By Andrew Regan


As the capital of Massachusetts and the largest city in New England, Boston has long been regarded as one of the USA's premier cultural and historical cities. And whether or not you're a history buff, every tourist that visits Boston is made aware of its colonial history and its involvement in the American Revolutionary War. But why not make this historical aspect the focus of your city break in Boston? By exploring the city's main revolutionary sights, you'll definitely be able to get a more authentic feel for America's legacy of independence.

Start your journey at Boston Harbor, the site of the Boston Tea Party. The Boston Tea Party saw the American colonists destroy many crates of tea bricks on ships owned by the British East India Company in Boston Harbor, on December 16th 1773. The incident is widely held up by historians as a main trigger of the American Revolution; but one of its more immediate effects was in bringing about the Boston Port Act, which shut down the port until the East India Company was compensated for its loss.

Today, Boston Harbor has been transformed from a bustling commercial port to a leading ferry and leisure area of the city. You'll also be able to visit the Boston Tea Party Museum, located on the Fort Point Channel, which houses a full-scale replica of one of the ships involved in the event. Additionally, Boston Harbor is surrounded by a number of islands, many of which are part of the Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area.

Once you've visited Boston Harbour, take a trip down the Freedom Trail. Marked by a red brick path that runs through downtown Boston, the Freedom Trail takes visitors to sixteen significant historical sites in the city. These include some of Boston's best-known monuments to the American Revolutionary War such as the Bunker Hill Monument, which was erected to commemorate the Battle of Bunker Hill, one of the Revolution's most famous battles.

Paul Revere House is also part of Boston's Freedom Trail, and is the colonial home of the legendary Paul Revere. Revere is famous for his "midnight ride", in which he played the role of a messenger in the battles of Lexington and Concord before serving as an officer during the Revolutionary War, and his home is one of Boston's most visited monuments to the heroes of the American Revolution.

The compact nature of Boston city centre means that you'll be able to find many places to stay in downtown Boston that are just a stone's throw away from its main sights. For instance, locate a hotel in Boston that's in the heart of its historic district and you'll be able to see all of Boston's revolutionary heritage monuments in one weekend - so you won't even have to take a long vacation in order to pay homage to the city that played a crucial role in laying down the foundations of the modern United States.

Andrew Regan is a freelance online journalist

By Vivek Kuriyal

A place where almost everyone surprises you by calling you with your name even you come across them after days. A city which is famous for a historic incident! “Boston Tea Party” if you can recall from your history book. A destination which offers a lot in terms of modern and old heritages, Boston invites tourists from every corner of the world. The highly acclaimed television serial “Cheers” shot in the Bull & Finch Pub also brought fame to this place.

Boston Tea Party ended up giving rise to the first Continental Congress. You also come to know how the murder of five British colonists geared up the American Revolution if you explore the history of this city. Many world renowned literary legends came from Boston and its surrounding areas. Some of the names you can easily recognize: Herman Mellville, Herman Mellville and Ralph Waldo Emerson. One unique fact about the city is that it has a considerably large number of youngsters who grace the city’s bars every night. Boston Hotels welcome their guest with great hospitality.

Known as the “Bean town at the harbor” Boston is the favorite place of people who want to please their taste buds with fish and beans. For most of the tourists Boston largely resembles London. And this is not false when it comes to history and grace of the city. More than 60,000 inhabitants occupy the land of Boston which is eccentric, modern, fashionable and highly cosmopolitan. You find all sorts of modern amenities like shopping arcades, cinemas, theatres and a thrilling nightlife. Just cross the river and you come across the Harvard University at Cambridge. The capital of the state of Massachusetts, Boston comprises of several tourist spots such as capitol building with its famous gold dome.

http://stayresusa.com/hotels-in-boston.html

by Lisa Halvorsen

Although Boston's famous Freedom Trail has been a popular "Beantown" attraction since 1958, this past April a new type of tour debuted to inform visitors about the trail's many historic sites. The Freedom Trail Foundation has developed an Antenna Audio Tour that combines state-of-the-art technology with colorful commentary. Massachusetts personalities describe each of the 16 stops--Old North Church, Paul Revere's house, and the Old State House, among others--along the 2.5- mile trail, as well as spin intriguing tales about people, places, and events in Boston, including the 1950 Brinks Robbery and the Great Molasses Flood.

