On July 2, 1776, America boldly chose to separate from the oppressive British
Empire. Congress made it official two days later, adopting the Declaration of
Independence. The country began to grow at breakneck speeds, quickly becoming
one of the richest, most powerful nations in the world. This abrupt succession
of power did not come merely through brute force, however, but through
technological innovation.
It is also through the use of technological innovation that lead America to
become one of the major progressive forces in the tea world... Not bad for a
country that only produces a negligible amount of tea itself. In this month's
patriotic installment of TeaMuse, we'll explore just how much of an impact
America has had, and continues to have, on the tea industry.
Invention is generally born out of necessity. Such is true of America's
innovations in tea. Most of these contributions grew out of a need to make tea
more convenient. The following are some of the more significant examples of
America's impact on tea.
By the early 1900's, America stabilized her government, strengthened her
economy, and expanded her borders and interests. The United States was now ready
for the world to see her development at the 1904 World's Fair. Trade exhibitors
from around the world brought their products to St. Louis. One such merchant was
Richard Blechynden, a tea plantation owner. Originally, he had planned to give
away free samples of his tea (hot tea) to attendees. But when a heat wave hit,
no one was interested. Parched from the temperature, visitors would pass his
booth in search of a cooler refreshment. To save his investment of time and
travel, he dumped a load of ice into the brewed tea... and thus popularized "iced"
tea. Today, nearly 90% of all tea consumed in the US is in the form of
iced tea.
Early Nestea Ad
Before the 1900's, tea was only available as loose leaves. Thomas Sullivan, a
tea and coffee merchant from New York City, tried to cut costs by sending
samples of loose tea in small silk sacks instead of costly tins (which was what
most merchants used at the time). Potential clients, confused by this new
packaging, threw the tea in hot water-- bag and all. Thomas started getting many
requests for these "teabags" and realized that he had struck gold. The quick and
easy clean-up of the leaves (due to the fact that they were still contained in
the silk bag) made it enticingly convenient.
Teabags first began appearing
commercially around 1904 (obviously a milestone year for American tea!), and
quickly shipped around the world.
In 1948, Nestlé USA produced a powder from which, when it was mixed with water,
would produce a tea-like product. This product, which became known as Nestea
(still around today), was marketed as an "instant tea" that both simplified the
preparation process and made it easy to store large amounts. However, it should
be kept in mind that tea is usually a relatively a minor ingredient in most
instant teas. Typically, sugar is the primary ingredient, then flavorings,
coloring agents, anti-caking agents, etc.. In fact, most instant teas do not
even contain real tea, rather tea extract. All criticisms aside, one must not
fail to appreciate the success of instant tea has enjoyed and recognize that it
is a product which has its roots in tea.
Al WWW Gore
However, we still haven't touched upon what is quite possibly America's most
significant contribution to the tea world. This comes from a seemingly unlikely
source: former US Vice President (and "Fahrenheit 9/11" co-star) Al Gore. Among
Al Gore's many impressive accomplishments, he claims to have played a crucial
role in the creation of the World Wide Web. This enabled individual consumers
and businesses to easily have access to a tremendously large network of
information and commercial enterprises. Many progressive tea companies realized
that, through the utilization of the internet, they could quickly and easily
supply customers across the globe with fresh, gourmet-quality tea. Luckily,
you've already found the perfect example of this innovation -
adagio.com!
Finally, we'll conclude this month's episode of TeaMuse with a little known fact
about tea and American history:
Thomas Jefferson loved tea so much that he constructed a polygonal tearoom
adjoining the parlor of his Monticello home. He referred to this room as his
"most honorable suite" because it was in this uniquely designed tearoom that,
between June 11 and June 28, 1776, he wrote and edited the Declaration of
Independence.
