaped as small bowls with the saucer resembling a small low bowl as well.
Especially well-off families could have them monogramed – hand painted on the porcelain or engraved in the silver. Children’s tea sets were seen as well. Often, they were sold as complete sets, but advertising of the day shows individual sales as well.
The Assembly at Wanstead House is a c. 1728–1732 group portrait by the English artist William Hogarth
Much of the information we have about early tea drinking and the various tea rituals comes from art such as oil paintings showing families or individuals drinking or serving tea, from personal journals describing tea and the surrounding events, or from newspaper articles and advertising of the day. These references clearly show how tea drinkers looked and acted while drinking tea, which in the afternoons or evenings was often described as a “festive” occasion. The pictures represent how much detail families went into regarding the tea experience. “The Assembly at Wanstead House,” now in the Philadelphia Museum of Art, illustrates quite an elegant affair taking place in a large, richly decorated, English interior. The artist has filled the canvas with people standing and conversing while a seated group plays cards at a table in the center of the room,” Roth describes.
This scene produces another interesting note for the 21st century reader. It appears from the written accounts and art of the period that social tea was an occasion where both host and hostess participated with guests of both sexes in attendance. Tea in the colonies often lasted well into the evening with game playing and general socializing. Scholars conclude that men and women moved around the room together comfortably sitting, standing, and socializing throughout the evening.
Although these events are often mixed company, traditions of the oldest daughter of the house or the youngest unmarried woman dictated the tea server for the event, Roth notes. In wealthy homes these women were directly supported by servants supplying the hot water and accompaniments.
It is fun to imagine such a time where tea drinking was a favored social activity with games and grand socializing - families opening up homes to friends and sharing this delicious beverage. Thankfully, tea is now a drink readily available in shops and restaurants. And, it is easy to create a lovely pot at home utilizing Oliver Pluff’s many delicious varieties. Go ahead - throw an evening tea party!
Oliver adds:
I saw this on a website about living a Georgian lifestyle. I can only imagine how the tea tasted...
From the Domestic Management book of 1800, we have the following step by step guide to making the perfect cuppa.
As it frequently falls to upper maids and footmen to make tea apart, for company it is felt that a little know how to make it well, a little instruction is required.
The tea-pot should be of a size proportioned to the number of persons that are to be served and the size of the cups.
If six persons are to drink tea, the pot should hold as much as will fill nine cups. One tea-spoonful is sufficient for each person to have three cups of tea; which is the general quantity drunk by each. Six tea-spoons full is about half an ounce; there being 13 in one ounce.
These should be put into the pot, and boiling water poured on, till the pot is one-third full. It should thus stand a quarter of an hour, which will draw a good tincture.
...
The tincture of tea in the pot will make the whole sufficiently strong, and the boiling water added, will make the whole sufficiently hot. After filling the six cups, the pot will remain one-third full, as before, and will still draw the tea, and add fresh strength to it.
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A cool morning at the beginning of September is what we call 'false-fall', and people in the south know 'second-summer' with the heat and humidity is coming back soon. As we head into Labor Day weekend, and the unofficial end of summer, I thought I would share the following note with you from a dear friend who is a huge Oliver Pluff fan. I hope you enjoy it and use it to help you pick you favorite end of summer iced and cold brew teas. Please let me know your favorite way of making iced tea.
Have a great Labor day Weekend!
~Oliver
Sitting here at the neighborhood pool in late summer, with cool fall days still in the distant future here in Charleston, I longingly wish I had a cold pitcher of Iced Oliver Pluff ready in my refrigerator. Just yesterday, I made a batch of traditional Iced Tea using Oliver Pluff Southern Style Iced tea and stirred in exactly 2/3 cup sugar while hot, definitely my go-to beverage for summer. The delicate sweetness along with seven minutes of steep time, create the perfect summer blend. Yet, that is exactly it – everyone loves my summer Oliver Pluff staple. The entire pitcher is gone within hours, my family all filling ice-filled glasses as soon as they see the enticing brew. It is simply a summer classic.
As I sit in my lounger, kids and teens splashing everywhere, I ponder the Sun Tea I vow to make tomorrow. I won’t let this tea-lessness happen again. Tomorrow, I will prepare before we head out on our daily pool adventure. I will grab a glass container, toss in one of my Oliver Pluff Raspberry Sun Tea bags, fill it with clean spring water, and drop it on the porch on our way. Just knowing my favorite beverage will be waiting will give me the strength to fill the SUV with pool toys and head out. When we arrive home, my glass pitcher will be perfectly brewed after our 3 to 5 hour pool afternoon. While it is still sun-warm, I will stir in our favorite amount of sugar and we will all sit on the porch sipping our fresh, homemade tea and continue our lazy summer afternoon.
I continue to dream about delicious tea recipes and realize I need a different plan for our upcoming car trip to the mountains. This time, I think I will make some Blackberry Cold Brew for our journey. Along with the usual trip preparations, I know we will need refreshments and my family will enjoy an ice-filled thermos with the mellow, smooth brew from the cold method. The night before I will fill a pitcher with 2 quarts of cold, clean spring water and place 4 tablespoons of loose tea into a tea filter and close tightly. After adding the filter to the pitcher, I will steep it overnight in the refrigerator. As we are packing up the next morning, I will pour the mild tea into our ice-filled thermos. No need to sweeten it as the cold brew method allows the sweetness of the tea leaves to shine though! I know this version is called Mizudashi or water infusion and to me it is simply the easiest there is and a go to for busy people.
Thank goodness Oliver Pluff has so many wonderful teas to choose from. Each one offers differences in taste and aroma. I prefer traditional black or sometimes fruity for our summer teas, but many work well in Iced Tea, Sun Tea, or even the slow Cold Brew versions.
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Gunpowder Punch
Any green tea will do, but we love the refreshing taste of Gunpowder garnished with fresh mint and a squirt of lemon.
