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Empire of tea : the Asian leaf that conquered the world / Markman Ellis, Richard Coulton, Matthew Mauger.

By: Contributor(s): Material type: TextTextPublisher: London : Reaktion Books, 2015Description: 326 pages : illustrations (some color), maps ; 25 cmContent type:
  • text
Media type:
  • unmediated
Carrier type:
  • volume
ISBN:
  • 9781780234403
  • 1780234406
Subject(s):
Contents:
Early European Encounters with Tea -- Establishing the Taste for Tea in Britain -- The Tea Trade with China -- The Elevation of Tea -- The Natural Philosophy of Tea -- The Market for Tea in Britain -- The British Way of Tea -- Smuggling and Taxation -- The Democratization of Tea Drinking -- Tea in the Politics of Empire -- The National Drink of Victorian Britain -- Twentieth-century Tea -- Epilogue: Global Tea.
Summary: Tea has a rich and well-documented past. The beverage originated in Asia long before making its way to seventeenth-century London, where it became an exotic, highly sought after commodity. Over the subsequent two centuries, tea's powerful psychoactive properties seduced British society, becoming popular across the nation from castle to cottage. Now the world's most popular drink, tea was one of the first truly global products to find a mass market, with tea drinking now stereotypically associated with British identity. Imported by the East India Company in increasing quantities across the eighteenth century, tea inaugurated the first regular exchange between China and Britain, both commercial and cultural. While European scientists struggled to make sense of its natural history and medicinal properties, the delicate flavor profile and hot preparation of tea inspired poets, artists and satirists. Becoming central to everyday life, tea was embroiled in controversy, from the gossip of the domestic tea table to the civil disorder occasioned by smuggling, and the political scandal of the Boston Tea Party to the violent conflict of the Anglo- Chinese Opium War. Such stories shaped the contexts for the imperial tea industry that later developed across India and Sri Lanka.
Holdings
Item type Home library Collection Call number Materials specified Status Date due Barcode Item holds
Adult Book Adult Book Main Library NonFiction 641.3372 E47 Available 33111008515294
Total holds: 0

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

Although tea had been known and consumed in China and Japan for centuries, it was only in the seventeenth century that Londoners first began drinking it. Over the next two hundred years, its stimulating properties seduced all of British society, as tea found its way into cottages and castles alike. One of the first truly global commodities and now the world's most popular drink, tea has also, today, come to epitomize British culture and identity.



This impressively detailed book offers a rich cultural history of tea, from its ancient origins in China to its spread around the world. The authors recount tea's arrival in London and follow its increasing salability and import via the East India Company throughout the eighteenth century, inaugurating the first regular exchange--both commercial and cultural--between China and Britain. They look at European scientists' struggles to understand tea's history and medicinal properties, and they recount the ways its delicate flavor and exotic preparation have enchanted poets and artists. Exploring everything from its everyday use in social settings to the political and economic controversies it has stirred--such as the Boston Tea Party and the First Opium War--they offer a multilayered look at what was ultimately an imperial industry, a collusion--and often clash--between the world's greatest powers over control of a simple beverage that has become an enduring pastime.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 307-314) and index.

Tea has a rich and well-documented past. The beverage originated in Asia long before making its way to seventeenth-century London, where it became an exotic, highly sought after commodity. Over the subsequent two centuries, tea's powerful psychoactive properties seduced British society, becoming popular across the nation from castle to cottage. Now the world's most popular drink, tea was one of the first truly global products to find a mass market, with tea drinking now stereotypically associated with British identity. Imported by the East India Company in increasing quantities across the eighteenth century, tea inaugurated the first regular exchange between China and Britain, both commercial and cultural. While European scientists struggled to make sense of its natural history and medicinal properties, the delicate flavor profile and hot preparation of tea inspired poets, artists and satirists. Becoming central to everyday life, tea was embroiled in controversy, from the gossip of the domestic tea table to the civil disorder occasioned by smuggling, and the political scandal of the Boston Tea Party to the violent conflict of the Anglo- Chinese Opium War. Such stories shaped the contexts for the imperial tea industry that later developed across India and Sri Lanka.

Early European Encounters with Tea -- Establishing the Taste for Tea in Britain -- The Tea Trade with China -- The Elevation of Tea -- The Natural Philosophy of Tea -- The Market for Tea in Britain -- The British Way of Tea -- Smuggling and Taxation -- The Democratization of Tea Drinking -- Tea in the Politics of Empire -- The National Drink of Victorian Britain -- Twentieth-century Tea -- Epilogue: Global Tea.

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