A Brief History of Tea

Tea has a long and complex history, beginning in southwestern China and traveling across the globe via colonization. The first steps towards decolonizing the tea trade are to acknowledge the people who brought (and still bring) us tea, despite the colonization, racism, and abuse they have been subjected to. One of our missions as a socially responsible brand is to educate our communi-tea on the origins and history of tea. This way we can all make more conscious decisions on what, where and how we purchase. So, we’ve put together this little timeline with a brief history of how tea traveled the world. It may not look brief, but believe us – in the thousands of years tea has been around, these are just the highlights (or should we say lowlights) of its journey. We’ve included a range of countries that made significant impacts on the history of tea. Don’t worry if this feels a little basic; stay tuned for some more in depth articles on the origins of tea.

Wow, 5000 years of traveling really did a number on us… JK, but seriously. What a trip! So, what do you want to learn next? We’re excited to go more in depth on history, brewing styles, origins of specific teas, and more! Let us know in the comments what you’re burning to know.