Europe discovers tea
From the 10th century onwards, tea was an export of primary importance for China: firstly to other Asian countries and then, starting in the 17th century, to Europe.
In 1606, the first tea chests arrived in Amsterdam in Holland: this was the first known cargo of tea to be registered at a western port. The East Indies Company, a Dutch firm, had close links at the time with the Far East and they maintained a monopoly over the sale of tea until the end of the 1660s, even after the creation, in 1615, of the East India Company, an English competitor. In 1657, Thomas Garraway, the landlord of a coffee house in London, introduced tea on his premises and placed an advert in the local paper which read: "This excellent beverage, recommended by all Chinese doctors, and which the Chinese call 'Tcha', other nations 'Tay' or 'Tee', is on sale at Sultaness Mead close to the Royal Exchange in London."
If the spread of tea at first met strong opposition - it was said to cause men to lose height and good humour, while women lost their beauty - it soon became the basis of a very important trade. At first the privilege of princes, it later became the favourite of all the dandies who frequented the "coffee houses", soon to be re-named "tea houses".
Cromwell imposed a heavy tax on tea just before his death, and it quickly became the subject of a thriving contraband trade. In the 18th century its price became more accessible and tea became a revered national drink.
In France the introduction of tea gave rise to numerous controversies, from 1650 onwards, in medical circles. It therefore became extremely popular. In one of her letters Madame de Sévigné mentions that Madame de la Sablière was the first person to add tea to her milk. Racine was a faithful tea supporter, as was Cardinal Mazarin who drank it to treat his gout.
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