As an alternative to the walking tour, groups of 20 or more can book the Theater-on-Wheels, a brand-new mini coach tour of movie and TV sites that shows film clips and provides narrative on featured sites in the greater Boston area. Tours range from three hours to a full day. Groups can customize their tour by arranging for lunch, dinner, or drinks at a movie hot spot or by adding on the Fenway Tour, a behind-the scenes look at the Red Sox' home field with commentary on Field of Dreams, Fever Pitch, and other movies and TV shows filmed at the baseball stadium.

Boston By Boat recently began offering weekend ferry service from the Charlestown Shipyard, home of the USS Constitution (free tours Tuesday through Sunday), to South Boston's Seaport District with stops at key points along the waterfront including Lewis Point (Old North Church) and Christopher Columbus Park (Faneuil Hall, Quincy Market, and New England Aquarium). For $10 your group can hop on and off all day. (One-way trips are $6.) Your ticket also is good for discounts on food and other purchases at designated restaurants, shops, and attractions.

The Boston Tea Party Ship and Museum, which was severely damaged by fire in 2001, is scheduled to reopen in summer 2006 after an extensive $13 million renovation. The new interpretive center will have twice the exhibit space with many new displays, living history programs, and videos about the Boston Tea Party. The showpiece of the renovated museum will be the Robinson Half Chest, named after the 15-year-old patriot who retrieved it from the water. It was acquired in January from a private collector and is one of only two known surviving tea chests from the Boston Tea Party.

Get more information at Leisuregrouptravel.com and Grouptravedirectory.com

by Rosanne O'Malley


The History of Tea: Ten Major Facts

For thousands of years, in many different countries, people have been drinking tea. This drink and the manner in which it is prepared has been the focus of rituals, the basis for social conventions and even the catalyst for a revolution. Today, tea is the second most popular beverage in the world after water. How tea became so important to the world's various societies is a fascinating but lengthy story. In brief, however, the history of tea can be condensed to ten major facts.

1. According to myth, the use of tea by humans started over 5,000 years ago in China. One day, the Emperor Shen Nung, a renowned scientist and herbalist, was traveling to a distant realm when he and his courtiers stopped to rest. As his servants were boiling their drinking water, leaves from a nearby bush fell into the pot. The emperor, his curiosity piqued by the resulting brown brew, tasted it and found it to be very refreshing.

2. Prior to 1000 BC, tea was used in China for medicinal purposes. Around the time of the Tang Dynasty, people began to drink tea for pleasure.

3. In 800 AD, Lu Yu wrote the Ch'a Ching, the first definitive book concerning the growth and processing of tea leaves and the best manner in which to prepare them for drinking.

4. Tea was brought to Japan by a Buddhist monk and was originally used in religious ceremonies. It became the drink of the royal class when Emperor Saga encouraged the cultivation of the tea plant.

5. The Japanese Tea Ceremony developed over several centuries under the influence of Zen Buddhist monks. By the sixteenth century, the "Way of the Tea" as it is known today was established.

6. The first European to personally taste tea was the Portuguese Jesuit missionary, Father Jasper de Cruz in 1560.

7. Tea use spread throughout Europe, initially among the French, the Dutch and the Russian. Charles II's queen consort, the Portuguese Princess Catherine de Branganca, introduced the drink to England around 1650.

8. Peter Stuyvesant and the Dutch settler's of New Amsterdam colony introduced tea to America also around 1650. The English who later took over what came to be New York found the Dutch settlers there at the time drank more tea than all of England.

9. As every American school aged child know, the actions that took place during Boston Tea Party in 1773 were a major catalyst of the American Revolution. Revolutionaries dumped shiploads of tea into Boston Harbor in protest over England's taxing policies.

