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Stimulating Beverages: The History of Tea, Coffee, Chocolate in Early America

Program Number: 16102RJ
Start and End Dates:
9/16/2013 - 9/19/2013;
Duration: 3 nights
Location: Deerfield, Massachusetts
Price starting at: $599.00 - Price may vary based on date, departure city
Program Type: History & Culture
Meals: 9; 3 Breakfasts, 3 Lunches, 3 Dinners    
Meal Options: Gluten Free; Vegetarian    

Nothing starts a day like a delicious cup of tea, coffee or hot chocolate! Hands-on demonstrations and expert lectures at Historic Deerfield highlight these drinks, considered exotic when introduced to 17th-century New Englanders. Curators discuss the natural history of the source plants, the preparation of the beverages and the distribution throughout New England. In the historic houses, explore objects used to prepare and serve the three stimulating beverages and their important social role in early American life.




Highlights

• Taste Colonial hot beverages in a historic New England village and discover contemporary flavors of chocolate
• Learn about the commitment to peaceful social change, environmental responsibility and sustainability of a coffee-industry entrepreneur.
• Knowledgeable experts present the origins, history, etiquette and culture of tea, coffee and chocolate.



Activity Particulars

Walking up to a quarter mile; some stairs. Historic buildings do not have ramps or elevators.




Date Specific Information

9-16-2013

Enjoy the latest in hearing technology — listening devices — on this date.



Coordinated by Historic Deerfield.




Deerfield

With a history encompassing both native inhabitants and European colonists, Deerfield offers a portrait of New England in its earliest days. This quintessential western Massachusetts village is surrounded by working farms and rolling cornfields, and its museum houses contain one of the best public collections of art and antiques in America.
Accommodations
Charming inn with individually decorated rooms with historical theme in the heart of Old Deerfield.

Road Scholar Instructors
These instructors are participating on at least one date of this program. Please note that changes may occur.
Joshua Lane
Curator of Furniture at Historic Deerfield, Joshua Lane earned his bachelor’s degree at Amherst College and master’s degree at Yale University. Before coming to Historic Deerfield, he taught courses in American history at Yale University and at Miami University of Ohio. Building on curatorial experience gained at the Stamford Historical Society, he oversees the furniture collection at Historic Deerfield.
 
Robert Heiss
Co-owner of Tea Trekker in Northampton and host of a weekly radio food show, Bob Heiss is an expert in the world of tea, coffee, and chocolate. Along with his wife Mary Lou, the two have traveled extensively to China to observe the production of traditional hand-processed tea during the spring tea harvest. Bob and Mary Lou published “The Story of Tea: A Cultural History and Drinking Guide,” for Ten Speed Press in Berkeley, California.
 
Dean Cycon
Dean Cycon is your go-to guy for the inside story of coffee and more. Owner of Dean’s Beans Organic Coffee Company, a 100-percent organic, fair trade and kosher coffee-roasting operation in Orange, Mass., Dean has spent more than 25 years of development and activism in indigenous communities — including coffee villages — around the world. He is a co-founder of non profit Coffee Kids and of Cooperative Coffees, the world’s first fair trade roaster’s cooperative.
 
Amanda Lange
Amanda Lange has been researching the history of chocolate in early America for more than ten years. She is a member of the Colonial Chocolate Society, a scholarly group of museum professionals, academics, and historians underwritten by the Mars Foundation. A graduate of Rice University and the Winterfhur Program at University of Delaway, she has been responsible at Historic Deerfield for opening the Museum's Attic, a study gallery filled with over 3,000 decorative arts objects.
 
