|
The History of Tea: The Clipper Ships
Up until the early 1800’s, tea was imported from
China and brought back to Europe and the United States on slow-moving
frigates that took forever to make the trip (thus the expression “a slow
boat to China”). But in 1841, a U.S. invention called the clipper ship
radically changed the business of tea importation.
Clipper ships had a narrow, knife-like form and a concave
bow that sliced through the water, cutting in half the time it took to make the
trip. The ships quickly caught on in America and Europe, and soon even faster
versions were created that could hold more than a million pounds of tea.
Although sailing to and from China had once taken an entire year, on the clipper
ship it took just four months! This was especially important in the spring. The
first batch of tea grown in spring (called the spring flush) made the most
delicious tea and brought the most money. But it had to be delivered before it
lost its taste, so a swift sea voyage was a number one priority.
To provide an incentive to speed up the trip, the tea
companies gave a handsome reward to the captain of the ship that arrived first
with the new tea. The spring flush was plucked in April, processed and packed
into the ships by the end of May, and then the race was on! The mighty clipper
ship that arrived first was not only well-rewarded, but received a hero’s
welcome from cheering throngs plus plenty of newspaper coverage when it sailed
into the harbor.
The glorious era of the clipper ships ended abruptly with
the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869. Suddenly, a steamer could make the trip
to and from China in just 44 days, which meant even the fastest clipper ships
were now completely obsolete. But the clipper ships, with their billowing sails
and elegant form, remain a fascinating and glamorous part of the history of both
sailing ships and tea.
|
Nadine Taylor, M.S., R.D. presents
GreenTeaLibrary.com, the most
comprehensive collection of scientific information describing the
health benefits of green tea.
|
|
