7 Aug 2015. Tea Party takes on Fox’s Megyn Kelly.

Histories of the tea party leave out its earliest beginnings which clearly demonstrate that it was, from the start, project of the Koch brothers (pronounced Coke). The earliest information is all from the Americans For Prosperity (AFP) website. AFP was started by David Koch  in 2004.

• Sept. 30, 2005. AFP reports that “people of Maine have taken to firing cannons and staging tea parties. “At the Windham … the thundering kickoff to the Second Great American Tea Party.” This refers to a page on the AFP website that explains what prompted this tea-party kickoff by referring to findings of the Tax Foundation, which is, in part, funded by the Koch brothers.
• Jan. 3, 2006. The AFP Texas blog, posts and an essay claiming “Well, Boston’s a long way off and environmental regulations will preclude tea dumping in the harbor. So, taxpayers, with the help of groups such as AFP, are going the metaphorical tea party route.” and concluding “But you know what does rock?A Tea party!
• Aug. 17, 2006. The AFP Texas blog reports on the Texas Taxpayer Tea Party Event August 16, 2007.
• Aug. 28, 2006.  From the AFP Texas Newsroom: Encourage all candidates to … [sign] AFP’s Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights (TABOR) pledge. //  Special message from Carol Jones: I will be saying goodbye to Americans for Prosperity on September 5th. … I have been associated with AFP Foundation for ten years. [This makes AFP older than previously reported.] What folks are saying about AFP:  Coryell Tea Party members would like to thank you and the other members of AFP for your hospitality at today’s rally. We found the food and refreshments to be first rate and the event to be well organized. Our group members were impressed by the speakers as well as the amount of information you put forth.
• The information above is documented in this PDF of AFP web pages.

What this and much more on the AFP web site makes clear is that David Koch’s AFP conceived and orchestrated the birth of the Tea Party. It also shows that the Tea Party did not grow out of Ron Paul’s January 16, 2007 fundraising tea-party events.