Meals and Lodgings
   Deerfield Inn
  Deerfield, MA 3 nights
 Deerfield Inn
Type: Inn
  Description: The Deerfield Inn is an original historic inn that opened in 1884, located in the hearth of Old Deerfield founded in 1673, an idyllic village surrounded by tranquil life, working farms, the Deerfield River, rolling hills and history that dates back 10,000 years. It has been the home of the Pocumtuck Indian people who farmed the richest soil in America on the banks of the Deerfield and Connecticut Rivers and English colonists who came here in the 1600s. It is in the heart of Historic Deerfield, a museum complex of fourteen museum houses and the Flynt Center of Early New England Life. This area is known as a little piece of paradise and called the Happy Valley due to the fertile soil and clean water that produces an abundance of fruit, vegetables, fowl and fish that are taken avantage of in the Deerfield Inn's kitchen. The Deerfield Inn has an elegant Main Diningroom, Tavern area, cozy Beehive Parlor that will be home to Participants. The Deerfield Inn also has a gift area and is next store to the Museum Store. A post office, Deerfield Academy, Bement School and Eaglebrook School are all close by and provide a quaint New England educational atmosphere. Additional amenities include beautifully appointed guest rooms.
  Contact info: 81 Old Main Street
Deerfield, MA 01342 USA
phone: 800-926-3865 x4137745587
web: www.deerfieldinn.com
  Room amenities: Fine Inn amenities including television, fresh fruit, soap, shampoo, lotion and other personal items. Complimentary tea and cookies served on most afternoons.
  Facility amenities: All rooms are artfully decorated with well appointed Colonial decor and some antiques. The rooms are named for original English settlers of Deerfield. There are 3 rooms available with 2 beds and one room that a cot can be added. All other rooms have one bed - kings and queens. Two bed rooms will be given to unrelated roommates first. Beautiful grounds, fine dining room, casual cafe with seating inside and outside, Tavern Bar and Beehive Parlor which serves an old fashioned tea and cookies repast. Shorts walk on the street to museum houses and other fine buildings.
  Smoking allowed: No
  Elevators available: Yes
  Additional nights prior: $155.00-180.00/room/night Call 800-926-3865 to make reservations to come early or stay late. Special Road Scholar rate for extended stay, based on availability, will be 10% off the season market rate of $155.00-180.00, plus 11.7% MA tax and service chargedepending on the room.
  Check in time: 3:00 PM
  Additional nights after: $155.00-180.00/room/night Call 800-926-3865 to make reservations to come early or stay late. Special Road Scholar rate for extended stay, based on availability, will be 10% off the season market rate of $155.00-180.00, plus 11.7% MA tax and service chargedepending on the room.
  Check out time: 11:00 AM


Travel Details
  Start of Program:
5:30 p.m. at the inn. You will be staying at Deerfield Inn that night.
  End of Program:
11 a.m. at the inn. You will be staying at Deerfield Inn the night before.
  Required documents:
The Road Scholar Health & Safety Form is required.
  Parking availability:
There is abundant free parking at the Deerfield Inn and museum areas at Historic Deerfield.
Transportation
To Start of Program
  Location:  Deerfield, MA
  Nearest city or town:  Greenfield, MA
  Nearest highway: Interstate 91 and MA Route 2
  Nearest airport:  Bradley International Aiport Hartford/Springfield
  From End of Program
  Location: Deerfield, MA
    (Additional transportation information same as above)
Travel Details
 

Greenfield

 

From Bus Terminal

 
 

Service:

 

Taxi
ABC Cab
phone: 413-773-9062

 

Per Person/One Way:

 

$10.00
Prices are subject to change.
 

Travel Time:

 

10 minutes 
   

Peter Pan bus lines to Greenfield. For schedules and rates call: 800-237-8747 or visit the company website: www.peterpanbus.com/
 

Hartford

 

From Airport

 
 

Service:

 

Commercial Van/Shuttle
Cool Rides
phone: 413-218-9054
Advanced Reservations Required

 

Per Person/One Way:

 

~$100/ride (if two or more people ride is still ~$100)
Prices are subject to change.
 

Travel Time:

 

1.25 
   

Cool Rides offers door to door service with no other passanger pick ups or drop offs. Visit company website: www.coolridesnorthampton.com/index.htm
 

Hartford

 

From Airport

 
 

Service:

 

Commercial Van/Shuttle
Valley Transporter
phone: 800-872-8752
Advanced Reservations Required

 

Per Person/One Way:

 

~$65/person
Prices are subject to change.
 

