The iconic beverage cultivated in China had definitely conquered the world, but for millennia after its discovery tea was consumed as a medicine.
Once it started to be considered as a social drink and entered many’s daily diet, tea cultivation and the intricate process of producing and preparing tea became a large business. China tea reached mainland Europe with the Dutch East India Company early in the 17th century, followed by the English East India Company importing tea to London.
Since then, tea has spread thoughout the world, and along time it embedded various social meanings and got local rituals attached to the tea cup.
Discover history and curiosities about tea in China and around the world, in this blog authored by Sofie Taes on Europeana website >>
image: Teapot with lid. Porcelain with famille rose enamel decoration of flowering branches of peony, rose and chrysanthemum and flowers. China, Jiangxi province, Jingdezhen. Qing dynasty, AD 18th c. Height 15.8 cm. Donated by George Eumorfopoulos (GE 2874). fromBENAKI Museum. CC-BY-SA via Europeana.
PAGODE – Europeana China is co-financed by the Connecting Europe Facility Programme of the European Union, under GA n. INEA/CEF/ICT/A2019/1931839