It’s believed that the first shipment of tea to the United States arrived in New Amsterdam (now New York City) about 1650. At the time, tea cost somewhere around $30 to $50 per pound - a high price indeed. To make the most of the expensive beverage, in addition to its making a refreshing drink, used leaves were sometimes salted and eaten with butter. Tea traveled with the pioneers who explored and settled our vast land. No wagon train or sailing ship headed from the East Coast to the West left without a good supply of tea on board. Then, as now, it was the drink for people who needed a drink that relaxed and refreshed. Today the United States is the second-largest consumer of tea in the world, second only to Great Britain. We are the only country that prepares large quantities of teas using three different types: loose, tea bags, and instant.

Federal soldiers were encouraged that "If you have any tea left, do not throw it away. Fill your canteens with it. It is infinitely more refreshing than almost any other drink upon a hot, weary march. If, instead of filling your canteen with fresh water, you would boil it in the morning, before starting, with enough tea to flavor it and keeping it from becoming insipid when warmed by the sun, it would be a thousand times more healthy, and the best prevention of dysentery. Water which has been boiled is freed from the bad effects it frequently has. The southern people boil their lemonade, and then allow it to cool before using it. Learn from your enemies how to protect yourselves in their climate."

Dandelion tea was used as a substitute for tea when the noose of the blockade became too tight to allow imported goods through. Use only the roots of the dandelion, being sure to wash and clean them thoroughly. Dry the roots at a temperature not exceeding 100°, whether sun-dried or oven-dried. When the roots are dried, simply chop, dry, and grind the roots to make dandelion tea, once used as both a beverage and a "liver tonic".

SOUTHERN CONFEDERACY
ATLANTA, GA
July 16, 1862, p. 1, c. 3
For the Confederacy.
Tea.

Atlanta, Ga., July 14, 1862.
Messrs. Editors:

I see that Green Tea is selling at $8 per pound. We, in the Confederate States, have a superior article--one that surpasses the best quality of Green Tea. The common Blackberry leaves dried in the shade and made into tea, make a better, stronger and sweeter flavored tea than the best quality of green. Please give this to the public and oblige.

Thomas G. W. Crussell.

SOUTHERN CONFEDERACY
ATLANTA, GA
October 16, 1862, p. 3, c. 1
For the Confederacy.
Delicious Tea!

Ladies, gather your Raspberry leaves, and you will have the finest substitute for Hyson Tea in the world - and when you can't get Raspberries - take the Blackberry - it will do. I have tried it. You have yet several days before frost to gather them - see to it! - Tea is $12 a pound - save your money!

Signed, R.

Blackberry Tea
Pick the blackberry leaves and dry them. When you want to make tea, just crumble a couple of teaspoons of leaves to one cup of boiling water. Steep for five to ten minutes, and you have blackberry tea.

The berries can be made into blackberry cordial which was a period remedy used for dysentery. In reading the lists from boxes sent to soldiers, blackberry cordial was usually included. One recipe for blackberry cordial is from Domestic Cookery and Useful Receipts by Elizabeth Lea, published in 1853 by Cushings and Bailey of Baltimore.

Blackberry Cordial
Mash and strain the blackberries; put the juice on to boil in a brass or bell-metal kettle [you can use a glass or enameled pot]; skim it well, and to each gallon of juice put three pounds of sugar and a quart of spirits [brandy is often used for this purpose]; bruise some cloves and put in. This is valuable as a medicine for children in summer.

This is only one recipe that I have found, but the others are similar. I have made it, and in small doses it is very good and warming in cold weather. Beware that you don't drink too much since it was used for its binding qualities.