The Entire History of Tea: How It Built Empires

What if one cup of tea could explain 5,000 years of history? This drink was smuggled, taxed, stolen and fought over. It helped make Hong Kong British, turned Boston Harbour brown, and was paid for with silver, opium and human lives. Today about five billion cups are poured every day. After water, tea is the most consumed drink on Earth. In this video, you live through the entire history of tea. You wake up in a new century each chapter, with the same face, the same green scarf and the same chipped clay cup. You'll travel from the legend of Emperor Shennong and a leaf falling into his pot, to Tang dynasty tea cakes boiled with salt and Lu Yu's "Classic of Tea". Then on to Song dynasty froth contests, Japan's tea ceremony and the tragic fate of Sen no Rikyu, the Tea Horse Road across the Himalayas, and the shipping routes that explain why half the world says "tea" and the other half says "chai". Then it gets dangerous: smugglers on English beaches, the Boston Tea Party, the Opium Wars, a plant hunter who smuggled tea out of China in disguise, and the plantations of Assam, Darjeeling and Ceylon built on the backs of millions of workers. Finally, tea bags, iced tea, CTC and the masala chai you might be holding right now. And by the end, you'll know which country drinks more tea per person than anywhere else on Earth. (It's not China. It's not India. And it's not Britain.) ⏱️ CHAPTERS 0:00 This Cup of Tea Changed History 1:09 Chapter 1: The Leaf That Fell 3:41 Chapter 2: Tea with Salt & the Classic of Tea 5:54 Chapter 3: Froth, Emperors & Tea Masters 8:41 Chapter 4: The Road of Horses 11:00 Chapter 5: Cha or Tea? 13:21 Chapter 6: Smugglers & a Harbour 16:04 Chapter 7: Opium, War & a Heist 19:08 Chapter 8: The Empire's Gardens 22:05 Chapter 9: Bags, Ice & Chai 24:51 The Answer & Your Cup ☕ Which country do you think drinks the most tea per person? Comment your guess before you watch the ending! 🔔 Subscribe to Traced Back. We trace things back to its surprising origin. #HistoryOfTea #Tea #TracedBack #History #OpiumWars #BostonTeaParty #Chai #AnimatedHistory