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The Story of Tea: U.S.A.

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Tiffany Teapot, American, ca. 1888, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

 

The Dutch were among the first Europeans to import tea to Europe, in about 1610. Between 1660 and 1680, wealthy Dutch residents of New Amsterdam (now New York) adopted the custom of taking tea in the afternoon, retreating to their parlors for tea served in small cups, sweetened with a lump of sugar, and accompanied by sugared buns, waffles, doughnuts, and fruit. On the eve of the American Revolution, several hundred thousand pounds of Chinese tea were imported to New York each year.

 

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L: "Paul Revere" by John Singleton Copley (American, 1738-1815), 1768, Musuem of Fine Arts, Boston
R: Paine Service by Paul Revere (American, 1735-1818), 1773, Worcester Art Museum, Worcester, MA