Two of the five Chinese teas aboard the three ships docked in Boston Harbor in December 1773 were green teas: hyson and singlo. The better of the two was singlo. Here is the tally of chests of singlo green tea for each ship:
Beaver – Singlo (1st Sort) – 20 chests containing 1,637 lbs. at 2s8d
Dartmouth – Singlo (1st Sort) – 20 chests containing 1,596 lbs. at 2s8d
Eleanor – Singlo (Hyson Skins) – 20 chests containing 1,389 lbs. at 3s
This shipment of singlo might have been the first to the colonies via the British East India Company. The Company paid a good price for it in Canton and, because green tea had a shorter shelf life than black tea, it’s quality was fading fast as it piled up in London warehouses.
Upon arrival in London’s Docklands, teas from China were unpacked, inspected, and repacked. Tea was sometimes moldy or damaged by water during the nearly yearlong voyage from Canton. Best singlo was packed into smaller half-chests chests because merchants bought tea by the chest. This helped equalize the cost of a chest of good green tea versus a large chest of cheaper bohea. Plus, singlo leaves were slightly curled and they would not have been pressed down in the chests by the feet of workers in the Canton warehouses. Black teas were always packed tightly into chests.
The best green tea originated from the Sunglo Mountains (present day Anhui Province). This tea was called Singlo – an Anglicization of Sunglo. Due to demand, Sunglo mountain bushes were eventually propagated in lower elevation gardens. The leaves were made into tea known as Hyson. For many years, Singlo meant mountain tea and Hyson meant garden tea.
According to Cow Mow, one of the oldest Chinese traders associated with the East India Company,
“Tea has been known from time immemorial. There is a mountain called Singlo mountain. Tea was originally produced here, so that the tea planted in other places was called Singlo Tea, also hill tea. That which is called Yuen or garden tea is the Singlo tea planted in gardens. This custom prevailed so far back as the dynasty of Sung (960-1278). Hyson tea was formerly called garden tea, and was first cultivated in the towns of Hieu Ning and Moo Yuen. In the reign of Can Hee (1661-1722) a man used for his sign the two characters Hee Chun, or Hyson. Shortly after all garden tea was called Hee Chun of Hyson.
Following the rolling of the green tea, the leaves are hand sorted by women with the best leaves set aside as Singlo skins. The second grade being Singlo. The large closely twisted leaves form the Hyson teas. The large open and knobby leaves form the superior Hyson skin teas.”
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