This was clearly no ordinary cup of tea. The liquid that flowed from the porcelain teapot was a pink cough medicine color and pooled around the large block of ice in my teacup, which resembled a tea chest.
Although one of the ingredients was mountain berry tea, it was infused for two days with Bombay Sapphire Gin, flavored with lime juice and thyme and then topped up with Prosecco to create The Destruction of Tea – a cocktail with a twist.
Served in the new Coterie Bar at the Four Seasons Hotel Boston, this powerful treat is named after the original name of the Boston Tea Party, an event that sparked the American Revolution.
On Saturday, the 250th anniversary of the most famous tea party in history, they drank more than one cup of it.
It was full of processions and performances and more tea was thrown into Boston Harbor.
Jane Knight visits Boston, Massachusetts in search of the city's best cup of coffee and digests “nuggets of history” along the way. Pictured: The city skyline at dusk
The celebrations recalled the night of December 16, 1773, when colonials, tired of paying taxes on their tea, sneaked onto three schooners moored in the harbor, destroyed 342 tea chests and dumped 92,000 pounds of East India Company tea into the water .
The cargo was valued at $1.5 million by today's estimates, and its destruction prompted George III to send troops across the Atlantic.
But the Tea Party hasn't stopped Bostonians from drinking – you can still enjoy an excellent cup of coffee in the city, often accompanied by delicious afternoon teas.
In search of the best of them, my son and I embarked on a tea journey, digesting insights into history along the way. Although Boston cherishes its past, this city of 650,000 residents – and a high proportion of students and business people – is anything but stuffy. It's also incredibly easy to walk around, as you can explore everything from the lively waterfront to the upscale Back Bay neighborhood.
We started at the Boston Tea Party Ships And Museum, whose two replica boats we could see from the windows of our room at the Intercontinental Hotel.
Hustle and bustle: Jane notes that it's “incredibly easy to walk around the city, as you can take in everything from the lively waterfront (above) to the upscale Back Bay neighborhood.”
Jane begins her tour at the Boston Tea Party Ships And Museum (pictured), whose two reconstructed boats she could see from the windows of her room at the Intercontinental Hotel
The excellent interactive museum features the only known surviving tea chest from that fateful night, used for generations as a dollhouse, a container for kittens and for play (one of which is scrawled on the surface).
At the teahouse, we tried all five of the overboard teas, including two green teas.
Although our tour guide, Priscilla, told us that “Young Hyson tea was the most expensive and a favorite of George Washington and Thomas Jefferson,” I preferred the Bo-hea black tea, common in the bog.
The teahouse serves scones, but for a proper afternoon snack we went to the Boston Public Library, the first large, free public library in America, with a chic tea room on the ground floor. Be sure to dress up for this grand feast, which unusually began with burrata and celery soup.
Boiling Point: December 16, 2023 marked the 250th anniversary of the Boston Tea Party (pictured above), an event that sparked the American Revolution
Jane enjoys a Destruction of Tea cocktail (pictured) from the new Coterie bar at the Four Seasons Hotel Boston, named after the original name of the Boston Tea Party
Full of new insights, we set off for Boston's Freedom Trail, which tells the fascinating story of the events leading up to the Tea Party. We visit the meeting house where the Bostonians decided to trade and the Granary Burying Ground, where the grave of one Paul Revere is located. He sprinted 12 miles on horseback to Lexington at midnight to warn revolutionary leaders Sam Adams and John Hancock that the British were on the way.
Hancock and Adams' graves are also in the cemetery across from the Beantown Pub. “They say they're the only place where you can sink a cold Sam Adams while looking at another cold Sam Adams,” joked our tour guide Jeremiah Poope (“Yes, that's my real name – you can imagine how much fun I had at school.” .')
The first shot of the American Revolutionary War was fired in Lexington, the scene of a battle between British and colonial troops on April 19, 1775.
Janes is staying at the Intercontinental Hotel (pictured), which is near the Boston Tea Party Ships And Museum
Jane devours warm lobster tails at Smith & Wollensky Restaurant (above)
Just minutes from the green where the fighting took place and where seven of the first eight men killed by the British are buried, we settled into rocking chairs on the porch of the charismatic Inn at Hastings Park – a Relais & Chateaux property Enjoy more tea, chocolate-dipped strawberries, cannoli, blueberry scones and a selection of tempting sandwiches and cakes. Better yet, this tea is served early, from 11:30am, meaning we can consider it brunch.
In Boston, you have to leave room for lobster—I devoured warm lobster tails at Smith & Wollensky and a spicy lobster noodle at Contessa on the rooftop while gazing at the golden dome of the Massachusetts State House.
That was not always so. As Jeremiah tells us, in Puritan times you could be whipped, fined, and put in camps for eating lobster in public.
“To the Puritans it was a giant cockroach from the sea. 'Only the prisoners ate it.'
Luckily, you can now enjoy lobster rolls anywhere, anytime, including afternoon tea. They were featured at our favorite spot, One Dalton Street at the Four Seasons, with its beautifully made cakes and delicious sandwiches.
These treats were also accompanied by champagne, liqueur and of course lots of tea.
TRAVEL FACTS
Norse Atlantic flies from Gatwick from April to October from £380 return to Boston (flynorse.com). Double rooms at the Intercontinental Hotel cost from around £254 (ihg.com). Afternoon tea costs around £51 at the Boston Library, £52 at the Inn at Hastings Park and £79 at the Four Seasons One Dalton Street. More information at meetboston.com.