My individual research on The "Dangerous" Past of Tea

I was in 6th grade when I first went to a bubble tea shop. I felt confident, I didn’t even look at the menu, I had ordered Starbucks a million times at that point, and to an 11-year-old me, this was basically just Asian Starbucks. They asked me for my order and with the strength of a million white girls behind me, I proudly requested, “I would like a caramel macchiato and a cake pop.” The face of the barista was all too familiar. She wasn’t mad, just really disappointed. I had embarrassed myself- not because of the leopard-print suspenders I was wearing (those were in that year)- but because I had wrongfully assumed that the Starbucks formula was universal. When I eventually got my order, a plain milk tea with tapioca, I began to think. “Is this even tea?”

The University of California Press explains how the story of tea reveals “a history that presents peoples from Asia as radicalized subjects of” the US, “not as immigrants aspiring to become Americans. (2)” Examining the history of tea today can provide valuable insight into a long-standing history of violence against our community. So, let’s spill the tea and explore its history, its westernization and medicalization, and the implications of your morning routine’s favorite drug.

Now, you might be thinking? Drug? It can't be that serious, right? Well, the Harvard Gazette contends that caffeine is the world’s most popular psychoactive drug (3). In fact, over 160 million Americans drink tea each day. But if that doesn't reveal the reali-tea of this situation, let’s explore its origins and its effects.

An Unexpected Beginning to a New, Vibrant Commodity

First, the story of tea begins with Chinese emperor Shén Nóng in the year 2737 BC. After a leaf accidentally blew into his boiled drinking water, Nóng unknowingly discovered the powers of the Camellia Sinensis tree and created what we now know as tea. Now, this may sound unbelievable, but it only gets weirder. The miraculous effects of tea led to its incorporation into Traditional Chinese Medicine or TCM. And the West became obsessed, regarding it as a drink of luxury (6), due mainly to its relative scarcity. As the 17th century came to a close, tea was the hottest commodity on the global market, drawing attention from around the globe.

Especially in Britain, who transformed the global exchange of tea. Dr. Woodruff Smith explains, because of tea’s reputation in China as a drink for the aristocracy, Britain was sold (8). So, they thought, why not just get China addicted to something else? Trade offer, Britain gets tea with proven medicinal properties— China gets the Opium Crisis. Seems like a pretty chill trade to me. By the time the 1830s rolled around , the Chinese government was desperate to stop the trade to quell the country’s addiction, but the damage was done. For the first time in history, Britain had the tea trade in the palm of their hands. India, Britain’s shiny new colony, provided cheap labor and farmland to establish large tea plantations. As cheap tea flooded Britain during the 1700s, it was no longer a drink for the elite. Instead, the caffeine in tea created a “new kind of worker,”(9) with the energy required by the nation’s ever-expanding workforce. Though tea in China was a concoction to be used with caution, Britain transformed tea’s reputation from a medicinal to a cultural staple.

"Can't I just take Advil?"

My friend once had a migraine headache. I offered them a cup of Peppermint tea, which was proven to help quell this pain, but they brushed me off saying they needed “real medicine.” They then proceeded to down four Advils before declaring themselves cured. For decades, Americans have tried to draw a strict line between “real” science and herbal remedies. According to research by The University of Pennsylvania, Chinese teas were scientifically proven to have strong antioxidant, anticancer, anti-diabetic, and anti-obesity capabilities. Its utility is endless. Period cramps? Try Chamomile tea. Suffering from joint pain? Ginger tea can ease arthritis. Wanna be taller than 5’2? Well, good luck with that...because your parents dealt you terrible genetics (I'm 5'2). And yet these wonderful cures may seem too good to be true… because of people like self-made billionaire Kylie Jenner, who famously endorsed “detox tea,” a drink that promised to “rid your body of toxins” and to “get you that flat tummy you have always wanted.” In 2021, the Federal Trade Commission sued these companies for what they called, “total and absolute lies,” revealing that the only thing that detox tea drains is your bank account. Teas have medicinal properties that can help millions, but bad actors pervert this reality to line their own pockets.

The Capitalization of Tea

When you try to order tea, most coffee shops in America offer a chai-tea pre-mixed, mass-marketed milk water concentrate rebranded to fit white tastes. Although tea is the second most consumed beverage in America, this type of milk coffee accounts for about 80% of all tea consumed in American Households. Teenagers visit their local coffee shop at least once every day to indulge in sugary caffeinated milk water. Nurses and doctors depend on caffeine to perform well on the job. And we wonder why 75% of those who regularly consume caffeine are addicted to it. The name “tea” is simply another weapon that American companies use to encourage caffeine consumption. I hate to break it to you, Starbucks, but calling your drink the “Tea tea Milk Coffee” (Chai Tea Latte), is not helping your case. What, you want some creamer creamer with your coffee coffee? And to that point, putting tapioca pearls at the bottom of our coffee doesn't make it more Asian. We all consume “tea,” but very few of us actually consume tea. In the West, it appears the label is more important than the drink itself.

The Implications

Tea has a dangerous past, with far-reaching impacts that transcend centuries. However, there are two implications: the delegitimization of Asian medicine, and the pursuit of productivity.

1. Tea's Origins are Being Masked

First, Britain’s characterization of tea as a cultural staple, and rejection of its medicinal value, has contributed to the delegitimization of Asian medicine. Dr. Melinda Ratini found that Western medicine carries a notion of professionalism and validity; while alternative forms of medicine, like TCM, are viewed as illogical or even… “witchcraft? (10)” Health Affairs of April 2022 contends, delegitimizing cultural medical practices opens the door for racism, hate and bigotry to spread like wildfire (11). The COVID-19 pandemic has been a catalyst for weaponized hate against Asian Americans. Self-reported hate crimes rose 80% in just 10 months. Exotic Chinese eating habits, unhygienic wet markets, and pseudoscientific medicine were chastised by the West, as they believed that their health practices were the only acceptable practices. Because of their arrogance, so many are missing out on the herbal remedy.

2. The Dangerous Truth About Tea's Current Trajectory

Finally, tea’s integration into the workforce sheds light on the capitalistic priorities of the West. In September of 2022, Stanford University’s Vaden Health Services confirmed that caffeine is a stimulant drug, sharing the category with Adderall and Ritalin (12). And yet, nowadays, caffeine is accessible nearly everywhere at work. According to an online survey, 63 percent of U.S. respondents have a workplace brewing area (13). To meet unreasonable demands, we rely on highly-caffeinated teas to just get us through the day. But American companies have distorted our relationship with tea, into a normal part of workplace culture. We’ve been convinced that being worked to the point of addiction is normal. Tea - with all its medicinal uses and cultural importance - is now little more than a cog in a broken system.

This morning, many of us probably had a drink from Starbucks. And that’s fine! I still love my caramel macchiato and a cake pop as much as I did in 6th grade. But after exploring tea’s origin, its westernization and medicalization, and some implications, we now have a deeper understanding of how tea has evolved into something much bigger than a mere drink. Speaking of drinks, I’ll have a milk tea; half sugar, less ice.