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The Boston Tea Party of Dec. 16, 1773, was more than just a protest against British taxes. It was a protest against terrible tea, too.

The quality of the tea sent to the Colonies was awful, said Evan OBrien, creative director of the Boston Tea Party Ships & Museum, which hosts its annual re-enactment Tuesday. High-quality tea went to the citizens of England. Americans got second-rate tea.

The Sons of Liberty tossed 46 tons of tea, valued at nearly $1 million in todays money, over the sides of the Beaver, Dartmouth and Eleanor. That tea was hand-picked in China in 1770 and 1771 two to three years before the protest.

The leaves were packed tightly into crates, often compressed with the feet of its human harvesters, moved down mountains and rivers, and shipped by the East India Company around the globe to London warehouses. There the tea destined for ruin in Boston Harbor sat and went stale even before the British cargo ships set sail for America in October 1773.

America became a coffee-drinking nation exactly as a reaction to what happened that night, said Cynthia Gold, the tea sommelier at LEspalier in the Back Bay. The issues that sparked the Tea Party were complex, she said, but the stale, musty quality of tea was another slap in the face to Americans. It also inspired a robust tea-smuggling trade.

Americans still drink much more coffee than tea. But the United States is in the midst of a tea revival, while Bostons culinary community puts tea front and center this week in anticipation of the 241st anniversary of the Tea Party.

LEspalier hosts a five-course dinner Sunday night featuring all five varieties of black and green teas that were hurled into the water in 1773. Among other dishes and drinks, guests get a chance to sample fish house punch, a potent period cocktail made with freshly brewed Chinese tea.

A pair of high-profile new restaurants, meanwhile, made tea a centerpiece of their menus this year.

Bastille Kitchen in Fort Point opened in July a block from the Tea Party Ships & Museum. It serves tea-smoked mussels, tea-brined lamb shank, compound herb butter sprinkled with tea-smoked salt and Earl Grey tea creme caramel.

Those dishes are a tribute to the history that unfolded right down the street, said Bastille Kitchen executive chef Adam Kube.

Read more from the original source:
Eateries go all out to celebrate Boston Tea Party anniversary