Coffee Over Tea in the United States

It seems odd on that surface that in the United States, with its cultural roots in England, coffee is preferred over tea.  This was not always the case, and perhaps is also no longer as distinctly the case as it used to be.  Tea drinking in the United States is growing and the rise of institutions like Starbucks around the world is ensuring that coffee is making even greater inroads in traditionally tea drinking nations.

Yet, the United States is seen as a coffee drinking nation and the UK is seen as a tea drinking nation. What gives?

The answer is the 1773 Boston Tea Party.

Tea was one of the most profitable imports into the Colonies prior to the revolution. The British Parliament sought to increase revenue from the Colonies; one way they did so was by creating a “Tea Tax.”

In protest of this (and other) perceived unfair taxes, a group of Bostonians dressed like Mohawk Indians, boarded a ship in the harbor carrying tea and proceeded to destroy it by throwing it in the river.  In response, the British government closed Boston Harbor and clamped down on the city of Boston with many new restrictions.

At this time in American History tea drinking was at its height of popularity and was nearly ubiquitous as the heated drink of choice.  But it was also during this period in which coffee was beginning to gain popularity in the Colonies.  In solidarity with Boston, the Colonies boycotted the purchase and drinking of tea, and the popularity of coffee skyrocketed.

In the words of John Adams:

I believe I forgot to tell you one Anecdote: When I first came to this House it was late in the Afternoon, and I had ridden 35 miles at least. “Madam” said I to Mrs. Huston, “is it lawfull for a weary Traveller to refresh himself with a Dish of Tea provided it has been honestly smuggled, or paid no Duties?” “No sir, said she, we have renounced  all Tea in this Place. I cant make Tea, but I’le make you Coffee.” Accordingly I have drank Coffee every Afternoon since, and have borne it very well. Tea must be universally renounced. I must be weaned, and the sooner, the better.

-John Adams,  Letter to Abigail Adams, 07/06/1774.

After the Revolutionary War tea drinking did again become popular, but the market for coffee was never higher in America. It also did not hurt that quality coffee was grown in South America, while the most desired teas often came from as far as India, thus making coffee cheaper than tea.  With its availability and cheaper price, coffee fully dethroned tea as the hot drink of choice in the United States.

It became thought of as American to drink coffee, and I believe this cultural perception still lingers. Yet, I myself am glad for the growing popularity of tea, as I believe there is a time for coffee and a time for tea, and both are wonderful in their own way!

(Note: I took the image from https://sites.psu.edu/siowfa15/2015/09/10/which-is-better-coffee-or-tea/ which is a blog post arguing the Pros and Cons of Coffee and Tea drinking)