We all know the story of the Sons of Liberty boarding the Eleanor, Dartmouth, and Beaver on December 16, 1773 and dumping their cargo of 45 tons of East India Company tea in to Boston Harbor. What you might not know is that this simple act of civil disobedience and the then decade old Nonimportation Agreements launched a series of similar “Tea Parties” in many other cities. One such event occured on October 25, 1774 when fifty one women in Edenton, NC, a small city on the Albermarle Sound, drew up resolves, declaring their intention to boycott English tea and English cloth and mailed the document to Parliment. In Boston, the men wore disquises (dressed as Indians) but the women of Edenton boldly signed their names. This bold demonstration of patriotism from the ladies of Edenton is know as teh Edenton Tea Party.
King George didn’t occupy Edenton. Parliment vastly underestimated the resolve of these bold ladies who then went on to create the means by which AMERICAN textiles would cloth the soldiers of North Carolina. English tea, long the staple of high society was surplanted by Dutch coffee. There are many ways to fight a war!
So what goes good with tea, well honey of course, so I made a mead. This mellow richly dark brew takes the long view as it ferments for nearly 2 months and it packs a wholop, just like those ladies of Edenton, NC.
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Recipe Specs
Batch Size (G): 6.1
Total Honey (lb): 20.000
Original Gravity (OG): 1.138 (°P): 31.7
Final Gravity (FG): 0.959 (°P): -10.9
Alcohol by Volume (ABV): 23.50 %
Brewers Bill
9.1 kg Honey
120 g Orange Pekoe Tea
Brew tea in 3 litre of water for 10 min. Decant to fementor.
Dissolve honey in 10 litre of water, bring to a boil. Cool to then add to fermentor.
Ferment at 16C until fermentation is complete (estimated 60 days). Bottle condition for at least 3 months before serving.
Michael Carver -- Historical Interpreter/Reenactor 