10. Anna, the Duchess of Bedford was credited with having developed the afternoon tea sometime during the early nineteenth century. Having experienced a "sinking feeling" in late afternoon, the duchess ordered her servants at Belvoir Castle to serve an additional meal around 5:00 p.m., to which she invited her friends. The custom became so popular that she continued holding afternoon teas on her return to London. Soon, other social hostesses adopted the practice.

by Lee Dobbins


In history class, we learned a great deal about the history of America. The Boston Tea Party was one major turning point that defined America as we know it today. We are strong, defiant, capable, and know what is fair and just. The British were looking for some way to recover some of the money they had lost during the war between the French and Indians some ten years earlier. In the years just prior to the Boston Tea Party, the crown had created numerous attempts to gain back control of the governments.

It started with the 1765 Stamp Act, the 1767 Townsend Acts, the 1770 Boston Massacre, and culminated with the 1773 Tea Tax. Because colonists took a stand and refused to pay any taxes, the Parliament was forced to retract all taxes and so they did, except one. You guessed it they left the Tea Tax. This was nothing more than a mere demonstration of the rights and ability Parliament felt they had to impose taxes.

It was in May of the year 1773, Parliament decided to implement a tricky little plan. An Indian Company that was struggling was given the full task of American tea importation. They then placed a reduction on the tea tax. This mean that all Americans, who absolutely loved their tea, would pay a much cheaper price for the tea. The problem for colonists; however, was the fact that while it may be cheaper, they would still be giving into Parliament and recognizing their taxes.

Parliament, who had assumed that the Americans would pay the taxes instead of giving up their tea, was in for a big surprise. A Boston Tea Party surprise. The Colonists were ready to fight, or more appropriately boycott the tea. In both New York and Philadelphia, the ships carrying the tea were not allowed to dock. However, in Charleston, they allowed the ships to dock and remove the tea; however, the tea was placed in storage for three years. The patriots sold this tea, three years later, in efforts of financing the American Revolution.

On a winter day in December of 1773, three ships arrived in Bostons ports. They attempted peaceful denial of the cargo on the dock ships, simply refusing to pay the taxes. However, when a refusal to leave met their refusal to pay, anger flared. Later in that same evening, two hundred Indian disguised men, marched to the ships. The Boston Tea Party ensued and subsequently dumped three hundred and forty two tea crates into the Boston Harbor.

The Boston Tea Party and subsequent events were ultimately responsible for the eventual American Revolution.

by Fruzsina Csery


Tea consumption became part of the way of life and culture in America, too. Though North America has only one tea plantation, about 20 miles west of Charleston in South Carolina. In England it is much more fashionable than coffee.

All tea comes from the same plant - Camellia sinensis - an evergreen, tropical plant that originally grows in China and India.

Like wine, variations in tastes and characteristics are depend on the type of soil, cultivar selection, altitude, and climate conditions where the plants are grown. Different types processing also affect the taste, as does the addition of essential oils or fragnant herbal additives. Camellia sinensis likes a deep, light, acidic and well-drained soil.

There are many supposed references to tea in the centuries before Christ, even Confucius allegedly referred to tea in one of his books.

According Chinese mythology, tea was 'discovered' by a Chinese emperor, Shen Nung. Four thousand years ago, on his way to a distant region of his empire he stopped to rest. Dried leaves from a nearby tea bush fell into the water that his servants were boiling for drinking. And when he drank some, he found it very refreshing and delicious. So the first cup of tea was an accident.

The tea consumption spread throughout the Chinese culture. The first book on tea 'Ch'a Ching' was written by the Chinese author Lu Yu. The three- volume book covered tea growing, processing, drinking and history.

The book inspired Zen Buddhist priests to create the Japanese tea ceremony, the cha-no-yu. It was in the 6th century. That's why tea in Japan has always been associated with Zen Buddhism. Tea drinking influenced the whole culture, for example architecture: a separate tea-room is constructed in Japanese homes so that one enters on your knees to show humility.

It was the Portuguese traders who first imported tea to Europe, later it was transported to France, Holland, and the Baltic countries.

Tea is relatively late appeared in England in the mid 17th century, but quickly became popular. King Charles II and his Portuguese bride were tea-drinkers and they brought tea tradition to England. In the beginning, it was very expensive. The first tea is sold as a health drink in London, at Garway's Coffee House. Slowly, the price fell and tea became available to the public.

