Did you know that the the controversial tea shipped by and aboard the British East India Co that was unceremoniously chucked in the Boston harbor on December 16, 1773 in a striking act of protest to ‘taxation without representation’ aka the “Boston Tea Party”) …came from China 🇨🇳 — where tea (camellia sinensis ) originated and was first cultivated thousands and thousands of years ago. It would be well into the century that followed that far-reaching event when tea would start being produced in India 🇮🇳 (circa 1837) …

I figure I can’t be the only person who’s ever wondered “what kind of tea?” (and how much of it?!) got dumped in that historically significant incident. So, for our inquiring minds, I employed a few food & drink history sleuthing tactics to find out:

Several legit historical sources revealed that the bulk was a type of Chinese black tea called Bohea (pronounced “boo-hee” (see pic below 👇🏾) which is believed to be an English-language corruption of the name of the “Wuyi” mountains south of Shanghai. Bohea, which is quite smoky in fragrance and flavor, was so popular in Colonial America that “bohea” became a slang term for tea. Congou and Souchong were two other varieties of black tea also over-boarded and there were some green teas (Singlo, and Hyson) also amidst the rebelliously discarded cargo …

Oh and Boston, albeit the most (in)famous, wasn’t the only harbor where variations of “Tea Party” protests took place. (Key side note: the frivolous sounding term, ‘tea party’, didn’t get attached to these serious, treasonous incidents until the late 1800’s). Taxation protests via the rejection of / turning away (or downright ditched overboard a la Boston) of tea shipments were also orchestrated by the “Sons of Liberty” in that same time period in other Eastern seaboard ports: Charleston, Philadelphia, Maryland, New Jersey, New York and Maine. Don’t get me started about how many who carried it out “disguised” themselves dressed as Native Americans (or Indians as they were referred to then)…

So anyway — it was all loose-leaf tea (as was the preferred format then vs. compressed tea bricks — the other option). It most certainly was not in individual teabags (which would not come along for at least another 150 years). Lastly but not least, the estimated value of the destroyed tea would be equivalent to about $1.7 million today.

Not sure why i was surprised to learn while crafting this post that the only place in the contiguous United States where camellia sinensis tea planting & cultivation takes place is in South Carolina. That specific Southern state with just the right geographical factors including subtropical microclimates and such, where tea was first successfully planted in the early 1800's. Given this time period (i.e. when) and WHERE it was first planted, pretty sure that like ALL the crops and plantations of that region, the laborious work was fulfilled by enslaved Africans and/or African heritage Black people. Interesting side note that this is the same geographic place / state where our nation's first and most successful rice crops were able to flourish and generate the some of the greatest wealth ever amassed throughout the centuries of the American slave economy. That’s all i can say on this for now, otherwise I’ll be all up in this part of the post for forever…

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UP NEXT: For Chickpea Day the first pic is of Chickpea the chain — and not the bean, aka garbanzo, that today’s food calendar holiday is also celebrating. A legume with a whole lot going on (historically, culturally, geographically…) best known as far as I’m aware for it’s starring role in hummus, falafel and such.

Why am i mildly offended by Chickpea’s tagline? As if baked is always better (health-wise or taste-wise or other wise!) than fried?! I beg to differ. And even have some intel in support of my position …. but that will definitely have to be for a different post.

As for actual chickpeas, they’ve been part of culinary cuisines throughout the Mediterranean, Middle East, India and Africa for over 7,000 years. In more recent years here in the US with growing interest in Veganism and plant-based eating, the versatile chickpea aka garbanzo bean emerges as a staple and key ingredient in wide range of product offerings from pastas to creative desserts … i’ve even noticed it listed pretty high up in the ingredients list of high-end cat food kibble (see photo carousel below for examples)….

original photos by @thefoodgriot

You know the drill by now for when you want to know more (e.g., why “herbal teas” aren’t true teas technically speaking, or insights into the various tea cultures and ceremonies around the world..…) — Well, the folks who support my work via Patreon can communicate with me directly to get the ‘more to the story’ bits and pieces on the topics they find of interest + access to exclusive content, and invite-only experience. Please consider joining them in that win-win way of supporting what I do, thank you!….

PORTAL TO TONYA'S PATREON

Genuine Ginger Beer Was (& Still Is) One of Those Game Changer Drinks…

I remember back in the earlier 2000’s when genuine ginger beer came onto the mainstream American (bar) scene. My West Indian friends were already long familiar with it — British friends of varied hues too, which was surprising until I saw in Wikipedia (& other online sources), ginger beer was born in the mid 18th century — in Yorkshire, UK ... 🧐🤔… Which i wouldn’t think twice about if the entry had gone on to name or indicate that it was a Caribbean/West Indian, Asiatic or Afrianic heritage UK person who ‘birthed’ it there. No shade to Wikipedia at large, but at present their ginger beer entry provides no such cultural context. Nonetheless, it’s key to keep in mind that while Yorkshire may be the place of the first documented making of ginger beer (in the western world), one cannot automatically assume that the (unnamed) person who made it was a White British Yorkie. Turns out there’s a long history of people of African descent coming, going, staying (and even settling) in Yorkshire for centuries (from the 1750’s onward). Significant numbers of Black seaman (from British Caribbean Colonies and Africa stepped off ships in Yorkshire and yes some settled there, got married and started families. Together they “contributed to the “economic, social and cultural fabric of life in Hull”* ( the Yorkshire port city of Kingston upon Hull) 

