When Americans think of the beverage that fueled the American Revolution, they usually picture black tea — but it turns out that green tea was just as popular.

The Founding Fathers and their contemporaries drank both types of tea, Bruce Richardson, the Kentucky-based founder of Elmwood Inn Fine Teas, told Fox News Digital.

British subjects “were as likely to be drinking green tea as black tea, whether you were in Jane Austen [era] England … or you were in colonial Boston,” he added.

“There were five teas, all from China, because that was the only country that was exporting tea,” Richardson said. “And of those five different teas, two of them were green and three of them were black.”

Richardson, a tea historian who works as the tea master at the Boston Tea Party Ships & Museum, said the five types of tea dumped into Boston Harbor in protest of the Tea Act of 1773 included three black varieties — Bohea, Souchong and Congou — as well as the green teas Hyson and Singlo.

Bohea, the most common and least expensive black tea of the era, was often made from older tea leaves harvested after the highest-quality leaves of the season had already been picked.

Most of the tea dumped into Boston Harbor was Bohea, Richardson said — and it was so ubiquitous that he compared it to the way Kleenex has become synonymous with tissues today.

“It was so common that often teapots at the time, or some that I’ve seen, would say Bohea on the side of the teapot,” he said. “If they wanted tea, they’d say, ‘I’ll have a cup of Bohea.’ It was that common.”

Not only did colonial Americans distinguish between green and black tea, they even stored them differently.

“They still wanted their tea time, but they didn’t want to support the British government.”

“The well-to-do people would have a tea caddy – a wooden, beautifully made tea caddy to store their tea in,” he said.

“It was kept under lock and key. And in that tea caddy, [there] would be two compartments, one for green tea and one for black tea.”

Merchants often favored black tea because it held up better during the long voyage from China to Europe and onward to the American colonies, Richardson said.

“The green tea was what China had always drunk,” he said.

“And so they were exporting that as well, but they found that the black tea actually made the voyage better than the green teas.”

Even after many colonists swore off British tea, they kept the ritual of drinking it — or at least a close substitute.

Many patriots brewed so-called “Liberty Teas” made from ingredients such as dried apples, blueberries, chamomile and herbs grown in their gardens.

“They still wanted their tea time, but they didn’t want to support the British government,” Richardson said.

Britten partnered with the Massachusetts Port Authority (Massport) to bring an ambitious public-facing installation to life, celebrating Boston’s role in the global excitement surrounding the FIFA World Cup 2026. 

Massport envisioned a bold experiential marketing activation at Piers Park II in East Boston, centered around a Guinness World Record attempt for the world’s largest soccer ball. The nearly 50-foot structure needed to become a highly visible waterfront landmark while meeting strict engineering, safety, and verification requirements. The challenge extended far beyond fabrication. The installation needed to withstand unpredictable coastal conditions, operate safely in a public environment, and be completed on a fixed timeline tied to FIFA fan programming.  

Massport needed an experienced event production partner capable of transforming a large-scale concept into a fully engineered, installed, and record-breaking experience. Britten served as the central event fabrication partner, managing production coordination, logistics, and on-site execution from concept through completion. Working alongside Massport and engineering partners, Britten helped translate the creative vision into a buildable solution capable of meeting Guinness World Records standards. Every detail, from material selection and structural integrity to panel alignment and inflation systems, required precision to support a nearly 50-foot inflatable structure.  

After off-site fabrication, Britten coordinated transportation, staging, and installation at Piers Park II. The waterfront location introduced additional challenges, including wind exposure, tidal conditions, limited staging space, and public access. Britten oversaw anchoring systems, inflation sequencing, and installation operations to ensure the soccer ball was safely deployed and successfully verified. Through close collaboration with stakeholders, engineers, and Guinness World Records officials, Britten delivered a seamless execution where creative vision, engineering expertise, and experiential marketing came together.  

The completed installation achieved official Guinness World Records recognition as the world’s largest soccer ball, measuring approximately 47.9 feet in diameter. The record-breaking brand activation transformed Piers Park II into a must-visit destination along Boston’s waterfront, creating a memorable community experience connected to the FIFA World Cup. Visible across Boston Harbor and from approaching aircraft, the installation generated widespread attention and became a recognizable symbol of Boston’s tournament celebrations.