What's in the Water: The Boston Tea Party

Since I take great pleasure in researching beverage crimes over the centuries, I must continue my articles to include that most famous of patriotic American beverage crimes: The Boston Tea Party.

I have always wondered what kind of tea was ditched off the harbor at the Boston Tea Party. What would the harbor have tasted like for the people at their beach houses? There is nothing quite so invigorating as swimming in something delicious.

You see, by 1773, the British had popularized tea to the extent that the government taxed for some serious income. Tax on commodities usually went straight to the corporations who traded the items, rather than the consumer like you'd see in modern days. To make sure it was not crippling businesses with heavy taxes, the British decided to tax consumers on the American end of things.

New Opposite Day Specials

Naturally, Americans are agreeable people with a great respect for authority. So, the Americans instead offered to pay a higher portion of the taxes just for the sake of fun and the growth of British businesses. Also, it's opposite day.

The Americans reacted by dressing up as Indians and throwing the tea into the harbor. Apparently they used their tomahawks to open the crates and make a dramatic scene.

One figure who is commonly left out of the story is the man who, when given free access to hundreds of pounds of high-quality East India Company tea, did the natural thing and stuffed his coat pockets full of the leaves. Once the band noticed, they lightened him of his spiced load and proceeded to tar and feather him. Note to self: Don't try to get sly with crazed, caffeine-deprived white men dressed as Native Americans.

The Americans in Boston had actually been boycotting British tea since 1770, but we at Pour Jons advocate drinking as much British and Indian tea as possible. Sometimes to the point of excess.

In honor of our addiction, this weekend (April 27-29), get a large pot for the price of a small pot if you mention the blog! Come do it! By the way, the tea dumped into the harbor was neither British nor Indian, it was likely a Chinese green tea.

Thanks for tuning in.

~P.J.

PJP: Back to the Grind

As the school year winds down, things are picking up here at Pour Jon's. We've had several new developments in the last few weeks that you should really come check out if you haven't already.

First of all, we'd like to celebrate the success of our birthday party event. You may have noticed that we painted over the walls to start fresh, but we preserved some of our favorite drawings. Use this as incentive to put something really remarkable up there! We also had tons of great music all day. It's much nicer to make coffee in a crowded, happy store.

We will not be serving milk at the wake.
All are welcome to attend.

Next, we've expanded our drinks menu. Milkshakes, though they have served us as faithful companions, are a dying trend. 
The replacements are both healthier and a bit more interesting in flavor. Tealights are basically tea smoothies, combining tea, cream, and fresh fruit in a delicious iced combo. A Coffee Blitz resembles its name: lots of coffee, chocolate, ice, and flavor, right in the mouth hole.
I suppose it's time to officially let the Indian cat out of the bag about our Chai Lattes, as well. It's not as super sweet anymore because we're making it with real Chai tea instead of concentrate. It's less sugar, more spice and flavor, and way classy.

As for other news, we have a NEW GRINDER! Aside from improving the speed at which we're able to make drinks, this awesome improvement makes our espresso tastier, too.

We'd like to thank Barbara Taylor for mentioning us in her appraisal of downtown Siloam. Check her blog out right here. She starts and co-runs Synergy Business Services, a NWA business brokerage service.

To keep things fresh, take 50 cents off one of the three new drinks we've mentioned in the blog today through Friday. Come in and enjoy a hot or cold cup of joy!

~P.J.