Ingredients:
Spiked Sweet Tea
Dip the rim of an empty glass in a bowl of water and a bowl of sugar to create a perfectly sweet sugared rim, then mix the ingredients in a cocktail shaker before pouring over ice in the glass.
Ingredients:
Boozy Bohea Arnold Palmer
Elevate everyone’s favorite summer afternoon cocktail with our Colonial Bohea black tea. Mix equal parts tea and lemonade for the perfect blend on a balmy day.
Ingredients:
Hibiscus Teagarita
You can add a simple syrup to this recipe to sweeten it up, but we think it’s pretty perfect with a side of chips and guacamole as is!
Ingredients:
The George Washington Foundation owns and Operates, Historic Kenmore and George Washington’s Ferry Farm. The mission of The George Washington Foundation is to enhance the public understanding and appreciation of the lives, values, and legacies of George Washington, Fielding and Betty Washington Lewis, and their families.
Middleton Place is a National Historic Landmark, home to the oldest landscaped gardens in America and an enduring, vibrant, and essential part of the Charleston and American experience, Middleton Place is owned and operated by the Middleton Place Foundation. The Foundation, a 501(c)(3) educational trust established in 1974, uses historic preservation, documented research, and interpretation as a force for education, understanding, and positive change.
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The whole thing from start to finish took me about 10 minutes, and made for a delicious dinner after I photographed it.
Philadelphia Fish House Punch
The price of tea in England declined during the 18th century. Now able to afford this commodity, English laborers included tea in their budgets for the first time. A study of such budgets published by Sir Frederick Eden and David Davies discovered that 9% of one’s average earnings was spent on tea, most notably the popular Bohea tea, between 1740 and 1822.[1]
In 1774, the average household income in the American South among the rich was $705, per free household, and $461, per household with slaves. This income was not based on the wage earner’s occupation, but rather a combination of the value of their property and occupation.[2] Converted to the Pound Sterling (£), the currency of the English during the 18th century, $705 was equivalent to £536.90.[3] The pound can be further broken down into 20 shillings (s) or 240 pence (d), where 1s is equivalent to 12d.[4]
In January of 1720, the British East India Company’s Bohea tea arriving in the colonies cost 24s per pound of tea.[5] In the coming decades the price of tea varied greatly between the “early price of 24 shillings per pound of tea to a low of 1 shilling 9 pence per pound of tea.”[6] By December of 1749, competition from the Dutch East India Company forced the British Company to lower their price to 6s6d per box.[7] The English did not feel too threatened because “buyers would always go to the cheapest market.”[8]
Due to parliament’s taxations on tea, such as the stamp act and the 25% importation tax, the British East India Company was unable to make their tea sales impervious to competition. The colonists could purchase tea from the Dutch for 2 shillings 2 pence a pound and then smuggle it into the colonies for only 3 shillings per pound of tea. Purchased from the British, the same tea would cost merchants 4 shillings 1 pence after all the duties. For the merchant-smuggler, one Bohea chest of tea resulted in an extra earning of £20.[9]
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[2] “Appendix 4- The richer colonial South: More evidence,” American incomes ca. 1650-1870, accessed July 25, 2016, http://gpih.ucdavis.edu/tables.htm.
[3] “CoinMill.com- The Currency Converter,” Stephen Ostermiller, last modified July 25, 2616, accessed July 25, 2016, http://coinmill.com/GBP_USD.html#USD=705.
[4] M. Boyanova, “British Money,” accessed July 25, 2016, http://www.studyenglishtoday.net/british-money.ht...
[5] Peter Kalm, The America of 1750 Peter Kalm’s Travels in North America: The English Version of 1770, ed. Adolph B. Benson, Vol. II (New York: Dover Publications, Inc., 1966), 658.
[6] Lee Hardluck Humphrey, “Tea and Coffee Trade in the American Colonies,” accessed July 20, 2016, http://www.oliverpluff.com/tea-and-coffee-trade-i...
[7] Kalm, The America of 1750 Peter Kalm’s Travels in North America, 670.
[8] Francis Samuel Drake, Tea Leaves: Being a Collection of Letters and Documents Relating to the Shipment of Tea to the American Colonies in the Year 1773, By the East India Tea Company (Boston: A. O. Crane, 1884), XIV.
[9] Humphrey, “Tea and Coffee Trade in the American Colonies.”
"If other eyes grow dull and other hands slack, and other hearts cold in the solemn trust, ours shall keep it well as long as the light and warmth of life remain in us." *
Wassail (Middle English 'wæs hæl' - ‘be you healthy’) refers both to the salute 'Waes Hail' and to the drink of wassail, a hot mulled cider drunk as part of wassailing, an English ritual intended to ensure a good apple harvest the following year. Historically, the drink is a mulled cider, mulled beer, or mead, made with sugar, cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg and topped with toast. A group then sings: “Old Apple tree, old apple tree, we've come to wassail thee, To bear and to bow apples enow, Hats full, caps full, three bushel bags full, Barn floors full and a little heap under the stairs.”
Check out our brewing tips for Cider Spices Wassail here.
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Traditionally, chai is a blend of black tea, cardamom, cinnamon, ginger, clove, black pepper and vanilla. It’s brewed by street vendors across most of India, but now has become a popular drink across the world. Chai is served either hot or cold, but always creamy, very spicy, and puckeringly sweet.
We find our chai is best complimented by the flavor of Savannah Bee Company’s Honey For Your Tea, and recently made a batch for our staff on a brisk October afternoon.
Check out our brewing tips for Chai Tea here.
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In an effort to beckon cooler fall weather, we took to our backyard this week to document our favorite OP cocktail, the Winter Toddy. With a tart and sweet combination of our Lemon Ginger Hot Toddy Kit, honey, and a little (or a lot) of whiskey, the Winter Toddy is perfect after a long cold day in front of the fire.
