Tea leaves accompany a Han burial
Archaeological residues provide early physical evidence for tea.
Density
Leaves, journeys and living traditionsOur World
Tea
Follow tea through ancient evidence, written culture, global trade, colonial conflict and living landscapes.
Subject guide · scope, chapters & sources ↗A selective cultural and material history of Camellia sinensis tea. The first cup is unknown; archaeological evidence and legends are distinguished. Colonial trade is context, not a celebratory inventor story. Heritage milestones run through 2023.
Official Earth time scaleSelect an eon on the road to reveal its eras.ICS 2026/06 ↗
Lu Yu writes the Tea Classic
A dedicated treatise records a developed Chinese tea culture.
Tea enters Dutch commercial trade
A shipment from China via Java reaches Holland.
Tea is advertised in London
A newspaper notice offers tea at a London coffeehouse.
Tea becomes a political target
Protesters destroy tea cargoes in Boston Harbour.
Assam tea reaches a British auction
Colonial cultivation becomes part of Britain's tea supply.
Tea trade is entangled with war
British opium trading and Chinese resistance lead to the First Opium War.
A clipper is built for the tea trade
Cutty Sark is launched into a competitive shipping world.
Living tea knowledge is recognised
UNESCO inscribes Chinese tea-processing techniques and social practices.
Tea forests become World Heritage
Jingmai's cultivated landscape joins the UNESCO list.