Yup I’m always suspicious of origin claims whenever nobody specific is named or officially credited and the primary ingredients (e.g., ginger, sugar, lemons, etc. …) of a product do not originate from anywhere near the alleged place of said product’s origin. AND a port’s involved? Yeah, especially when it comes to the UK — a country that’s basically synonymous with the word “Colonizer” (yes, with a capital “C”) … a nation that not only traditionally downplays or outright dismisses its Black and Brown populations, but had the world believing for forever that tea and curry were their original (White English/British) ideas. (This is largely why i do the work that I do — addressing, offsetting and helping to correct where i can the worldly “little white lies” of omission …and finding the fuller, more inclusive, “in color” version (or at least additional parts and pieces) to remake a more complete story — when relevant or possible. )

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Anyway, I remember being blown away by ginger beer’s boldly intense gingery-ness and slightly hot spicy finish the first time I took a swig poured from a masterfully made batch at a homestead in Jamaica circa 1999 on a trip with friends. It was amazing on it’s own, duo-ed with any dish or snack and deliciously made a quick mixed drink when added to dark rum (or any spirit) on the rocks with an optional squeeze or wedge of lime …

Not too long thereafter I recall some equally scintillating ginger beer showing up — somewhat “on the DL” (down low) at a hip bar with a diverse clientele in my gentrified Brooklyn neighborhood. “DL” as in I noticed the (ethnically ambiguous, in hindsight) bartender responding vaguely and changing the subject after swiftly tucking away an unlabeled container into a mini fridge under the bar after someone asked her where it was from and where they could get some for themselves… I suspect that too might’ve been a homemade (or house-made if done on the premises) batch…

The culturally conscious, choosy consumer I’ve always been was admittedly pleased with what I understood to be a Jamaican / probably pan-Caribbean concoction crossing over into common-ville which simply meant it’d be more accessible. While I had a sense it was already well entrenched in Brooklyn’s Black West Indian communities, I wasn’t thinking then about how ginger beer might meet the same fate of countless other flavor-filled goodies that’ve emerged from Black and Brown culinary cultures and then get gobbled up by White consumer centered capitalism — where formulas are oft altered so as to not offend (or even to appeal to) less adventurous palates, and more importantly to increase their profit margins (thus jeopardizing taste and quality) . Which financially benefits the typically non-Black nor Brown (aka White) company owners who have access to adequate capital, investment money or generational wealth and resources required to manufacture and mainstream an otherwise fringe commodity.

Indeed, like so many other originally ‘ethnic’ edible (or drinkable in this case) ‘discoveries’, it wasn’t long before ginger beer got corrupted by capitalistic commerce. Artificial flavors, colorings and other whack additives are used in many manufactured ginger beers. They also tend to shamelessly skip process steps opting to fabricate fizziness vs. bothering to brew and ferment the combined ingredients (for the carbonation to occur naturally) —- surely to speed things up and/or to control costs. Even the ‘all natural’ ones to me taste(d) more like syrupy weak a$& ginger ales lacking any of the robust (or real!) ginger intensity and spicy kick I feel is required to qualify as a ginger beer.

At Long Last, An Answer To My Multi-Year Ginger Beer Blues:

FAST FORWARD a DECADE (and a half!) later…

Luckily Uncle Waithley’s (est. 2021) has saved the day ya’ll!!… Best ginger beer on the market IMHO, that brang back ALL that i originally fell in love with ginger beer for in the first place — and then some (a la a nice scotch bonnet kick!) without cutting any corners, skipping any steps or skimping on quality ingredients …. Lest I start sounding like a paid commercial (which this most certainly is not), check out their website for more info and try some yourself (pssssst, you can get a 4 pack at any Whole Foods on the east coast at least)….

There’s more to the ginger beer story — and I look forward to taking a deeper dive into this amazing drink's more multifaceted origins, history and evolution to what’s available on the market today as well as to talk with people who make their own either from a family recipe or other sources. I actually have on-hand a historical ginger beer recipe (or two!) created by a Massachusetts-based Black butler named Robert Roberts (born in S. Carolina 1780) who authored a book in 1827 called “The House Servant's Directory: A Monitor for Private Families” ….

One of the perks for my paid Patreon supporters is the opportunity to access more intel including food & drink history on specific topics of interest — incl. at times written recipes and demos! So join my PATREON where you can get much more scoop — or the skinny!… (And if you’re already a Patreon supporter I look fwd to you redeeming your perks;)…

THIS LINK takes you to the current month calendar to explore more …

(📸 original photos: @thefoodgriot )

*Referenced Sources:

*William Wilberforce Monument Fund Community Project, African Stories in Hull & East Yorkshire. Internet. Published April 2016. Accessed [2024]. Available: http://www.africansinyorkshireproject.com]