From the very beginning, Upton Tea Imports has been proud to offer quality tea education in our Upton Tea Quarterly catalog to accompany our premium tea selection. Join us in revisiting our classic article series Reversals of Fortune in the Tea Industry, where we examine fascinating turns of events in tea and trade history with surprising outcomes.
Picking up where the previous installment left off, this article recounts the fate of tea following the demise of the tea-for-horses trade and the fall of the Song Dynasty. After Mongolian warriors conquered the land, trade advanced as the “discoveries” of continents by seafaring people launched the demand for imported goods across the globe. Enjoy reading about the role of merchants, pirates, and other captivating historical characters in the tea trade!
Did Marco Polo really introduce tea to Europe following his landmark trips to China, or was that a myth invented after his death? Follow the thread of world history as it develops and shapes itself around trade, with tea as a witness to history.