Travel Time:

 

1.25 hours or more depending on # of other passengers 
   

Valley Transporter offers a shared ride shuttle. Reservations can be made online at valleytransporter.hudsonltd.net/res
 
Driving Directions
  Bradley Int'l Airport Hartford/Springfield Exit Airport, go north on 91 towards Springfield, stay on 91, past Holyoke, Northampton. From the airport about 55 to 60 minutes. Exit 24, turn right onto 5&10 North and follow signs for Historic Deerfield, about 6 miles. Car service available at the airport.
  From 1-91 exit 24 going north Deerfield Village is approximately 6 miles north on Route 5 & 10, when you see Richardson's Candy slow down, turn left at the Sunoco Station, go right about one half mile to the Deerfield Inn, heart of Historic Deerfield.
  From 1-91 exit 25 going sorth Deerfield Village is approximately 5 miles north on Route 5 & 10, when you see Richardson's Candy slow down, turn left at the Sunoco Station, go right about one half mile to the Deerfield Inn, heart of Historic Deerfield.
Equipment Requirements: Late summer dress-casual cool clothes. Sweater or jacket for air conditioned areas and cooler nights. Rain gear. Pen and notebook for lectures recommended.
The prices listed for commercial services and facilities that are not included in the program cost, such as airport shuttles or extra nights lodging, are subject to change without notice. Since Road Scholar cannot guarantee the accuracy of these prices, we strongly suggest contacting the companies directly for the most up-to-date information.


Daily Schedule

Day 1: Welcome/Orientation/ “Stimulating Beverages: Three Drinks that Changed the Way We Lived”
(Monday, September 16)

Note: This evening will set the stage for the week's activities. Meet your primary lecturer, Amanda Lange, Curator of Historic Interiors at Historic Deerfield, your group leader, and fellow participants. Hear a thought-provoking lecture about the three beverages that changed history - tea, coffee, and chocolate. Learn how the economics and the customs of the colonial times to the present day are profoundly affected by these "stimulating beverages."
   
 Arrive To: Welcome: Check in at the Deerfield Inn and complimentary tea and cookies at the Deerfield Inn’s Beehive Parlor.
 Afternoon: Meet your course instructor and fellow participants; review course schedule and logistics.
 Dinner: Diner at the Deerfield Inn.
 Evening: Introductory Lectureby Amanda Lange – Hall Tavern Orientation Theater
   
Accommodations: Deerfield Inn
Meals Included: Dinner

Day 2: “Tea: Why Americans Are Finally Embracing the World's Second-most Popular Beverage”/“Coffee: Evolution from Bean t o Cup” and “An Introduction to Tea Tables,” and Tea-leaf Reading
(Tuesday, September 17)

Note: Local entrepreneurs in the tea and coffee business will provide fascinating talks on the current business of tea and coffee and as well as illuminate details of the types of tea and coffee and regions where they plants are grown. The Historic Deerfield Curator of Furniture will wow participants with beautiful 18th-century antique tea tables - how they were made and how to identify the authentic antiques.
   
 Breakfast: Breakfast at the Deerfield Inn
 Morning: Morning lecture by Bob Heiss, owner of Cooks Shop Here, Northhampton, MA– Morning tour: "Hot Beverages in Context:" Room Studies with Master Guides (Ashley and Williams) or (Dwight and Wells-Thorn)
 Lunch: Lunch at the Deerfield Inn
 Afternoon: Afternoon lecture by Dean Cycon, owner Dean's Bean, an Organic Fair Trade Coffee Roaster based in Orange, MA, and Furniture Workshop by Josh Lane, Curator of Academic Programs and Curator of Furniture – Flynt Center of Early New England Life
 Dinner: Dinner at the Deerfield Inn. Theatrical consultations with Madame Tititana Tashkent, tea-leaf reader.
   
Accommodations: Deerfield Inn
Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Day 3: “Sweet Concoctions: The History of Chocolate in Early America”/“Hot Beverages: Preparing and Serving Tea, Coffee, and Chocolate in 18th-century Style”
(Wednesday, September 18)

Note: The fascinating history of chocolate will be described. The afternoon will include hand-on activities and demonstration of colonial preparation of chocolate and service of tea. Historic Deerfield guides will illuminate the objects related to tea, coffee, and chocolate in museum houses and the modern gallery, today and Tuesday.
   
