Includes bibliographical references and index.

Front Matter -- Copyright Page / George van Driem -- Preface / George van Driem -- The Primordial Origins of Tea / George van Driem -- Tea Spreads to China / George van Driem -- Tea Arrives in Japan and Korea / George van Driem -- East Meets West: the Intrepid Portuguese / George van Driem -- Dutch Capitalism and the Globalisation of Tea / George van Driem -- The English Take to Tea: Wars in Europe / George van Driem -- Interlude: Coffee and Chocolate / George van Driem -- Taxes vs. Freedom from Oppression / George van Driem -- Tea Transformed: Wars in Asia / George van Driem -- Tea Terroir and Tea Cuisine / George van Driem -- Tea Chemistry and Fanciful Concoctions / George van Driem -- Tending the Tea Garden / George van Driem -- Back Matter -- Index / George van Driem.

The Tale of Tea is the saga of globalisation. Tea gave birth to paper money, the Opium Wars and Hong Kong, triggered the Anglo-Dutch wars and the American war of independence, shaped the economies and military history of Táng and Sòng China and moulded Chinese art and culture. Whilst black tea dominates the global market today, such tea is a recent invention. No tea plantations existed in the world’s largest black tea producing countries, India, Kenya and Sri Lanka, when the Dutch and the English went to war about tea in the 17th century. This book replaces popular myths about tea with recondite knowledge on the hidden origins and detailed history of today’s globalised beverage in its many modern guises.