The China History Podcast

Our survey of the Famous Teas of China continues with a tour of more tea-producing provinces. Teas such as Dancong, Tieguanyin, Jinjunmei, and Da Hong Pao are introduced. Various teas from Guangdong, ...

29 Jan 201529min

To wind down this History of Tea series let's go from province to province and look at a variety of famous teas such as Longjing, Gunpowder, Huangshan Maofeng, Lu'an Guapian, Xinyang Maojian, Taiping ...

28 Jan 201525min

In this episode, we focus on the category of tea that is most admired by many tea experts the world over. Pu-Erh tea was introduced sometime during the Ming Dynasty and in time, became the oft-called ...

27 Jan 201524min

Processing tea leaves was never an intuitive process. That's one reason it took so long for others to figure out how to do it. But as it was with silk, once you saw how it was done, it wasn't a terrib...

26 Jan 201525min

The hero who assured Robert Fortune's success was Dr. Nathanial Bagshaw Ward. His life and work is introduced this time. Ward's invention of the terrarium was the one thing that ensured Fortune's hard...

25 Jan 201529min

The mid 19th Century brought another sea change to the tea industry. Demand continued to grow all over Europe and North America. China's tea industry, which depended mainly on countless artisanal tea ...

24 Jan 201525min

Midway through the Qing Dynasty trouble is brewing, along with the tens of millions of pounds of tea annually exported to Britain. The Qianlong Emperor rebuffs Britain's envoy and puts a major damper ...

23 Jan 201520min

The tea trade transforms into an entire industry and becomes the most important traded commodity of the British East India Company. Twining's emerges onto the scene along with coffeehouse culture wher...

22 Jan 201524min