Thé ou Café

Thé ou Café

Coming from a tea drinking country, it is surprising how widespread having coffee is in the US. It is amusing to see everyone walking around with Starbucks or DD coffee in hand.  It is not a fashion statement, it is more like a must do thing, like in Chennai people make a chalk rangoli design in front of their house, or like in France, people go out in the morning to have a Baguette.  In the same way, in the US people walk around with a coffee in their hands.  I always wonder in fact if having breakfast is synonymous to having coffee… Coffee seems to even dictate the language and daily lingo.  Meeting someone for a short here is ‘let’s have coffee’, even if it means not really having coffee, but just talking.  When you meet someone for the same purpose in my country we say meeting over tea. 

So here am I a tea addict… in a coffee country… how did that happen?

We are who we are today largely because of our past, our roots and our history. We, in Mauritius drink tea because we have been under heavy British influence over close to two centuries.  And the Americans drink coffee also because of the British…

I stumbled in the state house’s specials collection library upon a letter by Colonel Barre dating from May 12, 1774, addressed to the Bostonian Gentlemen, which provides the explanation of how the British helped shape the mornings of my American friends.

Here is what the letter states:

By the last advices from London we learn that an Act has been passed by the British Parliament for blocking up the Harbour of Boston with a fleet of ships of war and preventing the entrance in, or exportation of all sorts of merchandize on penalty of forfeiture of the goods and the vessels which carry the; And not only the goods and vessels are to be forfeited but the very wharfinger who shall assist in lading or discharging such groups or merchandize shall forfeit treble their value at their highest price together with his cattle, horses, carriages, implements whatsoever made use of in lading- And under these `grievous and unheard impositions are we to remain till his majesty in council shall be certified by the governor or lieutenant governor that a full obedience is yielded to the laws of a British Parliament & Revenue duly collected and also that the East India Co have received full satisfaction for their teas…

That was perhaps the cup of tea that paved the way to the Tall Dark Latte or the Venti Red Eye… The US seems to have broken away from its umbilical tea cord from then on.

On this let’s have tea… opps sorry, I meant coffee… I have crossed the ocean to Coffee land after all!