Title: " Book Talk on Green with Milk & Sugar: When Japan Filled America’s Tea Cups "

Date: February 15, 2024 (Thu.) 11:00-12:40

Lecturer: Robert Hellyer (Professor of History Wake Forest University)

Venue: International Christian University, Honkan-315

Language: English

Today, Americans are some of the world’s biggest consumers of black teas; in Japan, green tea, especially sencha, is preferred. This talk will explain how these national partialities are deeply entwined. Tracing the trans-Pacific tea trade from the early nineteenth century onward, it will examine how interactions between Japan and the United States have influenced the daily tea habits of people in both countries.

In the nineteenth century, Americans favored green teas, which were imported from China until Japan developed an export industry centered on the United States. The influx of Japanese imports democratized green tea: Americans of all classes, particularly Midwesterners, made it their daily beverage—which they drank hot, often with milk and sugar. In the 1920s, socioeconomic trends and racial prejudices pushed Americans toward black teas from Ceylon and India. Facing a glut, Japanese merchants aggressively marketed sencha on their home and imperial markets, expanding consumption and transforming it into an icon of Japanese culture.