Check out our brewing tips on the Winter Toddy here.
In the holidays we have served a warm wine wassail with red wine or port. Old English Wassail spices of orange peel, ginger, cinnamon, allspice, and cloves are steeped at heat for an hour or two, yielding a slightly bitter wine infusion that is balanced with light cane sugar and fruit juice.
Last year, we happened to brew a bit too much wine wassail and I stored it in the refrigerator, and served it over ice the next day. It was a new experience. There was something about an icy red wine cocktail with a finish of cloves and cinnamon. It was festive and refreshing, and beautiful to behold. The icy goblets were dripping wet with condensation, imbued with a deep red hue.
I have experimented over the last year with various methods of steeping to retain the alcohol content. Here’s my recipe:
1 box of red wine
1.5 ounces of Oliver Pluff wine spices wassail blend
Juice of two oranges
¼ cup simple sugar syrup (*optional, sweeten to taste)
Instructions:
We all love a little chocolate in our coffee every once in a while, but the added sugar? Not so much. Luckily, the Oliver Pluff warehouse is never in short supply of our favorite Cacao Shell Tea, which gives us the opportunity to experiment with different flavors and combinations for our beverages.
And so the cacao-coffee blend was born! Seeking a little extra depth to our daily coffee, we tested a few coffee-to-cacao ratios before getting it just the way we like it. For a little extra creaminess, we love a splash of unsweetened almond milk or creamer of your choice.
Cacao-Coffee Blend Recipe
Ingredients
2½ tablespoons whole coffee beans
1 teaspoon cacao shell tea
Bring 3 cups of water to a boil. Place coffee beans into grinder and pulse until roughly ground. add cacao shell tea and pulse briefly to mix.
Place coffee and cacao blend into french press and pour boiling water over contents slowly, then stir. Let steep for 8 minutes and enjoy.
Estimated to be formed around 350 A.D., tea bricks have become a part of Chinese and European culture throughout the ages. Before tea bricks where introduced to Europe, tea bricks were used in China as a form of currency, food, and medicine. From the 9th century on through the 20th century, tea bricks were classified into five different quality categories of value. All the bricks, even to this day, are scored on the back with indentions to allow for easy breakage off the larger block.
When the bricks were assessed for quality, the highest quality bricks were given to the Emperor. There are multiple steps in the process of producing a tea brick. During the Sung dynasty, tea gathering was seen more as a religious ritual that was complex and intricate, taking caution to produce the best quality tea leaves and to avoid any contamination with anything seen as unfit to be within the tea. After the tea leaves were carefully plucked, leaves were then dried. After drying, the leaves were separated from the stems. The leaves were boiled, then left alone to ferment, while the twigs and stems were ground into a fine powder. After the leaves were fermented, the lewooden molds (before metalworking, molds where made of wood), then pushed through fire before an aging process began.
Tea brick flavor and price appreciates with aging, much like wine.
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As far back as 1556, when an unknown European noted that drinking chocolate was the “most wholesome and substantial of any food or beverage in the world, because whoever drinks a cup of this can go through the day without taking anything else,” drinking a cup of chocolate was esteemed for its sweet tasting and practicality. While tea was a popular social beverage among the wealthy, demand for chocolate climbed because “drinking chocolate was affordable to all classes of people.”[1]
Chocolate is made from cocoa beans off the cacao tree; the cacao tree “originated near… the Amazon River of South America and grew wild in the rain forests of the Amazon basin.” Cacao pods grow on the cacao tree, or cacao plant, and inside the cacao’s shell are the cocoa beans that are made into savory chocolate.[2] The botanical name for the cacao tree is Theobroma Cacao, which translated, means “cacao, food for the gods.”[3]
Chocolate was in North America before European colonists even arrived. Archeologists have found evidence of cacao in New Mexico that date between 1000 and 1125 A.D. Between New Mexico and Central America, there was a long trading route through which the Anasazi, a Native American tribe, must have imported cacao from Mexico.[4]
Around 1682, raw cocoa beans started being imported into the American colonies. Experts on cocoa have assumed these imports were for local production of chocolate in the colonies.[5] This educated conclusion is plausible, but does not afford for the alternative uses of the cacao shells. A common use for cacao shells was crafting them into a tea, specifically, cacao shell tea. America’s First Lady Martha Washington preferred her chocolate as a tea. She would purchase only the cacao shells in order to steep them in “hot water to make a thin chocolaty drink that was easier on the stomach than oily chocolate.”[6] The experience of drinking chocolate or cacao shell tea was not too unlike traditional teatimes. Ladies would still drink chocolate in the same fashionable way as tea, served with “cakes and bread and butter.”[7]
Over the centuries chocolate has widely been associated with Europe; however, Europeans did not encounter chocolate until they discovered the Americas. The Spanish were the first to drink this unfamiliar cuisine. After one Spanish explorer described drinking chocolate as “a bitter drink for pigs,” honey or cane sugar was added to sweeten the taste. Chocolate was made immensely popular throughout Spain, and by the 17th century, all of Europe adopted the chocolate as a fashionable beverage.[8]
After tea was rejected by the American colonists, Thomas Jefferson predicted that “chocolate would become the favorite beverage in North America over coffee and tea.” Historical records prove Jefferson right; in 1773 alone, “over 320 tons of cocoa beans” were imported into the American colonies.[9]
[2] Timothy Walker, “Establishing Cacao Plantation Culture in the Atlantic World: Portuguese Cacao Cultivation in Brazil and West Africa, Circa 1580-1912,” in Chocolate: History, Culture, and Heritage, ed. Louis E. Grivetti and Howard-Yana Shapiro (Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2009), 1840- 1841.
[3] “Chocolate: Food of the Gods Introduction,” last modified 2007, accessed August 1, 2016, http://exhibits.mannlib.cornell.edu/chocolate/.
