A Kinship with American Tea

The Plantations of the American South are an important aspect of her history. At the height of slavery, there were something like 46,000 plantations stretching across the southern states, according to the National Humanities center. The mild temperate climate, plentiful rainfall and fertile soil contributed to the reasons why these operations flourished. That and abundant enforced slave labor at that time. When traveling through South Carolina, a visit to a Plantation is featured on every tourist’s to do list, which is what I chose to do during my recent visit to the Palmetto state.

The plantation I chose to visit was the Charleston Tea Garden; the only existing tea plantation in the United States. For some strange reason, I felt a deep connection to my heritage and my roots while I was there. The start of America’s story with Tea began around the 1770s, as an effort to meet the ever increasing British demand for tea at that time.

 

Tea plantations had been cultivated in large scale in India and Ceylon, and the efforts paid off greatly. Similar attempts were made in South Carolina to see if the conditions could be favorable to get in on that action. Tea plants from India, Ceylon and China were exported here, and after nearly 150 years of trial and error, tea began to be produced on American soil. The tea plants at the Charleston Tea Garden can trace their origins to those same plants from the Indian subcontinent brought across almost three centuries ago.

Just like it was in India, Tea was not a readily accepted beverage with the locals at first. Tea being known for its medicinal properties, remained a fixture in the medicine cabinet, and never part of the kitchen pantry. The British made every effort to develop new markets in the country where tea was produced by training the locals on the right way of preparing a proper cup of tea. They failed miserably. Only when the locals started tweaking recipes to match their own tastes, did Tea begin to be accepted. In India, it had to be combined with milk, sugar, ginger and spices in order to take off in popularity. In the Americas, it was the addition of sugar and ice that made Tea the featured beverage on the Southern Table. So much so that now, the phrase “As Southern as Sweet Tea” shows us how much Tea has become part of the American way of life. It is here, where I saw how our two nations were united. We both shared a mutual dislike for British occupation. We both refused to accept this beverage until we changed it to make it our own.

I took my time walking through the Charleston Tea Garden, completely lost in thought. I couldn’t help feel a certain kinship with the plants growing here. Running my hand through the thick and oil rich leaves, I felt we shared a common life story. Some of these trees were once saplings imported from India. They survived the journey across the oceans and were transplanted onto American soil. There wasn’t much success at first, but after several years of consistent effort, trial and error, it became an integral part of daily American life.

Sitting on the rocking chairs on the plantation house patio, I sipped on a tall chilled Peach Ice Tea. It felt like I was having a conversation with a long distant cousin. This was hardly similar to the steaming hot cup of chai that I usually identify with. Yet we both shared a connection, a common ancestor and mutual admiration, seeing what it took to get to where we are today.