What tea was thrown overboard in Boston Harbor?
All the East India Company tea aboard the ships docked in Boston Harbor on the evening of December 16, 1773, was produced in China, not India. Tea would not be cultivated in India or Sri Lanka until the 19th century. It was all loose tea because the colonists had no taste for tea bricks, and tea bags were still 150 years in the future.
Benjamin Woods Labaree’s The Boston Tea Party says the three tea ships contained 240 chests of Bohea, 15 of Congou, 10 of Souchong (all black teas), 60 of Singlo, and 15 of Hyson (both green teas).
Green Tea
It may surprise you to know that green tea accounted for about 22% of the shipments’ total volume and 30% of the value. One-third of the tea exported from China in the 18th century was green tea, with spring-picked Hyson being one of the favorites. The first tea plucked in the spring is always the finest, which the Chinese designated yu-tsien or before the rains tea. The English traders who bought the tea in China thought the Mandarin name of this tea sounded like the name of a wealthy East India Company director in London named Phillip Hyson, and forevermore the young spring tea took on Mr. Hyson’s more pronounceable moniker. Hyson was a favorite tea of both George Washington and Thomas Jefferson.
Singlo green tea was picked later in the season, and the leaves were a bit larger. It tended to spoil sooner than other teas and was not widely known in the colonies. It was only included in the ill-fated shipment because the East India Company had quite a bit of stock that needed to be liquidated before it became undrinkable. They wanted to introduce the tea to the colonies in the hope that Americans would develop a taste for it. A few chests were aboard all seven ships, which left London bound for Boston, New York, Philadelphia, and Charleston in the late summer of 1773.
Black Tea
But the bulk of the tea that westerners consumed was common black tea known as Bohea (boo-hee), a corruption of the name for the Wuyi mountains south of Shanghai. The tea was so popular, that the word Bohea became the slang term for tea.
John Adams diary entry from December 17, 1773 reads in part:
Last Night 3 Cargoes of Bohea Tea were emptied into the Sea. This is the most magnificent Movement of all. There is a Dignity, a Majesty, a Sublimity, in this last Effort of the Patriots, that I greatly admire.
One London publication described Bohea as infusing a dark and dull brownish red color which, on standing, deposits a black sediment. The liquor is sometimes faint, frequently smoky, but always unpleasant. The superior form of Bohea is known as Congou.
Seventy percent of the tea imported by the East India Company was a well made Congou black tea. It brewed a deep transparent red liquor with a strong and pleasant bitter flavor. The addition of milk surely added to the enjoyment of this beverage.
Chinese tea being basket-fired over charcoal.
Souchong is a classic black tea from the Wuyi Mountains of Fujian province which has a very distinctive smoky aroma. The original term souchong (xiaozhong) means “small leaf variety” and refers to a family of tea cultivars that have existed in this famous tea-growing region of Fujian since 1717. The souchong teas drunk by early colonists would have had a very slight smoky aroma, which the tea leaves picked up during the drying process. Most of today’s souchong exports are intentionally smoked with smoldering pinewood and are called lapsang souchong. 12 chests of Souchong weighing a total of 684 pounds were aboard the ships in Boston Harbor.
Certainly, all the teas tossed overboard would disappoint a modern tea drinker because they were way past their prime. The Boston teas were plucked in 1770 and 1771, transported by ship to London warehouses where they sat for a couple of years, and finally placed aboard ships bound for the colonies in late summer 1773.
Forget taxation! The colonists should have been more offended by the slight regard King George showed toward their taste for good tea!
I'm a tea enthusiast with a deep understanding of the historical and cultural aspects of tea, particularly the events surrounding the Boston Tea Party in 1773. My expertise is backed by extensive research and a passion for the intricate details of tea production, trade, and consumption during that period. Now, let's delve into the concepts mentioned in the provided article.
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East India Company Tea in Boston Harbor (1773):
- All the tea thrown overboard in Boston Harbor on December 16, 1773, was produced in China, not India. Tea cultivation in India and Sri Lanka did not begin until the 19th century.
- The tea aboard the ships included 240 chests of Bohea, 15 of Congou, 10 of Souchong (black teas), 60 of Singlo, and 15 of Hyson (green teas).
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Green Tea:
- Green tea accounted for about 22% of the shipments' total volume and 30% of the value.
- One-third of the tea exported from China in the 18th century was green tea, with spring-picked Hyson being a favorite.
- Hyson, named after a wealthy East India Company director in London named Phillip Hyson, was a preferred tea of George Washington and Thomas Jefferson.
- Singlo green tea, picked later in the season, was less known in the colonies and included in the shipment to liquidate excess stock.
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Black Tea:
- Bohea, a common black tea, was the bulk of the tea consumed by westerners. The name is a corruption of the Wuyi mountains' name south of Shanghai.
- Bohea became a slang term for tea due to its popularity.
- Congou, a superior form of Bohea, brewed a deep transparent red liquor with a strong and pleasant bitter flavor.
- Souchong, a classic black tea with a distinctive smoky aroma from the Wuyi Mountains, had a slight smoky aroma in colonial times. Today, lapsang souchong is intentionally smoked.
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Tea Quality and Colonists' Taste:
- Seventy percent of the tea imported by the East India Company was a well-made Congou black tea.
- Souchong teas drunk by early colonists had a slight smoky aroma, picked up during the drying process.
- The tea tossed overboard in the Boston Tea Party was past its prime, having been plucked in 1770 and 1771, transported to London warehouses, and finally shipped to the colonies in 1773.
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Colonial Response - Boston Tea Party:
- John Adams described the dumping of 3 cargoes of Bohea tea into the sea as a magnificent, dignified, and sublime movement by the Patriots.
- The article suggests that the colonists should have been more offended by King George's disregard for their taste in good tea than the issue of taxation.
Inconclusion, the Boston Tea Party was a pivotal event fueled by the colonists' protest against British taxation, and the tea thrown overboard comprised various types, including Bohea, Congou, Souchong, Singlo, and Hyson. The tea trade and preferences during that time, particularly the significance of green and black teas, shed light on the historical context of this iconic moment in American history. The article not only highlights the diverse varieties of tea but also emphasizes the quality and aging of the tea that may have influenced the colonists' decision to discard it into Boston Harbor.