[4] “A Rich History of Chocolate in North America,” American Association for the Advancement of Science, last modified February 2, 2009, accessed August 7, 2016, http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2009/02/rich-histo...
[5] “History of Chocolate,” Rodney Snyder.
[6] “A Cup of Hot Chocolate, S’good for What Ails Ya,” Mary Miley Theobald, last modified 2012, accessed August 3, 2016, http://www.history.org/foundation/journal/winter1...
[7] “History of Chocolate,” Rodney Snyder.
[8] Amanda Fiegl, “A Brief History of Chocolate: Uncover the bittersweet story of this ancient treat and watch a video,” Smithsonian.com, March 1, 2008, accessed August 7, 2016, http://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/a-brie...
[9] “History of Chocolate,” Rodney Snyder.
The origin of “who first put leaf to water” is completely unknown to culinary historians. Before the mid-nineteenth century, botanists failed to decipher tea’s formula; however, many tales provide what human record does not. Like all teas, Earl Grey’s “distinctive quality… comes from essential oils that leach flavor and caffeine into a cup of hot water.”[1] The exact source of the Earl Grey blend has remained a mystery, except that it is based on Chinese tea. Unlike other Chinese blends, Earl Grey tea contains the flavoring agent, bergamot oil. Before bergamot became tied to the Earl Grey blend, it had a bad reputation as being a taste enhancer for lower quality teas. In England, the first known reference of bergamot oil used as a flavoring ingredient for tea was in 1824.[2]
Bergamot oil comes from the rind of a bergamot, a type of Seville orange. The oil from the rind has an aroma similar to various mints in North America. The name of this new fruit, “Bergamot,” is an English word that first appeared in 1696 after where it is said to have first grown, Bergamo in northern Italy.[3] By the 1800s, bergamot oranges made their way to China.[4]
For the Chinese, the mystery of the tea leaf’s start in hot water can be explained by the story of how the mythical emperor, Shennong, discovered tea. As such, the Chinese constantly sought to change their tea in order to beat their competitors’ tea in foreign markets. When Indian tea became a competitor, the Chinese used iron Ferro cyanide, or Prussian blue, a powder found in paint, to chemically dye their tea to increase its attraction. Likewise, when packaging their tea, Chinese manufacturers used perfumed plants like jasmine and bergamot to scent the teas.[5] Although Earl Grey was a Chinese invention, the tea was never exported as a product of China.
The tale of Earl Grey tea’s beginning has been altered over time and now there are multiple versions. As one tale of the legendary and popular tea goes, a tea merchant from China made the blend especially for Charles Grey, the 2nd Earl of Grey, in the 1830s. Apparently, the British diplomat received the recipe for the blend as a gift from the Chinese mandarin as a thank-you for saving his life.[6] The merchant, an “unidentified person in China,” is said to have flavored the tea with bergamot oranges before carrying the blend as a gift to England.[7] Shortly thereafter, the tea spread among merchants and was acquired for commercial sales, becoming the “epitome… of the genteel end of the British tea spectrum.”[8]
Another rendition of the tea’s origin states that it was custom blended by a Chinese mandarin to compliment the 2nd Earl of Grey’s well water on his estate, Howick. Accordingly, the tea master used bergamot in the recipe to soften the taste of lime that was in the water. The Earl’s wife, Lady Grey, began serving the Chinese tea master’s new recipe exclusively when she entertained as a political hostess. This was quickly followed by her asking British merchants in London if it could be recreated and marketed to London society who adored the recipe and then made it famous.[9]
The details may seem minute, but fascinating nonetheless, as one may never solve the mystery of one of the world’s most recognizable and tremendously popular teas, Earl Grey. This tea was certainly made popular in England, but its roots are always in China. One cannot forget that Earl Grey tea is in fact, a Chinese anomaly. Historically, China is the origin of many scented teas that were first created and then produced by early Chinese tea masters before becoming highly esteemed worldwide. As one of the most classic “scented” teas, Earl Grey was an “exotic new flavor of the Far East” that was distinctive to the talents of China’s tea masters. In the world of tea, the factual account of the real Earl of Grey who drank this tea, and the first tea company to use bergamot to scent tea, remains subject to debate. [10]
[2] “Early Grey: The result of the OED Appeal on Earl Grey Tea,” Oxford University Press, last modified 2016, accessed July 20, 2016, http://public.oed.com/early-grey-the-results-of-t...
[3] John Ayto, The Diner’s Dictionary: Word Origins of Food and Drink (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2012), 29, 123.
[4] “Bergamot Orange: Citrus bergamia,” Herbs2000, last modified 2016, accessed July 26, 2016, http://www.herbs2000.com/herbs/herbs_bergamot_ora...
[5] Ibid., 87, 90, 191.
[6] John Ayto, The Diner’s Dictionary, 123.
[7] “Bergamot Orange: Citrus bergamia,” Herbs2000.
[8] John Ayto, The Diner’s Dictionary, 123.
[9] “Earl Grey: History of the 2nd Earl,” Howick Hall Gardens, accessed July 21, 2016, http://www.howickhallgardens.org/earlgreyhistory....
[10] Mary Lou Heiss and Robert J. Heiss, The Story of Tea: A Cultural History and Drinking Guide (Berkeley, CA: Ten Speed Press, 2007), 100, 101, 104.
I started a tea business in 2009 with a business plan of becoming the “Ben and Jerry’s of iced tea”. After sampling over 300 broken orange pekoes from India and Sri Lanka, we selected single estate teas from a couple of gardens: an organic black tea from south India with crisp, floral tones, and a bold, fruity black tea from Sri Lanka. We found a small but loyal market for our specialty iced teas. But the sales were not enough. Then we met Colonial Williamsburg who called on us for help creating their Early American tea line. We studied tea history for 6 weeks and then we sourced the tea products from the same gardens that supplied the British East India Company. Our business adapted quickly to meet the historic market for Early American tea. The iced tea business plan had been left behind.
