History of Tea in Europe

Italian explorer Marco Polo’s father was a merchant trader. Nicolo Polo and his brother, Maffio, traveled to the Mongol capital Khanbaliq (now Beijing, China) and visited with Kubla Khan in 1264. In 1274 the brothers supposedly returned to Khanbaliq accompanied by young Marco and spent the next seventeen years there. Since the Mongolians had been drinking tea since the 8th century, and since Marco never mentioned tea in his stories that became "The Travels of Marco Polo", some scholars question whether he actually entered China.

Many accounts of tea history acclaim that it was a Portuguese Jesuit Father, Jasper de Cruz, who as a missionary in China was the first European to personally encounter tea and write about it in 1560, but perhaps it was the Arab merchants who had been trading spices and aromatics for silk, porcelains and tea from China for centuries. It could have been these traders who relayed stories of China to Marco Polo and introduced tea to the Venetians in he 16th century.

In 1516 the Portuguese discovered the sea route to the East. They established a trading station in Macao. In 1597 the Dutch navigator Jan Hugo van Linschooten made reference to tea in his travel journal. Dutch ships transported tea to France, Holland and the Baltic regions. Holland and Portugal were political affiliates at that time. In 1602 Holland entered into Pacific trade on her own with an exceptional Navy. Tea became very fashionable with the wealthy in the Dutch capital, the Hague. It was expensive, over $100 per pound. As more tea was imported, the price fell and it became a vailable to the public. It was sold in apothecary jars along with spices such as ginger and sugar.

At this time, France and Holland led Europe in the consumption of tea. It was a way of life in Holland. Dutch inns were the first restaurant service of tea. Tavern owners furnished their guests with tea sets so the Dutchman could prepare tea for himself and his associates outside the tavern. The popularity of the beverage in France lasted only about fifty years. It was replaced by a preference for wine, chocolate and exotic coffee.

The Great Britain and other European nations didn’t receive permission to trade with China until 1685.

Tea History
Return to Home page