Peter Stuyvesant brought the first tea to the United States in the settlement of New Amsterdam (later renamed New York by the English). The British government put very high taxes on it. The colonists couldn't do anything about these taxes, because there were no colonists in the government in England. The Americans became very angry about this and in 1775 attacked a boat carrying a lot of tea and dumped 342 chests full of tea into the harbour at Boston, Massachusetts. That was the Boston Tea Party. In England, tea became popular first among the rich. They had parties and picnics, visited each other, and afternoon tea soon became a habit.

Two distinct forms of services evolved: 'High' and 'Low'. 'Low Tea' was served in aristocratic homes of the wealthy and featured gourmet tidbits rather than solid meals. The emphasis was on presentation and conversation. Conversely, 'High Tea' was the major meal of the middle and lower classes and consisted of mostly full dinner.

Nowadays, maybe the most popular tea is the English Breakfast Tea. It is a fine black tea, which often includes Keemun, is blended with milk or lemon (but never together).

The Irish drink their Irish Breakfast Tea, it is very strong, usually served in the morning, except for the Irish, who are known to drink it all day. It is served with lots of sugar and milk.

Earl Grey is named after a prime minister. It is a smoky tea with a hint of sweetness and is served plain.

Black Teas and Oolong Darjeeling refers to tea grown in this mountain area of India. Oolong is a mixture of green and black teas. This elegant tea is sometimes called the champagne of teas. It has got fruity taste. Darjeeling has a flavor that reminds muscatel. Mustn't be taken with milk.

Green Tea is a strong herbal tea. Its use as a healthy tea is growing in popularity. Green Tea is also part of the Japanese tea service.

And finally, 'burgundy of teas', the Chinese Keemun Tea, a mellow, wine-like tea, never used with lemon.

by Marcus Stout


The market for loose leaf tea in the United States is growing strongly as tea drinkers from all walks of life rediscover the taste, health benefits and value of loose leaf tea.

But one must ask the question: why is loose leaf tea less popular in the United States than in the rest of the world? The answer lies in the combination of the political and economic history of our country and the presence of the low quality tea bag.

The Colonies Reject Loose Leaf Tea

Although tea drinking originated in China, consumption of tea based on good taste, health benefits and the sense of well being one achieved by tea drinking spread to the western world. The American colonies embraced the habit of tea drinking after tea was introduced by Dutch traders in the 17th and 18th centuries and became one of the largest tea drinking regions in the world on a per capita basis. Colony consumption of tea dwarfed that of the parent country England.

The French and Indian War, or Seven Years War, after which the British ruled supreme in most of North America, represented the decisive turning point in British-colonial relations however. The Treaty of Paris in 1763 ratified Britain's undisputed control of the seas and shipping trade, as well as its sovereignty over much of the North American continent east of the Mississippi River (including French Canada).

But the British expected the Colonies to pay for the war (the British borrowed heavily from European Bankers to finance the war) and this fact planted the seeds of rebellion.

During the years leading up to the American Revolution, Britain, through a policy of salutary neglect, had allowed the colonies by default the right to manage their own affairs. The subsequent efforts on the part of royal officials to rectify this deficiency and collect unprecedented amounts of revenue violated what many American colonists understood as the clear precedent of more than a century of colonial-imperial relations.

New world institutions of self-government and trade, having matured in an age of salutary neglect, would resist and ultimately rebel against perceived British encroachment. Taxation policy became a central point of contention, because it tended to threaten both the prosperity and autonomy of colonial society.

Between the Seven Years War and the Revolution the British enacted a series of heavy handed taxation and other policies that attempted to raise revenue and regain control over the wayward colonies. Many of the acts focused on tea and the result was revolution. On the night of December 16, 1773 Massachusetts Patriots disguised as Indians illegally boarded the Dartmouth, a cargo ship bearing 342 chests of East India Tea valued at about £10,000. In defiance of Governor Thomas Hutchinson and British tax authority in general, the intruders dumped the entire shipment into Boston Harbor, precipitating a crisis that would lead to revolution.

