Tea for two? Tea for the world

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Watching the teabagging protests on CNN this morning, I was struck by the protesters’ choice of tea as the main prop for what appeared to be an outdoor celebration of both American history and our confusing tax code. The small but lively crowd in Washington had hoped to dump tea in the Potomac River, but the authorities put an end to that — special permits are needed before groups can poison a riparian bio-system with a caffeinated beverage. No luck dumping the million teabags at the U.S. Treasury, either. Too much mess!

If the protests themselves failed, the protesters certainly succeeded in reminding Americans of the exciting history of globalization. The humble tea bag really holds the whole tale of international trade, in one neat little box.

Popular in China and surrounding Asian lands for thousands of years, tea only caught on in Europe in the 17th Century. Two of the most famous names in international business, the Dutch East India Company and the British East India Company, made their fortunes from the importation and distribution of tea.

Tea was so loved by the Americans of the 1770s that some people did not want to pay English taxes on the dried leaves. It may be hard to believe today, but political disputes over the tea tax may have indirectly led to the American Revolution. A modern correlation might be a tax on the iPhone, or Pizza Hut.

But what the Boston Tea Party really proved was the global ubiquity of tea, the world’s first international drink. From ancient China to modern Washington D.C., tea is everyone’s favorite hot or cold refreshment.

The protesters’ signs may say “DEATH TO THE BLACK PRESIDENT,” but their choice of beverage says, “We’re all in this together.”