Our Colonial Bohea black tea blend attracted the most attention (pronounced “Boo-Hee” Ukers 510). This tea was by far the largest tea import during colonial times, at least 80% of the total tea import. It was so popular in colonial times that the word bohea became the slang term for tea. In the Boston Tea Party, 1,586 chests of bohea were destroyed. The word bohea seems to have evolved from a corruption of the Chinese word for the Wuyi Mountains. Originally from this Wuyi region, bohea evolved from being sourced from a particular region to become a black tea blend from several regions. The blend varied wildly, consisting of broken orange pekoe, pekoe, and souchong dumped in a pile and then sifted, typically the scrap tea of lower quality (larger) leaves, but was considered high quality by the colonists.
Bohea is our most controversial product but it's easily our best-seller online. A hot cup of bohea can cleave a slow afternoon right in half. Some immediately dislike the smoky aroma and flavor, but others love it. I found an online review of our bohea which read "Now I know why we fought the revolution". Others offer tips to squeeze in a lemon or add some cream and sugar. Our bohea following is growing.
I also sip bohea as an iced tea; the smoky tones are complemented with a bit of cane sugar. It’s intriguing as an iced tea. Now, with our iced bohea, we are finding a new market for specialty iced teas. Bartenders and mixologists are using bohea as the base ingredient in their smoky iced tea cocktails. It’s a fusion of Southern and colonial American tea cultures; and it feels so satisfying to be back into the iced tea business.
Bohea is sold online at http://www.oliverpluff.com/colonial-bohea-tea-by-... (4oz - $10, 1Lb - $25).
It is also available at colonial American historic sites such as:
Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello, Charlottesville, Virginia
Historic Jamestowne, Virginia
Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, Virginia
Historic Charleston Foundation, South Carolina
Boston Tea Party Ships, Boston, Massachusetts
Old North Church, Boston, Massachusetts
The Benjamin Franklin Museum, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Old Salem, Winston-Salem, North Carolina
The Hermitage, Nashville, Tennessee
Plimoth Plantation, Massachusetts
The Encampment Store, Valley Forge, Pennsylvania
The South Carolina Gazette reported on the dramatic confrontation between the colonists and British sea captain Samuel Ball, an agent of the British East India Company.
Full transcript of the article describing the inquiries and the destruction of the tea is below:
CHARLES-TOWN, November 7, 1774.
The same Day arrived here, in the Ship Britannia, Capt. Samuel Ball, jun. from London (amongst a Number of other Passengers) Samuel Carne, Esq; formerly of this Town; Thomas Attwood, Esq; appointed Chief-Justice of His Majesty’s Bahama-Islands; the Hon. William Gregory, appointed to succeed the late John Muray, Esq; as an assistant-judge and Justice of His Majesty's Courts in the Colony, and also to a Seat in the Council; Edward Lowndes, Esq; Mr. Gray, Mr. Peele, Mrs. McDonogh, Widow of the late Capt. Terence McDonogh, and Family; Mrs. And Miss Andrews; Mr. Wrong, of Barbados; James Cusack, Esq; and Mrs. Casack; Mr. Zephaniah Kinsley, Merchant; Mr. and Mrs. Holliday.
Before Captain Ball had been many Hours in Port, the Committee of Observation were informed, that he had Seven Chests of Tea on board, subject to that Duty which all America have denied to be constitutionally imposed; and the Minds of the People appeared to be very much agitated. To allay the Ferment which there seemed reason to apprehend, that Committee met early on Wednesday Morning, sent for Captain Ball, who readily attended, and, after expressing to him their Concerns and Astonishment at his Conduct, acquainted him, it was expected the said Teas should not be landed here. He acknowledged having the mischievous Drug on board;---- That 3 chests were shipped frm the House of Messrs. Rofs & Mill, --- and 4 from Messrs. James Graham and Comp.----That 3 were consigned to Mr. Robert Lindsay,--- 3 to Mr. Zephaniah Kinsley, and 1 to Mr. Robert Mackenzie, all Merchants here: --- But declared, that he was an entire Stranger to their being on board his Ship, ‘till he was ready to clear out, when he discovered that his Mate had received them in his Absence: --- That, as seen as he made the Discovery, he did all in his Power to get them relanded, but all his Endeavours, for two Days together, proving ineffectual, he entered the following Protest; which he hoped would acquit him from the Suspicion of having any Design to act contrary to the Sense of the People here, or the Voice of all America.
Copy of the PROTEST.
ON the 29th Day of August, 1774, Before me, David Ewart, Notary-Public, sworn and admitted, dwelling in London, personally appeared, Samuel Ball, jun. Master of the Ship Britannia, now cleared out from London for Charles-Town, South-Carolina, and requested me, Notary, to protest, as by these Presents, I do protest, against the shippers of Three Half-Chests and Four Quarter-Chests of Tea, by the said Ship, without the Knowledge or Consent of him appears, or any application to him in Respect thereof.--- Witness my Nortorial Firm and Seal, the Day and Year above-written.
Samuel Ball, jun.
SURRY
These are to certify, That Samuel Ball, jun. came personally before me, one of His Majesty’s Justices of the Peace for the Said Country, and made Oath, that the Contents of the above Protest is just and true.
Sworn before me, this, 31st of August 1774., Sam. Ball, jun.
1. Leach
Capt. Ball having so far acquitted himself of any design to counteract the Americans, the Committee of Observation made their Report to a very full Meeting of the General Committee the same Evening: when the Importers of the Teas attended, and severally declared, that they were ready and willing to do any Thing, which the Committee should be of Opinion would most effectually contribute to preserve the Peace and Quiet of the Community. Accordingly,
On Thursday at Noon, an Oblation was made to Neptune, of the said seven chests of Tea, by Messrs. Lindsay, Kinsley and Mackenzie themselves; who going on board the Ship in the Stream, with their own Hands respectively stove the Chests belong to each, and emptied their Contents into the River, in the Presence of the Committee of Observation, who likewise went on board, and in View of the whole General Committee on the Shore besides numerous Concourse of People, who gave three hearty Cheers after the emptying of each Chest, and immediately after separated as if nothing had happened.
