The Boston Tea Party: What Kind of Tea was Thrown in the Boston Harbor?
To celebrate the United States’ 250th anniversary this July 4, Fraser Tea is exploring an iconic piece of tea history: the Boston Tea Party. As a key event in Americas separation from Britain, the Boston Tea Party illustrates tea’s major role in American independence.
What was The Boston Tea Party?
Prior to the American Revolution in the 1760s, Britain was plunged into debt after their participation in the Seven Years War. As a result, they felt it was fair to tax the American colonies, due to defense of the colonies being the primary reason they were involved in the conflict.
Britain taxed America on goods such as sugar, stamps and tea. This taxation led to unrest from colonists who were being taxed on everyday goods without having representation within the British Parliament.
Many taxes were repealed due to boycotts, petitions and riots from the colonists and yet, the tea tax remained. Viewed as another attempt of British control, the colonists retaliated.
On Dec. 15, 1773, three ships coming from London arrived in Boston. These ships carried an incoming tea shipment from the British East India Tea Company. The night of Dec. 16, 1773, members of The Sons of Liberty, while disguised, went into the ships carrying the tea and smashed and dumped the crates into the harbor.
The total amount of tea thrown overboard was 340 crates, over 92,000 pounds of tea. Though the tea was not destroyed immediately. Ordinarily when tea is put in water it’s for brewing, throwing tea in the harbor just began that process. To ensure all the tea was destroyed, the Sons of Liberty went into the harbor in small boats and used oars and clubs to sink the tea.
What kind of tea was in The Boston Tea Party?
We as a tea company couldn’t help but wonder what kind of tea was dumped into the harbor?
The Boston Tea Party Ships and Museum website says that the destroyed tea was “bohea” or what would now be referred to as black tea. Traditionally, bohea tea came from the Wuyi Mountains in Fujian, China but the term was generalized to refer to all black tea through the trade process.
If you want a taste of this historical tea, try Fraser Tea’s Wuyi Da Hong Pao Organic Oolong Tea.
Bohea tea wasn’t the only tea thrown into the Harbor. Congou tea, another kind of black tea, was also involved in the Boston Tea Party. Congou tea is also grown throughout China. One kind of Congou tea is tea originating from Yunnan, China. To have a taste, try Fraser Tea’s Yunnan Organic Black Tea.
The final type of black tea the Boston Tea Party museum lists as being included on the ship is Souchong tea. Souchong tea is also from the Wuyi region. This tea is the equivalent of Fraser Tea’s Lapsang Souchong Organic Black Tea.
There were also green teas aboard the Boston Tea Party ships. The types listed include Hyson tea and Singlo tea. Hyson and Singlo are both Chinese green teas coming from the Anuhi region.
Though not much tea is grown in the U.S., it still has a large place in the shaping of the nation. Enjoying a glass of tea is more than just a glass of tea, it’s tea that shaped a revolution. Celebrate the 250th anniversary of America and give history a taste.