Tea on President's Day

George Washington

1732 - 1799

First President of the United States  1789 - 1797

"The Father of our Country"

In honor of George Washington's Birthday, I went to my tea cabinet to see what tea would be appropriate for today.  I think some Boston Harbour Tea [Mark T. Wendell Tea Company] would be appropriate.  It's a blend of black teas from Sri Lanka and Darjeeling.

And for tonight's caffeine-free beverage, "Liberty Tea" by Eastern Shore Tea Co.   It's an herbal blend of raspberry leaves, rose hips, peppermint, spearmint, lemon verbena and/or lemon balm.

Interesting snippets of history are printed on the back of their reclosable bags of tea.  The Liberty Tea bag states:  "Our forebears, in forsaking the pleasures of China tea for the principles of liberty, needed a "tea substitute."  New Jersey red root, sage, and raspberry leaves were among the plants touted as "equal to or better than" tea.  But none, by itself gave the same satisfaction.  With a spirit and resolve, the Colonial Dame looked to her larder, garden, and fields, to create an acceptable substitute.  And she succeeded, from Maryland to Massachusetts, by using native plants and the herbs at her disposal."

Fitz & Floyd's 1993 George Washington Collectible Teapot

If this teapot could talk, I think it would say "Real Men Drink Tea!"  George Washington certainly did, and his tea was always the finest available.

In the book,  Tea with Presidential Families, [pictured above] the authors state:  "George and Martha Washington were both confirmed tea drinkers well before he became President of the United States."

Tea was the preferred breakfast drink throughout British North America by the mid-eighteenth century.  At Mt. Vernon, George Washington's breakfast included three cups of tea, without cream or sugar [the best way to drink green tea], with three small hoe cakes slathered with butter and honey.

George's first recorded tea order to England in 1757 was for six pounds of the finest Hyson tea and six pounds of the finest green tea.

After his swearing in as the first American president, tea became the beverage of choice served during all state occasions.

After leaving the Presidency, he remained a dedicated tea drinker the rest of his life.