Last Wednesday arrived the Diligence Packet-Boat, Capt. John Forgie, with the Mails from Jamaica and Pensacola.
Thursday last six Chests of Bohea TEA, containing 669 lb. net, which had lately been smuggled into this Town, were re-shipped for the Port from whence they were brought, with a Caution to the Shipper to venture no more this Way: --- This proves that We do not reject the dutied Teas, in order to countenance the Importation of others.
The “Bay is a more dangerous Navigation than the open Sea,” wrote the Charles-Town native Henry Laurens on January 21, 1774 in a letter to his son John, of the colonists’ refusal to import British tea. In his letter, Laurens enclosed a clipping from a newspaper informing John of the Boston Tea Party, as it would later be called. Laurens explained that the people of Boston dumped 342 chests of tea carried by the East India Company into the ocean. The East India Company attempted to continue making deliveries to the colonies even though their captains and ships carrying the traitorous tea were unwelcome in the colonies’ harbors.[1] The sentiment of Laurens’ letter to his son suggests that, like the bay of Charles-Town, captains transporting the East India Company’s tea knew better than to arrive in Boston. The stance on the tea tax that had motivated the action of the citizens in Boston was also shared by Charles-Town’s citizens. The citizens’ reaction to the arrival of tea the next year suggests that their chosen method for disposal was inspired by Boston’s tea party.
Prior to Boston’s tea party, Charles-Town encountered an arrival of the “malicious” tea on board Captain Curling’s ship London, commencing their “first Tea Party” in December of 1773.[2] During Charles-Town’s first tea party, the citizens quickly settled and ensconced the tea chests that arrived on the London; however, the event was not recognized as monumental as Boston’s more famous protest.
On November 1, 1774, the ship Britannia arrived in Charles-Town’s bay captained by Samuel Ball, Jr. The “Minds of the People appeared to be very much agitated” when the tea that would cost them their sovereignty, pride, and money dared to be unloaded.[3] Throughout Charles-Town, accusations made against Captain Ball followed this threat. Many stipulated that he was aware, since leaving London, that chests of tea were present on his ship. Others identified Captain Ball’s actions as devious and suspicious, and accused him of seeking to trick them into partaking in Parliament’s unfair tea tax.
The Committee of Observation, a committee that oversaw and corrected the conduct in Charles-Town, was immediately informed of this crisis. Instantly, the Committee refused to condone the unloading of the stowaway tea off Britannia. The next day, the Committee held a meeting to deliberate the arrival of the “fugitive.” Faced with the odious tea, the Committee members unanimously expressed their many concerns and astonishments of the present predicament.[4] Each minute the Committee continued to deliberate, the tension throughout the city rose and the citizen’s fervor banded them together against the tea that was now on their shore.
Before the Committee of Observation, Captain Ball protested the accusations that he was aware his ship carried seven chests of tea consigned to the local Charles-Town merchants: Mr. Zephaniah Kinstey, Mr. Robert Mackenzie, and Mr. Robert Lindsay. Captain Ball did not deny “having the mischievous Drug on board” when it was brought to his attention. In his defense, Captain Ball confessed that “his Mate had received them in his Absence” and testified that he tried to fix the situation to clear himself from “the suspicion of having any Design to act contrary to the Seale of the People here, or the Voice of all America.”[5] To his relief, Captain Ball’s argument spared him from the fate given to those who were forced to go back out to sea, “but for what port, nobody knew.” As Henry Laurens stated in his letter, those captains “will find no hospitable Anchorage in any [port] upon the Continent.”[6]
The Committee of Observation ruled that the merchants who had ordered the tea were to dump the entire contents of their chests over the side of the Britannia and into the water as a sacrifice to “NEPTUNE.” As the tea was destroyed, many citizens stood on the shore watching, and immediately dispersed after the dumping, “as if nothing had happened.” [7]
Full Transcript of relevant article from the South Carolina Gazette is shown here: https://teahistory.oliverpluff.com/2016/07/13/tra...
[1] South Carolina historical society, Charleston, S.C., The South Carolina Historical Magazine, Volume 3, 1902, https://books.google.com/books?id=Muk6AQAAMAAJ&pg... 211-212.
[2] S.C. & American General Gazette, December 17- 24, 1773.
[3] S. C. Gazette, November 21, 1774.
[4] Ibid.
[5] Ibid.
[6] South Carolina historical society, The South Carolina Historical Magazine, 212.
[7] S. C. Gazette, November 21, 1774.
The revenue acts enacted by the British government on the American colonies, namely the Townshend Acts of 1767, did not affect the merchants of Charles-Town equally. Taxes were felt more harshly by smaller merchants and planters. As a result, local merchants took the initiative to form the Non-Importation Association at Charles-Town. But the boycott was not united.
Collectively, resentment towards Britain and the revenue acts did not materialize until 1769. Charles-Town, and the broader South Carolina, lacked cohesiveness in the revolt against the tax laws.[1] Artisans and planters were in support of the boycotts, but the merchants were indifferent. A merchant named Christopher Gadsden was the leader of the movement to boycott. Gadsden was a native of South Carolina who conducted many businesses, including trade as an importer and merchant. His opponents criticized him as an inferior merchant. Gadsden, however, wholeheartedly believed that America’s separation from England was critical and inevitable, and he was willing to use the most influential means possible to bring about their independence[2], taking new action on July 22, 1769 to ignite a passion of rebellion in the lagging Charles-Town merchants.[3] Gadsden spurred a sudden united front in Charles-Town against Parliament with articles in the South Carolina Gazette with a public incrimination of merchants continuing to import British goods, listing them by name. The Gazette was printed by Peter Timothy, who also encouraged an all-inclusive non-consumption agreement of all British imports until the Townshend Acts were abolished. Furthermore, it was suggested that citizens who did not sign in support of the agreement would be boycotted.[4] But the South Carolina Non-Importation Association still received protests from prominent men in Charleston, such as William Henry Drayton.
