Last week, the Boston Globe’s photography platform The Big Picture featured a collection of photos highlighting tea culture and production in China. Here’s the description: According to a legend, tea was first discovered by the legendary Chinese emperor Shennong in 2737 BC. Today, China is the world’s biggest tea producer, selling many varieties of tea leaves […]
Stealing Tea and Saving Face
On our 5200-mile road trip last month, I listened to the audio version of the book For All the Tea in China: How England Stole the World’s Favorite Drink and Changed History by Sarah Rose. Here is the Amazon description of the book: In the dramatic story of one of the greatest acts of corporate […]
Sipping Tea from a Magazine
This is for all my tea-drinking friends out there. The March edition of the China Heritage Quarterly, one of my favorite online sources for all things Chinese is completely devoted to a subject that is near and dear to pretty much every Chinese heart — TEA! I realize this may seem strange, but even after […]
Tea and Games
I have spent my entire ‘China career’ living and working in the north and up until now have only spent a few days in a few cities in the south, most often passing through on my way to somewhere else. As a result, this trip along the back roads and to the smaller cities of […]
Cultural Revolution Tea
I have long been a student of Chinese history, with a particular interest in the now 62 years of The People’s Republic of China. Compared with China’s dynasties, which often lasted 300-400 years, this one is just getting going. Yet, during the relatively short time of its existence, the PRC has had more than it’s […]