23

Teamwork

Monkey musicians and a red parrot populate the interior of the Chinese tea house. On the steps of the exotic building a golden tea party has gathered for Sunday tea.
Since the 17th century East India trading companies brought tea and silk back to Europe. A joint use of both these wares was only invented in 1908 in the USA – and that only by mere chance. The tea merchant Sullivan packed his tea samples into small silk bags; his clients simply infused the tea complete with the bags. Thus, the tea bag was born. The fine, densely woven silk proved unsuitable since it hampered the important contact of water and tea. Sullivan then had bags mad from loosely woven cotton gauze that was also used to dress wounds. Still later, he used paper.