Tea began in China and, over nearly two thousand years, went from medicine to drink and spread worldwide. This module starts with an interactive timeline.
In this chapter
The Origin & Global Spread of Tea
Tea began in China — first as a medicine. Separating legend from history reveals how, over nearly two thousand years, one leaf went from remedy to drink, from boiled to steeped, and then reshaped the whole world by land and sea.
The Tea Horse Road
A thousand-year-old network of mountain trails where tea was traded for horses, connecting the tea hills of Yunnan and Sichuan with Tibet, Qinghai, and beyond.
The Maritime Tea Route in Detail
How did Chinese tea leave the ports of Guangzhou, Quanzhou, and Xiamen to reach Japan, Europe, and the Americas across the South China Sea, Indian Ocean, and Pacific? How did this sea route shape global tea history and intertwine with the Opium Wars and American independence?
Planned
- The Tea-Horse Road and the maritime tea route in depth
- Tang–Song tea culture, tea in literature and art