The global trade in tea involves equal parts agriculture, economics, myth, and mysticism.  In China, the original source of the crop, tea has acquired legendary status.  Most of the major tea-consuming cultures have ascribed mystical properties to tea and developed elaborate rituals around its consumption.  Tea has also prompted technological innovation and been the center of political upheaval.  Use the links below to learn more about tea, its uses, and some cultural attitudes toward it.

As you know China is the homeland of tea.  Take a look at this map of The Tea Producing Provinces Of China then read about the Chinese Legendary Origins of Tea.

Now consider some Important Events in the History of Tea.

One of those events was the beginning of tea-cultivation to India.  Learn more about this event by reading The Origins of Indian Tea.  What role did Britain play in the Indian tea industry?

China's immediate neighbors also developed a taste for tea.  For example, consider Tibetan Tea Culture (after reading "Source of Tea" click on "Ancient Road for Tea-Horse Trade" and read through each of the brief sections listed to the left).  Now read about Korea: The Other Tea Country.  How did tea come to these areas, and how did the Tibetans and Koreans develop their own unique tea traditions?

Japan developed what is surely the most famous (and misunderstood) tea ritual in the world.  The Japanese tea ceremony is generally associated with Zen Buddhism and the values of restraint, simplicity, and contemplativeness.  For a good example of this conventional understanding read Zen and Leaves: Japanese Tea Ceremony.  For an account that stresses other social values and needs read An Anthropological Perspective on the Japanese Tea Ceremony.  Finally, take a look at these images of implements designed for the tea ceremony: water jar, tea cups, and tea bowl.

Tea appeared in Europe in the early seventeenth century and quickly became an important commodity there.  To learn more about the rise of the tea trade in the West go to Tea's Arrival in Europe.

Between roughly 1820 and 1870 the tea trade between Asia and the West was dominated by the clipper ship.  Designed specifically for this trade, these sleek, many-sailed vessels could cover the vast distance between China and Western markets with astonishing speed.  Read more about The Age of Clippers, then consider the history of the Cutty Sark, one of the last and most famous of the great tea clippers.

Every American knows the basics of the Boston Tea party: a gang of disgruntled Bostonians, disguised as Indians, boarded a British merchant ship and dumped its cargo of tea into the harbor.  Like most historical events, this one is a bit more complicated than these basic facts  suggest.  Read The Boston Tea party and consider how economics and politics intertwined in this clash between an imperial power and its colonial subjects.