So you think that the history of tea, that most civilized of beverages, has a past as genteel as sipping ladies and silver services? Think again. Since the 1600s, (when tea was introduced to Great Britain), the major importer was…
With today's Tea Party lauding their connection to the original Boston Tea Party and dressing up as 18th century patriots at rallies, it’s time to take a look at history. While Tea Party movement rails about runaway taxes, the original impetus…
Common wisdom is that “taxation without representation” was the rallying cry for tossing 90,000 pounds of tea worth $1,000,000 in today’s dollars into Boston Harbor in 1773, an iconic act of civil disobedience that set the stage for the American Revolution.…
Most teas have a shelf life. Green tea, if it’s too old, can tastes stale, flavorless, and lose color. Black tea can taste flat and off when past its prime. Then there’s Pu-erh, a tea that can take decades to…
If you ever doubted that tea reflects history, then think about the politics swirling around the time Earl Grey, the tea, came into the teapot. While lovely stories proliferate about the origins of Earl Grey tea, consider this: In…