This is the authors' abstract. We don't add key points for this paper.
In 1848, Robert Fortune, a Scottish plant collector and botanist, embarked on a secret journey to China for Britain’s East India Company in order to obtain the highest quality tea plants and seeds from the most desirable regions of China and to transport them to India. During his three-year journey, Fortune visited the tea-producing regions of Zhejiang, Fujian, and Anhui and transported more than 12,000 tea seedlings and seeds to the Indian Himalayan region, along with tea processing implements and detailed information about Chinese tea processing. Additionally, Fortune hired skilled Chinese tea processing specialists and established them in the Indian Himalayan region in 1851. The Chinese tea plants and seeds sent by Fortune were reported to be thriving throughout North India. British imports of tea from India and Ceylon, which accounted for 4% in 1866, increased to 89% in 1896, and Chinese tea imports dropped from 95% to 11% over the same 30-year period. Britain no longer had to rely on Chinese tea. Fortune's journey to China provided momentum to end the Chinese tea monopoly and enabled global expansion of the tea industry.
Answers are grounded in this paper and cite their sources.
No takes yet. Share an insight, caveat, or question.
A 2024 study studied this question.
Synapse has enriched 10 related papers. Consider them for comparative context: