by Wega- Tea
Tea, now one of the most popular beverages in the world, was known exclusively in Asia for centuries. Its origins date back to ancient China, but it wasn't until the Tang Dynasty (7th–10th centuries) that it became a permanent part of court culture and daily life. Over time, the custom of drinking tea spread to neighboring countries, especially Japan, where the tradition of the tea ceremony developed over the following centuries.
The first information about tea reached Europe only in the 16th century, thanks to travelers and missionaries connected mainly with Portugal. In 1555, the Venetian humanist and publisher, Giovanni Battista Ramusio, in his monumental work Navigationi et Viaggi mentioned a drink called "cha/cia" prepared in China. Similar references also appeared in the accounts of Portuguese Jesuits working in Macau and Japan, who described tea as an extraordinary tonic, more often treated as a medicine than a beverage for everyday consumption.
In the second half of the 16th century, information about tea began to circulate among European intellectual elites and trade circles, but for several decades it remained little more than an exotic curiosity. In some pharmacies, dried tea was sold as a remedy for various ailments, from headaches to digestive problems. Due to its high price, only a small circle of wealthy consumers could afford it. Over the years, more and more mentions of tea began to appear in the memoirs of merchants and missionaries. In their descriptions, they emphasized both the unique flavor of the infusion and the role it played in various ceremonies and the daily lives of East Asians. These were the first steps on a path that would transform European culinary habits in the following centuries and make tea one of the most important commodities in global trade.
The Role of the Dutch East India Company
The year 1610 is considered a real breakthrough, when the Dutch East India Company (VOC) brought the first small quantities of tea to Amsterdam. The Dutch quickly recognized the potential of this new commodity and began regularly importing it from China and Japan as early as the 1640s. Initially, tea was extremely expensive – sold primarily in pharmacies, treated as a medicinal remedy for headaches, stomach problems, and weakness. Its price stemmed both from its exotic nature and the difficulties of transport, which took months and entailed significant risks. Over time, however, tea also began to find its way into private homes, first to the tables of the wealthy bourgeoisie and aristocracy, who viewed it as a luxury and a sign of social status.
Amsterdam then became the main center of the European tea trade. From Dutch warehouses, it was shipped further afield to France, Germany, and England. The Dutch East India Company quickly monopolized imports, and regular deliveries helped stabilize prices and make tea increasingly available. By the second half of the 17th century, it had become one of the commodities that permanently changed European consumption habits, and the Netherlands played a key role in opening the Old Continent to this exotic beverage.
France – tea in medicine and at the royal court
Tea arrived in France around 1635, via the Dutch, who controlled the exotic goods trade in Europe at the time. Initially, it was sold in very small quantities and at extremely high prices, considered a luxury. Cardinal Jules Mazarin, the first minister and advisor to Louis XIV, popularized the tea craze at the French court. He claimed that regular drinking of the tea alleviated his gout symptoms. The Parisian elite quickly adopted the tea habit, and Queen Anne of Austria made it a regular part of social gatherings, serving the beverage to her ladies-in-waiting. Over time, tea became a part of the courtly lifestyle, though it was still perceived more as a refined fashion statement.
However, in France, tea never achieved the same status as in England or the Netherlands. Although for a time it was a symbol of prestige and elegance, its place was gradually taken by coffee, which, from the late 17th century onward, gained popularity thanks to the opening of cafés in Paris. It was coffee, not tea, that became the beverage most closely associated with French culture in the following centuries.
England – from exotic to national drink
Tea arrived in England somewhat later, around 1650, and was initially considered a rare and expensive delicacy. In 1657, London merchant Thomas Garway opened a coffeehouse where he was the first to sell tea. Soon after, advertisements appeared advertising it as a fashionable infusion with health-promoting properties. The decisive moment came in 1662, when King Charles II married the Portuguese princess Catherine of Braganza. Tea was well-known in Portugal, and Catherine made it a daily habit. It was she who introduced it to the English court, establishing it as a beverage for the aristocracy. Soon, tea drinking became fashionable among the elite, and over time, it spread to other, less affluent classes of society.
In 1664, the British East India Company (EIC) presented King Charles II with two pounds of tea. This symbolically marked the beginning of its later dominance in the tea trade. Over time, the EIC gained control over imports from China and gradually established tea as a pillar of the British economy. By the second half of the 17th century, tea could be purchased in many London coffeehouses, which quickly became gathering places for intellectuals, merchants, and politicians. It was there that the customs that forever linked tea to British culture were born.
British East India Company – monopoly and expansion
Founded in 1600, the British East India Company initially focused on the spice and silk trade, but by the second half of the 17th century, tea had become its most important commodity. Thanks to royal charters, the company gained a monopoly on Asian imports, allowing it to control the market and set prices. In the 18th century, the growing volume of imported tea meant that it ceased to be a luxury reserved exclusively for the aristocracy. It began to appear in the homes of the bourgeoisie and middle classes, and eventually, also in working-class families. Gradually, tea replaced beer and gin as the daily beverage, especially since tea brewed in hot water was healthier than often contaminated drinking water.
The company became one of the most powerful corporations in the world, and the Chinese tea it imported quickly dominated the English market. This heavy dependence on supplies from China led to serious trade tensions between Great Britain and China in the 18th and 19th centuries. The British, no longer willing to pay for tea in silver, strained their trade balance, and so began massively exporting opium from their colonies in India to China. Attempts by the Chinese authorities to curtail this practice culminated in the Opium Wars, which permanently altered the balance of power in Asia and opened China to forced trade with the West.
Other countries and alternative routes
Although the Dutch and British had the greatest influence on the development of the tea trade in Europe, they were not the only players in the market. In 1731, the Swedish East India Company was established, which imported tea to Scandinavia, particularly to the ports of Stockholm and Gothenburg. The beverage quickly became synonymous with luxury among the Swedish elite, and tea leaves imported from China were sold by weight, almost like precious spices.
Tea arrived in Germany around the same time as England, but it never gained the immense popularity there that coffee did. Some regions, particularly the northern and coastal regions, were exceptions. In Ostfriesland, located on the North Sea, a unique tea-drinking tradition, the so-called Ostfriesische Teekultur, developed, which continues to this day and is recognized by UNESCO as intangible cultural heritage. The local custom of serving tea with a lump of candied sugar (Kluntje) and cream became a hallmark of the region.
Tea's fate in Russia was different. Unlike in Western Europe, it arrived there not by sea but by land – via the Silk Road and Mongolia. By the mid-17th century, it reached Moscow, where it initially served as a diplomatic gift from China. By the 18th century, tea drinking had become commonplace in Russia, and with the development of transportation and the construction of the tea route from Kyakhta on the Russian-Chinese border, trade took on a massive scale. It was then that the custom of preparing the tea in samovars became widespread, a practice that remains one of the most distinctive symbols of Russian tea culture.
Tea – from medicine to daily ritual
Tea's journey from Asia to Europe was long and complicated. It began with isolated shipments and the stories of missionaries and travelers who brought back information about the extraordinary beverage from China and Japan. In the 17th century, the first shipments imported by the Dutch were primarily destined for royal courts and pharmacies. Over time, however, the tea trade became a regular activity, and the East India Companies (first the Dutch, then the British and Swedish) made it one of the most important commodities in global trade.
Tea began as a medicine sold in pharmacies and a luxury available to a select few, but over time it became a beverage that shaped the global economy and influenced the fate of entire nations. From an exotic curiosity, it transformed into a symbol of culture, encounters, and hospitality, occupying a permanent place at European tables. Its presence in everyday life is proof of how much a single beverage can change the course of history. The history of tea in Europe, a tale of global trade, colonialism, technology, and culture, remains a fascinating testament to centuries of exchange between continents.
