Boston Tea Party: December 16, 1773

Tomorrow is the 230th anniversary of the Boston Tea Party, essentially a demonstration against the British government’s “taxation without representation.” The government’s Tea Act allowed the tea-craving colonists to buy tea from the East India Company at cheap prices but with a duty tax attached. If the colonists paid the tax it meant they were agreeing that England had the right to tax them. In protest, colonists disguised as Native Americans boarded three tea-laden ships and dumped 342 crates of tea into Boston Harbor, a key event leading up to the American Revolution.

Always a bad idea to mess with anyone’s caffeine habit.

I’m an avid tea drinker and without my morning cuppa I get pretty surly. I buy loose tea to brew at home, but in a pinch a Lipton’s bag and a cup of water will do. But always with milk and no sugar. And none of that flavoring - no peach, no vanilla, not even bergamot (the flavoring in Earl Grey).

In Anglo-Irish New England, people still commonly drink tea. If you ask for tea in a restaurant, you will get hot tea – hot water and a tea bag, unless you happen to be at one of the tea cafés that have sprung up recently where you can get a pot of loose tea. In some other parts of the country, if you ask for tea you automatically get ice tea unless you ask for hot tea, in which case they’re liable to offer you herb tea. Therefore, when I travel I bring my own tea bags.

Favorite breakfast tea: CTC Irish Breakfast from Upton Tea Imports.

Favorite bag tea: British Breakfast Blend from The Republic of Tea.

History of the Boston Tea Party:

  Eyewitnesstohistory.com

  Wikipedia.org

Where to find tea in Boston (besides the bottom of the harbor).

8:46:51 PM      trackback [] 

And the winner is...

…oh, who cares? These are the founders of the Santa Speedo Run, which was held on Saturday to benefit the Children’s AIDS Program in Boston (boston.com photo; the rest of the gallery is here). I haven’t heard how much money they raised yet, but you can find out more about the charity and also contribute at www.santaspeedorun.com.

1:36:45 PM      trackback []