Stimulating Beverages: A Social History of Tea, Coffee, and Chocolate in Early New England

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How did tea, coffee, and chocolate become the popular drinks that we know today?   Brew a cup of your favorite beverage and join us for a virtual program about how Americans got hooked on these beverages, forever changing their tastes and habits.   

Sponsored by the Alden Kindred of America, the program will be presented by Amanda Lange, the Curatorial Department Director and Curator of Historic Interiors at Historic Deerfield, Inc.  

The American love affair with these new drinks was a direct result of international trade and commerce.  All were luxuries, valued for their medicinal powers but soon counted among the necessities of daily life.  Colonial Americans like the Aldens quickly developed a taste for these imported beverages.  The equipment and utensils used in their preparation became fashionable accessories, and treasured family heirlooms.     

 The Alden Kindred owns and operates Alden House Historic Site, part of the property granted to Mayflower Passengers John and Priscilla Mullins Alden and home to generations of their descendants.  Now a museum and designated a National Historic Landmark, it is located at 105 Alden Street, Duxbury.