Tea Customs & Culture in America

Peter Stuyvesant, a Dutch settler of New Amsterdam, now called New York, first brought tea to America. Tea culture was pervasive in the American colonies until the Boston Tea Party in 1772. After that, a widespread boycott produced the coffee-drinking nation that we became.

Americans don’t take a “tea break” in the morning and afternoon. They still call it a coffee break. But tea has become popular once again. We in the tea industry are now experiencing a tea boon in America. It is once again on the social and economic map.

Iced tea was thought to have been discovered by accident at the 1904 World’s Fair, but actually it had been around for quite a long time. One thing for certain, it is and has been an American standard for more than a century. It’s on every menu in every restaurant and, in the South, it is assumed that you want it sweet. Southern “sweet tea” is a tradition. Lots of sugar is added to the strongly brewed black tea while it is still hot, and then water and ice are added.

The health benefits of tea have been acknowledged throughout history worldwide. Americans are now finally switching from coffee to tea for health reasons, but ultimately they are discovering the social aspect of the beverage, as well. There are also those who believe in the spiritual quintessence. It’s important for the basis of a philosophy to have perceptions and ritual. This is currently happening in the United States. Tea has a way of making a person slow down, a concept that is very inviting in this stressful, fast-paced world we live in.

We now have an opportunity to bring a 5,000-year-old tradition of drinking tea to a new level and create our own tea culture in America. Tea rooms are popping up in large cities and small rural communities. They range from the small traditional Victorian fluff offering scones, tea sandwiches & desserts with tea, to the high tech mall-based tea shops that do not offer food, but sell quality tea and tea accoutrements. There are tea rooms and tea shops that will appeal to everyone in every demographic.

We,at Earl Grey Manor are fortunate to be located in an historical area that draws on a tourist base as well as the local professionals and merchants, and our urban and suburban neighbors. Our customers range from the young college student in his dreadlocks and Birkenstocks who brings his friends in to enjoy a tea and conversation, to the ladies afternoon tea group dressed to the nines sharing a bit of refined time together. Our differences are many and great, but we all have a common bond. We love tea in America.

Tea Customs & Culture
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