 Breakfast: Breakfast at the Deerfield Inn
 Morning: Morning lecture by Amanda Lange – Hall Tavern Orientation Theater. Break (Coffee and Refreshments) & Time for the Shopping at the Museum Store and “Hot Beverages in Context,” Room Studies with Master Guides (Ashley and Williams) or (Dwight and Wells-Thorn)
 Lunch: Lunch at Deerfield Inn
 Afternoon: Hands on workshop by the Hearth Cooks – Hall Tavern North Kitchen and North Parlor
 Dinner: Dinner at the Deerfield Inn
   
Accommodations: Deerfield Inn
Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Day 4: Early Bird Tour of the Flynt Textile Gallery & “The Connoisseurship of Today's Chocolate,”/Farewell Lunch
(Thursday, September 19)

Note: Bob Heiss, owner of Cooks Shop Here in Northampton, MA, will lead participants in tasting of the highest quality estate chocolate. Bob provides an excellent introduction to tastings (of any kind) and brings very unique dark and milk chocolate samples to be tasted by all. The modern gallery of the museum will be open early for touring.
   
 Breakfast: Breakfast at Deerfield Inn
 Morning: Morning tasting workshop on “The Connoisseurship of Today's Chocolate,” with Bob Heiss, owner of the Cooks' Shop, Northampton, MA. Tour of Helen Geier Flynt Textile Gallery and Into the Woods furniture exhibit with a Master Guide.
 Lunch: Lunch at the Deerfield Inn.
   
Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch

Free Time Opportunities
  
  Deerfield, MA Side trips to Yankee Candle (candle museum), Magic Wings and museums in Amherst can be set up.
Some locations are free (Yankee Candle store) Museum admissions are not included.
  Visit campuses of Deerfield Academy and Bement School
Important information about your itinerary: Every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy and completeness of the information featured on this website. Itineraries are based on our best information at this time. Circumstances beyond our control may require us to adjust itineraries or other details. We regret any inconvenience this may cause and appreciate your understanding. Information will be sent to you from your Program Provider approximately three weeks prior to the program start date. The prices listed for commercial services and facilities that are not included in the program cost, such as airport shuttles or extra nights lodging, are subject to change without notice. Since Road Scholar cannot guarantee the accuracy of these prices, we strongly suggest contacting the companies directly for the most up-to-date information.

Suggested Reading List


"Tea Drinking in 18th-Century America: Its Etiquett and Equipage." United States National Museum Bulletin 225


Author: Rodris Roth


Description: Contributions from the Museum of History and Technology. Paper 14, pp. 1-30



"The Silver Chocolate Pots of Colonial Boston" in New England Silver & Silversmithing 1620-1815


Author: Gerald W.R. Ward


Description: Edited by Jeannine Falino and Gerald W.R. Ward. article: pp. 61-88



British Teapots and Tea Drinking, 1750-1850


Author: Robin Emerson


Chocolate: Histor, Culture, and Heritage


Author: Louis Evan Grivetti & Howard-Yana Shapiro


Chocolate: The Nature of Indulgence


Author: Ruth Lopez


Coffee, Tea, and Chocolate Wares in the Collection of the Seattle Art Museum


Author: Julie Emerson


Coffee: A Dark History


Author: Antony Wild


In Praise of Hot Liquors: The Study of Chocolate, Coffee, and Tea-Drinking 1600-1850


Author: Peter Brown


Javatrekker: Dispatches from the World of Fair Trade Coffee


Author: Dean Cycon


The Chocolate Tree: A Natural History of Cacao


Author: Allen M. Young


Description: Available through Historic Deerfield Museum Store.



The Coffee House: A Cultural History


Author: Markman Ellis


The Emperors of Chocolate: Inside the Secret World of Hershey and Mars


Author: Joel Glenn Brenner


Description: Available through the Historic Deerfield Museum Store.



The New Taste of Chocolate: A Cultural and Natural History of Cacao with Recipes


Author: Maricel Presilla


The Social Life of Coffee: The Emergence of the British Coffeehouse


Author: Brian Cowan


Description: Available through the Historic Deefield Museum store.



The Story of Tea: A Cultural History and Drinking Guide


Author: Mary Lou and Robert J. Heiss


Description: Available through the Historic Deerfield Museum Store.



The Tea Enthusiast's Handbook: A Guide to the World's Best Teas


Author: Mary Lou and Robert J. Heiss


The True History of Chocolate


Author: Sophie D. & Michael D. Coe


Uncommon Grounds: The History of Coffee and How it Transformed Our World


Author: Mark Pendergrast




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