A few years ago I read a book entitled The Salmon of Doubt, which was a collection of the late author Douglas Adams’ unfinished, unpublished, and under appreciated works.   Known primarily for his famed Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy and Dirk Gently series and of course for his insights into the meaning of life, the universe, and everything, some of Douglas’ other talents and passions seemed to escape under the radar.

Slewn among the comical essays and chapters was an excerpt that he wrote in 1999, two years prior to his sudden and unexpected death.  The few paragraphs were written in response and presumably annoyance to Americans who had no understanding of the wonders of tea.  When it comes the the value of loose leaf tea, well, Douglas says it best.

Here is a unique glimpse into the mind of a genius.  Enjoy.

Tea

May 12, 1999

One or two Americans have asked me why the English like tea so much, which never seems to them to be a very good drink. To understand, you have to make it properly.

There is a very simple principle to the making of tea, and it’s this—to get the proper flavour of tea, the water has to be boilING (Not boilED) when it hits the tea leaves.  If it’s merely hot, then the tea will be insipid. That’s why we English have these odd rituals, such as warming the teapot first (so as no to cause the boiling water to cool down too fast as it hits the pot).  And that’s why American habit of bringing a teacup, a tea bag, and a pot of hot water to the table is merely the perfect way of making a tin, pale, watery cup of tea that nobody in their right mind would want to drink.  The Americans are all mystified about why the English make such a big thing out of tea because most Americans HAVE NEVER HAD A GOOD CUP OF TEA.  That’s why they don’t understand.  In fact, the truth of the matter is that most English people don’t know how to make tea anymore either, and most people drink cheap instant coffee instead, which is a pity, and gives Americans the impression that the English are just generally clueless about hot stimulants.

So the best advice I can give to an American arriving in England is this:  Go to Marks and Spencer and buy a packet of Earl Grey tea.  Go back to where you’re staying and boil a kettle of water.  While it is coming to the boil, open the sealed packet and sniff.  Careful—you may feel a bit dizzy, but this is in fact perfectly legal.  When the kettle has boiled, pour a little of it into a teapot, swirl it around, and tip it out again.  Put a couple (or three, depending on the size of the pot) of tea bags into the pot.  (If I was really trying to lead you into the paths of righteousness, I would tell you to use free leaves rather than bags, but let’s just take this in easy stages.)  Bring the kettle back up to the boil, and then pour the boiling water as quickly as you can into the pot.  Let is stand for two or three minutes, and then pour it into a cup.  Some people will tell you that you shouldn’t have milk with Earl Grey, just a slice of lemon.  Screw them.  I like it with milk.  If you think you will like it with milk, then it’s probably best to put some milk into the bottom of the cup before you pour in the tea.  If you pour milk into a cup of hot tea, you will scald the milk.  If you think you will prefer it with a slice of lemon, then, well, add a slice of lemon.

Drink it.  After a few moments you will begin to think that the place you’ve come to isn’t maybe quite so strange and crazy after all.

Saturday at dusk I sat perched upon a rooftop, straining to see past the silhouette of a pine, mesmerized by the streaking reds and blues, the pulsing greens, and the glimmering silvers that painted the evening sky.  Festivities gave way across America as people gathered by the barbecue, kicked back beers and huddled under the sky, celebrating the day two hundred and thirty-three years ago that our forefathers declared an independent nation.

So what does this have to do with tea?

Let’s back up a bit… a lot, actually.  By the early 1700’s, Great Britain had issued a monopoly on all tea imported and distributed within their country. The East India Trading Company was the sole legal importer of tea, and for these rights they paid a hefty 25% tax on all imported goods. Tea was bought in massive amounts at auction in Britain and then imported from there to the colonies, where it faced an additional tax. This, in turn, raised the price of tea significantly for the end user, and as a result boosted illegal importation of tea from countries such as Holland. In fact, so much tea was brought into the country illegally that by the 1760’s the East India Trading Company began to suffer despite their monopolized rights. In order to help the company, Britain allowed the East India Company to import directly to the Americas, cutting out the brokerage in Britain and increasing their profit margin dramatically. The high taxes on the tea for the colonists were left in place however, and for colonists in America, angry at the high levels of taxation they faced with no representation in the government, this was the last straw.

By the early 1770’s American colonists had issued a boycott of all tea products and had successfully turned away several ships of product from their ports. In 1773 when three large ships entered the port of Boston, several men guarded the area to be sure that the product could not be unloaded while over seven thousand colonists gathered in an adjacent meeting to discuss the tactics of their strike. For twenty days the colonists urged the ships’ captain to return to Britain with the product, and at the objection of the Massachusetts governor, for twenty days the ships sat stationery. On December 16, 1773, the eve of the twentieth day, over a hundred men lightly disguised as Indians boarded each of the three ships. Hacking with their tomahawks, they broke open each of 342 chests of tea and spilled the contents over the edge and into the open waters below. Over 90,000 pounds of loose tea was lost to sea on that night.

This event, dubbed the “Boston Tea Party”, was not received well in Britain. In response, British parliament enacted the Coercive Acts, which essentially closed down the port of Boston to all commerce and incoming ships and demanded payment for the lost product. This punishment dramatically hurt the settlers in Massachusetts, and sympathies began to pour out from other colonies. The intention of the Coercive Acts was to keep the colonies in line, yet it only served to unify them against British rule. The first Continental Congress was held as a result in September of 1774, and within a year the colonies were pitted against British armies in the Revolutionary War.

The Boston Tea Party is considered to be one of the first acts of protest in our nation, and as the colonies united to become states of America and our own constitution was written the right to free speech and protest was remembered and protected. In recent months, news has been flush with members of the Republican party gathering together in many cities across the nation to protest recent spending by the Obama administration. They have called these gatherings “Tea Parties”.

The 4^th of July celebrates the day in 1776 that the Declaration of Independence from Great Britain was written. Two hundred and thirty-three years later, we remain a strong, independent nation, and Britain has remained a close ally, despite the rocky start to our relationship. In remembrance, I’d like to propose a toast to our country and also to the one that we parted ways from long ago, and what better to toast with than our English Breakfast tea.

Here’s to our country: Happy Birthday.

That’s right, we’re keeping up with the ages!  Sooo…  what does this mean?

We are implimenting some exciting new features through our FaceBook page.  First,  we will have live discussions with our customers and fans about an array of tea related topics.  Currently, in response to my most recent blog (MmmmMaté!) we are discussing “Your Favorite Tea”.  Join us in this chat, or start your own!  This discussion room is an excellent opportunity for us to talk intimately with each of you, to answer your questions and receive your feedback!

Keep up to date on our upcoming events.  We will keep an updated list of all tradeshows, charity events, and tastings in our future, and look forward to seeing you all there!

Get in contact with our customer base, whether it be the local restaurants and coffee shops serving Maya Teas in your area, or other fans of our tea who enjoy it from home.  Find out where you can sip our tea locally!

Enjoy our photo collection, soon to be rapidly expanding.  We will be including photos of our teas, our blending facilities, our wonderful staff, our events, and our projects.  Get to know us a little better!

It has been more than a pleasure writing to you all for the past few months, sharing a bit about our history, our products, and our preferences.  You can look forward to many more blogs, and I can’t wait to hear back from some of you!  I am thoroughly anticipating opening our line of communication even further.

Join us on FaceBook!