What kind of tea was destroyed at the Boston Tea Party?

With the tea having stirred up such a controversy in 1773, it would be interesting find out what kind of tea was actually used in the famous protest. The two approaches that could be used to answer this question may lead to different conclusions.

Britain’s oldest tea merchant Davison, Newman & Co., whose tea chests were destroyed in the 1773 tea party, still operates today. It markets a Boston Harbour Tea brand which is described is a fine blend of select Ceylon and Darjeeling teas from India. Tea connoisseurs have applauded its sweet aroma and brisk flavor for many years. You can order the Boston Harbor tea online for under $10 from the US distributor in West Concord, MA. So it is reasonably to assume that the same Indian tea was used in the Boston Tea Party as well.

But according to the information from the website of the Old South Meeting house museum in Boston, the tea that was thrown into the harbor during the Boston Tea Party may not have been from India at all. Because East India Tea company in fact conducted some business in China, mostly related to opium trade, it is possible that the tea was actually Chinese. The researches believe that the famous tea was the one called Bohea tea that came from Wiyi mountains in Jujian Province, China.