From ancient to modern times around the globe, tea drinkers have practiced distinctive “tea rituals.” Elaborate routines accompanying tea drinking followed colonists from Europe to America – making the rejection of tea in the face of unwanted taxes all the more consequential. Modern day tea rituals may not follow the strict guidelines of a ceremony, but they still provide us with a sense of structure, comfort, and familiarity. Learn from tea traveler, researcher and writer Katrina Munichiello about some of the colorful tea rituals in Boston’s history. We’ll see that while the details may have changed, the spirit of tea rituals has remained the same. Image: Michel-Barthélémy Ollivier [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
Katrina Ávila Munichiello has been the editor of EXPLORE GBH since 2023. For the past fifteen years, she has worked as a writer, editor, fact checker, and proofreader for organizations including F+W Media, World Tea News, Dotdash Meredith, and America’s Test Kitchen. Her writing has appeared in publications such as Yankee Magazine, Boston Globe Sunday Magazine, and Tea Magazine. In 2011, her first book, A Tea Reader: Living Life One Cup at a Time, was released by Tuttle Publishing. Her favorite hobbies are reading, supporting local theater, volunteering for local youth organizations, and watching every MASTERPIECE program available.