Gunpowder, Aloe Vera and Peppercorns

Gunpowder Tea creating Fireworks

Gunpowder tea is green whole leaves rolled tightly into pellets that look like gunpowder shot.  This was done to preserve its freshness during the long voyages on East India Company Ships.  Gunpowder tea was thrown from Company ships during the Boston Tea Party, and this event is thought to have contributed to America being dominated by coffee consumption rather than tea, which was more popular at the time.

Aloe Vera and the Health Trade

Many modern health products were first introduced by the Company.  These include Aloe Vera from the island of Socrata.  Royal Jelly and Ginseng also came to England through The Company’s Chinese trade at Canton. Ginseng originally grew wild in Manchuria and Korea and was highly prized, although rare.

From Small Peppercorns

Pepper and its trade is at the heart of the formation of The East India Company.  The Pepper trade was dominated by the Dutch and by 1598, pepper prices had trebled and therefore there was no commercial reason for the British to avoid going East.  Initially not to India, but to the Island of Sumatra to trade for spices.  This was the driving factor for Queen Elizabeth I to lend her seal of approval in the formation of The East India Company.