Posts Tagged ‘tea party’
March 24, 2010 | 
Author In 1773 a group of colonists boarded three tea ships in Boston harbor and threw the tea into the sea, breaking a record for the volume of sea tea brewed
at a single tea party. They decided to brew three shiploads of tea all at once, instead of enjoying it a cup at a time like the British did, in order to protest Britain’s tea tax.
So did the colonists have to forfeit tea as the price of their struggle?
Not at all; the Dutch were kind enough to deliver tea to the colonies tax free.
To commemorate the Boston Tea Party and the subsequent defeat of the British in the War of Independence, the colonists would always add a pinch of salt into the water they used for brewing their tea.
OK, so they weren’t quite that patriotic; either that or this particular gesture didn’t occur to them. But what about all you Tea Party goers out there right now? What do you say? A pinch of salt in your tea for the tea party that started it all?
(Watch out for my upcoming blog on Tibetan tea, where salt is always added.)
Roland Petrov
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A tea party is commonly a very genteel affair. Have you seen the TV commercial where the little girl is about to enjoy some popcorn and tea with her dolls when her father and older brother walk in and exclaim, “Popcorn!”? “Tea party only,” she retorts, and in the next frame you see the two men with bibs and bonnets on being taught proper tea etiquette in order to get some of the popcorn.
So how come this rowdy new political movement in the U.S. calls itself the Tea Party? Would you dare bring out the dainty tea sandwiches at your afternoon tea party if Sarah Palin showed up in her hunting fatigues taking direct aim at decent health care for everyone?
But it gets stranger.
The newest political movement, which seeks to restore some manners to political dialogue, is called the Coffee Party. Is this just because the name Tea Party was already taken? And who chose the name Tea Party for a group dedicated to disrupting town hall meetings?
Coffee is associated with quick energy and tea with a calm break. It would be logical for the Tea Party and Coffee Party to change names. That’s my political stand.
Roland Petrov