A BRIEF HISTORY

OF AMERICAN TEA

Tea was introduced to North America during the seventeenth century. Its use became widespread especially among the upper classes who enjoyed tea parties. The parties with used silver teapots and porcelain tea services became the symbol of social success. They were held in Philadelphia and Boston where the elite families met socially.

Tea gardens were first opened in New York City. The new gardens were centered around the natural springs which the city fathers were equipped with pumps to facilitate the tea craze. By 1720 tea was an accepted staple of trade between the US and England. It was especially a favorite item of colonial women.

Later on tea became available to the less affluent circles becoming a universal sign of good manners and hospitality. In New York the Chatham Street pump provided the best water for tea. In early 18th century Puritans drank bitter tea with butter and salt. New Englanders preferred green China tea scented with saffron and gardenia petals.

Tea was the third ranking import during colonial times. When England found itself financially strapped by the French and Indian War it decided to place a heavy tax on tea. Throughout the colonies the tea tax provoked violent patriotic reactions and led to a boycott. On December 16 1773 patriots from Saint Andrew's Mansonic Lodge dressed as Indian boarded the ships in Boston then dumped three hundered and forty chests of tea into the harbor. This was known as the Boston Tea Party. It was a definite revolt against the tea tax.

In the 20th century a New York tea merchant named Thomas Sullvan decided to manufacture the first tea bags. They were tiny bags of silk that contained a single measure of tea. This invention met with success thus changing the art of preparing tea. He recognized a marketing opportunity when he realized the restaurants brewed the sample he provided to avoid the messiness of tea leaves.

The St. Louis World's Fair in 1904 was the first time iced tea was introduced to the general public. A tea merchant Richard Blechynden who also owned a tea plantation attended the fair. He planned to give free samples of hot tea to fair visitors. A heat wave ruined his plans buthe decided to dump ice into the hot tea so visitors would try it. It was the first iced tea served and a big hit at the World's Fair.

Thomas Lipton studied marketing strategy while he worked for a food department in a large New York department store. He adopted these principles when he started a tea company abroad in Glascow which eventually became world known for the slogan "Drink Lipton Tea". Lipton Tea become one of the largest tea companies in the world.