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1206-1386: Genghis Khan and Kublai Khan conquered Chinese territories and established a Mongolian dynasty in power for more than a century. Tea became an ordinary drink, never regaining the high status it once enjoyed. Marco Polo was not even introduced to tea when he visited.
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1422-1502: The Japanese tea ceremony was created by a Zen priest named Murata Shuko, who had devoted his life to tea. The ceremony is called Cha No Yu, which means "hot water for tea."
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The Dutch brought tea to Europe from China, trading dried sage in exchange.
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Tea was first sold in England at Garway's Coffee House in London.
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Both Charles II and Catherine Braganza of Portugal drank tea, creating a fashion for it. Its popularity among the aristocracy causes alcohol beverages to fall from favor.
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The Boston Tea Party, protesting high taxes that England levied on tea, began of the American colonies' fight for independence. Under cover of night, colonists dressed as Native Americans boarded East India Company ships in Boston Harbor. They opened chests of tea and dumped their contents into the water. This was repeated in other less known instances up and down the coast.
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England sent the first opium to China. Opium addiction in China funded the escalating demand for tea in England. Cash trade for the drug increased until the opium wars began in 1839.
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1839-1842: First Opium War between England and China
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1840s: Clipper ships, built in America, sped up the transportation of tea to America and Europe, livening the pace of trade.
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1856-1860: Secon Opium War
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The Suez Canal opened, making the trip to China shorter and more economical by steamship.
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Thomas Sullivan invented tea bags in New York, sending tea to clients in silk bags which they began to mistakenly steep without opening.
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Kenya and other parts of Africa followed.
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960-1280: Tea was widely used in China. Powdered tea had become common. Beautiful ceramic tea accessories were made during this time.
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618-906 Powdered tea became the fashion of the time in China. It was often mixed with other ingredients and brewed, reducing the real tea taste. Nobility made tea a popular pastime. Caravans carried tea on the Silk Road, trading with India, Turkey, and Russia.
Tea is reportedly first discovered in China in 2737 BC by the mythical second emperor, Shen Nung, known as the Divine Healer, when leaves of the Camellia sinensis plant drift into a heated open pot of water.
