History In A Tea Cup - 2

By Author: Candice Oneida
Total Articles: 2
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Tea makes its first appearance in the New World in 1650 when it is introduced through the Dutch colony of New Amsterdam. It arrives in England in 1657, where it is touted and sold as a health drink. By 1662, when the King takes a tea drinking Dutch bride, tea becomes so popular among the English that alcohol consumption actually sees a decline. Sometime in the 1680's, Scotland is introduced to the delights of tea and by 1690 tea is being sold in the English American colonies. By the early 1700's, controversies brew in Scotland and England over whether tea is overpriced, overtaxed, overly dangerous to one's health and whether or not tea drinking will lead to society's moral decay. Tea begins taking over Britain's coffee houses, replacing coffee as the favored drink. The first tea shop is opened by Thomas Twining in London in 1717. Scandalously, both men and women frequent the tea shop. After the French and Indian War, Parliament decides to tax the British American colonies to help pay off debts accrued during the war. All of these taxes, except the tax on tea, are rescinded in 1770. Colonists decide to boycott tea purchases and ...
... in 1773 and 1774, tea parties, the most famous of which is held in Boston, are held throughout the colonies. Colonists in Philadelphia, New York, Maryland and Maine dump tons of tea into harbors. Parliament responds with the Coercive Acts, and the closing of Boston Harbor. They plan to reopen the harbor when the English East India Company is reimbursed for the lost tea. The colonists refuse and continue protesting. These protests eventually evolve into the American Revolution.

Meanwhile, back in Britain, tea consumption continued to rise. By 1785, 11 million pounds of tea were being imported. Tea drinking reaches 2 pounds per person in 1797. By 1807, the consumption rate would be 10 pounds per person. This is in part due to the fact that Parliament once again reduced import taxes on tea. Afternoon tea is invented by the Duchess of Bedford in 1840. Harrod's Department store in London begins as a tea wholesaler in 1849. Tea and the British Empire become synonymous. The 1880's, however, saw America become the world's largest importer of tea.

The twentieth century saw the introduction of several tea innovations. Iced tea made its first appearance at the 1904 World's Fair. Tea bags were inadvertently invented in 1908 when Thomas Sullivan, a New York tea importer, shipped tea to customers in silk packages. The customers steeped the entire package and praised him because his tea needed no straining. Today, Americans consume around 140 million cups of tea each day, with an estimated 80% of that as iced tea. Yet, surprisingly, it is still virtually the same brew as that of old Emperor Shen, way back when.

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