Let’s Have a Tea Party
If you recall your grade school history lessons, you probably think of the Tea Party in these terms: the British taxed the tea, the people revolted, and the next thing you know, crates of tea are floating around Boston Harbor.
Accurate summation, but to elaborate on that: the Boston Tea Party was a midnight raid. On December 16, 1773, a group of colonists disguised themselves as Mohawk Indians, boarded three ships on Griffin’s Wharf—the Dartmouth, the Eleanor, and the Beaver—and dumped 342 chests of tea into the water while citizens cheered them on. Ninety thousand pounds of tea were completely undrinkable! The destruction of that much cargo was in protest against the British Parliament’s Tea Act of 1773, a bill that essentially gave the East India Company a monopoly on the tea trade. So, the revolt was not due to a major tax hike but rather a protest against a corporate tax break.
The group known as the Sons of Liberty was secretly organized by Samuel Adams (the man, not the beer). Because of the destruction of the tea, Boston Harbor was closed to merchant ships by the British as punishment for their acts, who demanded payment for the destroyed cargo. It was the first major act of rebellion in the colonies, which eventually led to the Revolution and the birth of our nation.
Little known fact: the identities of the men who boarded the ships that night were kept secret, and we still don’t know exactly who took part. The Sons of Liberty was a very secret society that recruited members throughout Boston and New York. Meetings were held in taverns owned by those sympathetic to the cause, including the Green Dragon (see page 75).
Another lesser known fact it is that the event was not called the “Boston Tea Party” until the 1820s; it was originally just referred to as the “Destruction of Tea.” And what was the cost of this destruction that night? By today’s standards, it would’ve been about one million dollars. Ouch.
Back to a lighter, happier topic—food. By this time, methods of planting, preparation, and preservation had drastically improved. More important, the beer got better. George Washington was a big porter drinker (along with his Madeira; see page 110). His very own recipe for small beer (weak beer) was recorded in 1754 in a private notebook that currently resides in the New York Public Library:
To Make Small Beer:
Take a large Siffer [sifter] full of Bran Hops to your Taste.—Boil these 3 hours then strain out 30 Gall[ons] into a cooler put in 3 Gall[ons] Molasses while the Beer is Scalding hot or rather draw the Melasses [molasses] into the cooler & St[r]ain the Beer on it while boiling Hot. let this stand till it is little more than Blood warm then put in a quart of Yea[s]t if the Weather is very Cold cover it over with a Blank[et] & let it Work in the Cooler 24 hours then put it into the Cask—leave the bung open till it is almost don[e] Working—Bottle it that day Week it was Brewed
We love a man who loves his beer.