William Henry Drayton was among the non-subscribers whose name appeared on the handbills that were distributed throughout Charles-Town as a way to advertise the men who were no longer “friends of America.” Likewise the vast number of names not on the handbills represented all those who did support the non-importation agreement, therefore reassuring those subscribers that they did the right thing. Drayton was a planter and would later become a very active patriot leader. Drayton openly questioned the legality of the Association and entered into controversies with Gadsden over such point. Their disputes were public, as they debated each other through newspaper writings in the South Carolina Gazette. After their discussions, Drayton proceeded to petition the Association to receive reparations in return for the grievances he endured due to their procedures. Drayton claimed that he experienced injustices for failing to sign the Resolutions within only one month. As a result, he was unable to sell and trade his goods, “which remained upon his hands at great risk and heavy expense” because “when possible purchasers learned whose property they were they immediately declined any further treaty for the purchase of them.” Unfortunately enough for Drayton, his petition was declined by the legislature and the only substitute for him was that it was published in the Gazette. After such disappointment, Drayton left Charles-Town on January 4, 1770 for Europe. He was a passenger on the ship London, commanded by Captain Alexander Curling, which was taking goods back to England at the order of the Association.[5]
Just three years later, it would be Captain Curling’s ship London that would arrive in the port of Charles-Town carrying duty laden tea for agents of the East India Company stationed there. Just as when the Association forced Captain Curling to return British goods to England in 1770, they would do so again in 1773, but not before Charleston’s first tea party would take place on December 3, 1773.[6]
[1] Ibid., 191- 192.
[2] Sellers, Charleston Business, 185- 186.
[3] Murray N. Rothbard, Conceived in Liberty, Volume 1 (Auburn: Ludwig von Mises Institute, 1975), accessed June 27, 2016, https://books.google.com/books?id=OCElRYiN7hIC&pg... 949.
[4] Rothbard, Conceived in Liberty, 949.
[5] Sellers, Charleston Business, 210-211.
[6] S. C. Gazette, December 6, 1773.
By the 1770’s, tea trading was a vital industry in colonial America. Parliament’s Townshend Duties tax began to put a strain on the colonists’ use of tea as a source of income. When parliament ruled to repeal the Townshend duties, it was with the exception of the tax on tea.
Shortly thereafter, the major colonies altered their previous non-importation agreements against the Townshend duties to apply strictly to tea (Charles Town on December 13, 1770). In the Fall of 1773, hostilities between the East India Company and the colonists reached a point where the colonists resorted to tea-smuggling, with the goal of complete abstinence from the British East India Company’s taxed tea. Smuggled tea, coming from countries such as Holland, Sweden, and France, was quite easy to receive at secluded ports.[1]
As intended, the colonists’ business of tea-smuggling had a negative effect on the East India Company and on the second-hand profit for the British crown. In an attempt to reverse their loss of the American colonies as a tea trading destination, and to compete with the Dutch, Parliament struck a conditioned agreement with the East India Company. Parliament amended the Townshend Act, with a previous Act still in force, to remove the colonists’ importation duty on tea coming from England if the East India Company would pay the full amount of taxes on the tea to Great Britain before its exportation to America.[2] Colonists in Charles Town still refused the tea. But the East India Company had agents in Charles Town who were loyal to the crown and still wanted to purchase the tea. In October of 1773, the ship London set sail for Charles Town, with 257 chests of tea for the agents of the East India Company.[3]
Charles Town’s first tea party occurred on December 3, 1773, when Captain Alexander Curling’s ship London arrived in Charles Town’s port. Among the agents were Roger Smith and William Greenwood. Before the chests were unloaded, a meeting was called in the Great Hall over the Exchange Building “to take the sense of the people so collected, what would be absolutely necessary to be done in the present case”. The decision of the people in attendance at the meeting was that the men who were to receive the chests of tea “should be requested to enter immediately into a written agreement, not to import any more teas that would pay duties, laid for the UNCONSTITUTIONAL purposed of raising a revenue up us, WITHOUT OUR CONSENT”.[4] The men agreed not to accept the tea and on December 22, 1773, the tea was unloaded and taken to be stored in the warehouse under the Exchange, and no payment of duties was made. Satisfied, the citizens allowed the tea to remain in Charles Town only if locked away.[5]
[1] Schlesinger, Aurthur Meier. “The Uprising Against the East India Company.” Political Science Quarterly 32, no. 1 (1917): 60-62.
[2] Farrand, Max. “The Taxation of Tea, 1767-1773.” The American Historical Review 3, no. 2 (1898): 266-67.
[3] S. C. Gazette, December 6, 1773.
[4] Ibid.
[5] The Old Exchange Building and Provost Dungeon. “History.”
The tea caddy would be the first piece of tea equipage received when purchasing tea. The canisters are referred to as caddies from the Malayan word kati, which measure out 1.2 pounds. Caddies were exported from China and made of silver, tortoise shell, carved ivory, and lacquer. In contrast, when the British began making their own caddies, mahogany, rosewood, satinwood, and glass were used. [2] In the colony of Pennsylvania, James Logan would receive his tea inside tea-caddies.
Tea merchants provided tea caddies with the purchase of tea. In 1699, at the age of twenty-five, James Logan came to the American colonies from England with William Penn and settled in the colony of Pennsylvania. Shipments of tea were arriving in England by the early 18th century; by 1713, James Logan was able to place tea orders from his London agent to be shipped to Pennsylvania inside tea caddies, ordering “1/2 pound ye best Bohea (a black tea) and as much fine green Tea with 2lbs of coffee”.
