"Which is better for me, tea or beer?"
How many times have you asked yourself this very question?
During my latest venture to keep myself abreast of tea's many health benefits, I
stumbled upon a gem of an article called "The evils of tea (and the virtues of
beer)." This essay, first published in William Cobbett's
Cottage Economy in
1822, shows just how much of an impact serious scientific thought has had on our
culture. In this 21st-century version of your favorite Tea Newsletter, we'll
cover some of his more outrageous points in that essay and compare these claims
with actual health benefits attributed to tea.
But before we get to Cobbett's comments, a little background history may prove
helpful.
Beer
In Willy's time, most water was unfit to drink. For those who wanted to avoid
disease, the choices were limited: a cup of boiled water
(mmmm!) or beer that
was strong enough to kill bacteria. In the beginning of the 1800's, ale was a
common breakfast drink. But tea was quickly becoming a welcome alternative. It
was thirst quencher that refreshed and invigorated, was full of flavor and,
above all, was safe to drink. Tea was clearly a drink with great market
potential - and it made the nation's brewers nervous.
The brewers' fears soon turned to active opposition. As their crusade against
tea grew, others joined in. The Church denounced tea as a sinful drink; doctors
claimed it was bad for health. The opponents of tea formed a powerful lobby -
and they had influence in Parliament. Tea aroused strong passions. It was new
and it was foreign. Worst of all, it had the potential to damage beer sales,
which were produced domestically (tea was, of course, imported). The forces
against tea were persuasive and virtually unstoppable. Once such voice was
William Cobbett, a reactionary, a radical, a royalist, a soldier, a farmer, a
bookseller, a publisher, a pamphleteer, a prisoner, and at one time even a
member of Parliament.
William Cobbett
In
Cottage Economy, William declares, "I view the tea drinking as a destroyer of
health, an engenderer of effeminacy and laziness, a debaucher of youth, and a
maker of misery for old age." Pretty bold statements. Well Mr. Cobbett, we've
discovered that tea is not only a safe stimulant (compared to, let's say,
coffee), but it also leads to fewer signs of aging (unlike beer, which has been
proven to dry out the skin, forming wrinkles). I must concede, though, that
one of your statements is true: ever since I was a kid, I've been addicted to
the stuff. Also, it has become a universal maxim: real men drink tea.
Cobbett goes on to claim that tea "is notorious that tea has no useful strength
in it... It is, in fact, a weaker kind of laudanum (opium), which enlivens for
the moment and deadens afterwards." Actually, tea comes from the
Camellia
Sinensis plant and opium comes from
Papaver Somniferum -- there's absolutely no
relation. This ignores the obvious fact that drinking too much tea will lead to
nothing more than frequent trips to the bathroom, while drinking too much beer
will result in embarrassing decisions, such as joining a fraternity.
Underweight Pig
In one of the final (and undeniably my favorite) passages, Cobbett states that
"it is impossible for anyone to deny of this statement. Put it to the test with
a lean hog: give him the fifteen bushels of malt and he will repay you in ten
score of bacon or thereabouts. But give him 730 tea messes, or rather begin
to give them to him, and give him nothing else, and he is dead from hunger, and
bequeaths you his skeleton, at the end of about seven days." Now, I don't have
a PhD, but something tells me that there is a serious flaw in this scientific
method. Tea has been proven, however, to help the body burn calories quicker,
aiding weight loss-- so he's correct on that point.
There are many more passages (or rantings, depending on how you look at it), but
I will not barrage my faithful readers with further reading. If anyone is
interested in further enrichment on this line of thought, I'd recommend renting
any film by David Lynch.
By no means am I trying to put down beer -- it is a perfectly harmless beverage
(in moderation). But until they can come up with a tea beer, I must conclude
that tea is by far the healthier of the two... No offense, Billy.
Please visit Adagio's "
Tea Info"
page for the latest summary of tea's amazing health benefits.