The Boston Tea Party was an act of uprising in which Boston residents destroyed crates of British tea in 1773, in protest against British tea and taxation policy. Prior to the Boston Tea Party, residents of Britain's North American 13 colonies drank far more tea than coffee. In Britain, coffee was more popular. After the protests against the various taxes, British Colonists stopped drinking tea as an act of patriotism. Drinking of loose leaf tea in the United States is only now recovering.

Replaced by coffee and the convenient tea bag, consumption of loose leaf tea would remain dormant until the start of the 21st Century.

Enter the Tea Bag

During World War II, tea was rationed. In 1953 (after rationing in the UK ended), Tetley launched the tea bag to the UK and it was an immediate success. The convenience of the tea bag revolutionized how Britons drank their tea and the traditional tea pot gave way to making tea in a cup using a tea bag. The success of the tea bag accelerated in the United States as well and soon came to dominate the tea drinking market.

In a tea bag, tea leaves are packed into a small (usually paper) tea bag. It is easy and convenient, making tea bags popular for many people today. However, the tea used in tea bags has an industry name, called "fannings" or "dust" and is the waste product produced from the sorting of higher quality loose leaf tea.

What is Good About the Tea Bag?

About the only thing good about the tea bag is the convenience factor. In the past, many Americans were willing to sacrifice taste and quality for convenience. This trend is now changing.

It is commonly held among tea drinking experts that the tea bag provides an inferior taste and tea drinking experience. The paper used for the bag can also be tasted, which can detract from the tea's flavor. Because fannings and dust are a lower quality of the tea to begin with, the tea found in tea bags is more tolerant when it comes to brewing time and temperature. But the taste suffers in quality.

The main difference between loose teas and bagged teas is the size and quality of the leaves . Tea leaves contain chemicals and essential oils, which are the basis for the wonderful flavor of tea. When the tea leaves are broken up, those oils can evaporate, leaving a dull and tasteless tea as well as losing many of the health benefits of loose leaf tea. There is also the space factor. Tea leaves need space to swell, expand and unfurl. Good water circulation around the leaves is important, which doesn't typically happen in a tea bag.

Loose leaf tea comes in greater variety than bagged tea when one considers the multitude of blends and flavors that are loose leaf tea offerings. There is at least one or more tea blends for the palette of any individual tea drinker.

Additional reasons why bag tea is considered lower quality include:

* Dried tea loses its flavor quickly on exposure to air. Most bag teas contain leaves broken into small pieces; the great surface area to volume ratio of the leaves in tea bags exposes them to more air, and results in stale tea.

* Loose tea leaves are likely to be full formed and larger and are robust for multiple infusion of the leaves. This results in a lower cost per cup.

* Breaking up the leaves for bags disperses flavored oils and other oils that support health benefits.

* The small size of the bag does not allow leaves to diffuse and steep properly.

The Reemerge of Loose Leaf Tea

Every day more tea drinkers are realizing the benefits of loose leaf tea: high quality, fresh taste, better health and well being and greater variety offered. As a result the popularity of loose leaf has grown tremendously among discriminating tea drinkers. Loose leaf tea is now enjoyed by millions of tea drinkers throughout the United States who are looking for a beverage that offers significant health benefits combined with good tasting varieties and a low cost per cup.

Is Loose Leaf Tea Expensive?

The answer is no because high quality loose leaf tea can support multiple infusions. Many tea drinkers look at the cost per tin of loose leaf tea and conclude it is expensive. However when viewed on a cost per cup, loose leaf tea is as economical as bagged tea and you receive higher quality tea. Much of the cost for bagged tea is a result of the bagging process and the packaging of the bags.

What About Storage?

Tea in bags has a shorter shelf life than loose leaf tea because the fannings in bagged tea tend to dry out faster.

Loose leaf tea has a longer shelf-life that varies with storage conditions and type of tea. Black tea for example has a longer shelf-life than green tea but all loose leaf tea, properly stored, will maintain freshness for a long time. Tea stays freshest when stored in a dry, cool, dark place in an air-tight container. Black tea stored in a bag inside a sealed opaque canister may keep for two years.

So, join the loose leaf tea drinking revolution for good taste, health and well being. It is something that even the British Empire can not stop!