Tea was not just a beverage; tea was an event, a performance requiring certain manners and much equipage. The founder of Philadelphia, Englishman William Penn, stated in 1682 that people drank tea because it filled “the cups that cheer but not inebriate”. [3] Tea was respected with a ceremony-like ritual for its connotations of luxury, grace, and civility. As such, the presentation of a colonist’s tea table was of the utmost importance. As represented by the inventories from future president George Washington’s household in the 18th century, a proper tea table required a kettle, urn, tea caddies, teaspoons, and cups and saucers in order to serve tea.[4] Sugar tongs were also part of the tea equipage; used to serve sugar lumps, these tongs came in three different forms called fire-, bow-, or scissor-tongs. Other equipage needed, like teapots and saucers, were imported from China for Europeans and colonists in the 17th century. European and colonial American potters were so fascinated with Chinese porcelain that it spurred their ambition to produce similar porcelain. The translucent and pure whiteness of Chinese porcelain captivated the Europeans and colonists. However, porcelain manufacturers struggled to find the Chinese secret to creating porcelain teapots that would not crack from the boiling water.[5]
In England, the Royal Worcester Porcelain Factory used soapstone to create porcelain teapots that would not crack from the heat of boiling water. Consumers also needed vessels to hold tea condiments, so in addition to European and colonial potters creating equipage from porcelain, silversmiths did the same using silver. Before the 18th century, silversmiths had not had such a demand for silver containers to hold the likes of sugar, milk, or tea.[6] The most well-known colonial silversmith of the time was the famous Boston patriot, Paul Revere Jr. As a silversmith, Revere created tea equipage pieces such as sugar bowls, cream pitchers, and teapots, and also did the fashioning and engraving himself.[7] One of Paul Revere’s many works as a silversmith was his silver teapot in the neo-classic design.[8] Proper heat-conditioned tea equipage made from silver and porcelain were in high demand but other materials were also suitable, such as Sheffield plate. In Staffordshire, England, the famous potter named Josiah Wedgwood manufactured high volumes of tea equipage made in glazed stoneware.[9] Among other English potters, ceramic teapots were made using stoneware and earthenware.[10]
[2] Ibid., 33.
[3] Lynne Olver. “Tea Time.” January 3, 2015. Accessed May 25, 2016. http://www.foodtimeline.org/teatime.html.
[4] Ibid.
[5] Nathan, A.J. "Have a cup of tea." Lantern 42, no. 4 (October 1993): 14. MasterFILE Premier, EBSCOhost (accessed May 25, 2016).
[6] Ibid.
[7] Barbara Burn, Masterpieces of the Metropolitan Museum of Art (Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1997), 249.
[8] Snyder, Tea Time Entertaining, 26.
[9] Ibid., 33.
[10] Stenton. “The Proper Equipage: Tea, Coffee, and Chocolate at James Logan’s Stenton.” Accessed May 25, 2016.
Beginning in the 1690’s, preparing, serving, and drinking tea was a ceremonial act that was woven into the daily life of the more wealthy colonists. For those who could afford the luxurious tea, much pride was found in performing a dignified tea service on each occasion.[1] The host or hostess who prepared and served the tea followed a process that included specific manners and equipment. As accompaniment, the colonists brewed tea with equipment that added to the appraisal of their social status. A tea canister was used to store the dry tea leaves; these canisters could be bought in sets to match the likes of the other tea equipment and equipage. Some tea canisters had a lid shaped like a sphere to conveniently measure the correct amount of tea to then be poured directly into the teapot. However, caddie spoons and caddie ladles, spoons with short handles and wide bowls, were also used to transfer tea leaves from the canister to the teapot.[2] Each piece, purchased individually or in sets, was needed by a well-mannered hostess to properly serve tea to guests.[3]
The American colonists observed etiquette for the ritual of the tea ceremony. Members of the family, and any guests, would stand or be seated around the tea table, while the mistress of the house would begin the ceremony by measuring out the appropriate amount of dry tea leaves into the tea canister’s lid. Standing close by, the maidservant held the kettle of hot water that was ready to be poured over the tea leaves once the mistress of the house placed them in the teapot. The teapot containing the hot, brewing tea was then placed atop of a stand or dish to protect the table from the teapot’s heat. Nearby would be the stand for the kettle to be placed and kept warm until it was needed again to clean the cups or add water to the tea. Along with the teapot and tea cups on the table, there was also a bowl for any tea remnants, a dish for cream or milk, and a bowl for sugar.[4] To show wealth and prestige, additional pieces of equipage would adorn the table.
Tea drinking and tea parties held a significant role in the society of colonial America. Serving tea to one’s guests showed both their politeness and hospitality. In the early 1700’s, tea was more expensive due to its scarceness, and social tea drinking was a luxury of upper class colonists. However, by the mid 1700’s, the East India Company increased the supply of tea to the colonies, decreasing the prices, which allowed more and more people to routinely drink tea.[5] Visitors were expected to partake in tea drinking to show respect and appreciation for their host’s generosity; refusing a cup of tea was offensive if not done correctly. The socially acceptable way to refrain from accepting a cup of tea when offered was by turning one’s cup upside down on its saucer with its spoon placed across the top.[6] Tea was also drank in one’s home in the morning, as well as at social events in the afternoon and evening among men and women. When tea was served with breakfast, milk was typically not added and instead, the tea would be served with bread and butter. At afternoon teatime, the bread and butter would not appear again.[7] As a major commodity, tea became a staple in the private and social lives of the colonist’s mid-18th century.
[2] Ibid., 32.
[3] Ibid., 21.
[4] Ibid., 32-33.
[5] Ibid., 9.
[6] Ibid., 15.
[7] Ibid., 5-8.