The roots of the tea trade between China and Britain can be traced back to the early 17th century. The earliest recorded mention of tea in British documents comes from a letter written in 1615 by a representative of the British East India Company stationed on the island of Hirado in Japan. In this letter, the representative, Wickham, appealed to the company’s manager in Macau, Eaton, to send him a fine teapot. This provides evidence that the British were aware of tea as early as 1615.
During this period, the word “TEA” had not yet appeared in the English language. Instead, early English writers used the pronunciation similar to the Chinese character “茶,” which is “Ch’a,” to refer to tea.
The British East India Company began trading tea around 1660. By 1687, the company had established a rule that each ship traveling from Mumbai to Xiamen should carry 150 tons of tea. The demand for tea was growing rapidly in Britain.
In 1650, the first coffeehouse in Oxford opened, and it offered Chinese tea for sale. As tea was entirely reliant on overseas sources and was publicly sold for the first time in Britain, the price per pound reached a staggering 6 to 10 pounds. Within a decade, over ten similar coffeehouses opened. By 1700, London alone had more than 500 coffeehouses, nearly all of which sold tea.
In 1664, a captain of the East India Company presented not exotic animals but a small packet of precious tea to King Charles II. The king’s wife also developed a refined habit of drinking tea.
Tea, priced at 10 pounds per pound, equivalent to the eight-year living expenses of a craftsman at the time, became a symbol of nobility and exoticism. In that era of expansion, exoticism was highly admired.
In 1658, a coffeehouse owner advertised the benefits of tea on a promotional poster: it could treat headaches, kidney stones, edema, dehydration, sleepiness, vivid dreams, memory decline, constipation, strokes, and more. It could also supplement nutrition, stimulate appetite, and eliminate stagnation. The consumption of tea was simple, and it could be enjoyed with milk, sugar, or honey.
Due to its remarkable effects, tea from ancient civilizations of the East was sold at high prices. This beverage was widely appreciated in those regions, and prominent individuals who traveled to these countries shared their experiences and experiments, encouraging their compatriots to adopt tea-drinking habits. The main benefits of tea were its mild nature, suitability for all seasons, and its hygienic and health-promoting properties, including the potential to prolong life.
With the transportation efforts of the East India Company and the influence of the upper class, half a century later, tea-drinking had become a fashionable luxury in British high society. This phenomenon led to the continuous expansion of the tea trade between China and Britain.
