A Dark History of Tea by Seren Charrington-Hollins

A Dark History of Tea by Seren Charrington-Hollins ISBN-13: 9781526761606 Hardcover: 248 pages Publisher: Pen and Sword History Released: June 19th 2020

Source: ebook review copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

Book Description, Modified from Goodreads:
Renowned food historian Seren Charrington-Hollins digs into the history of one of the world's oldest beverages, tracing tea's significance on the tables of the high and mighty as well as providing relief for workers who had to contend with the ardours of manual labour. This humble herbal infusion has been used in burial rituals, as a dowry payment for aristocrats; it has fuelled wars and spelled fortunes as it built empires and sipped itself into being an integral part of the cultural fabric of British life. This book delves into the less tasteful history of a drink now considered quintessentially British. It tells the story of how, carried on the backs of the cruelty of slavery and illicit opium smuggling, it flowed into the cups of British society as an enchanting beverage.

The story of tea takes the reader on a fascinating journey from myth, fable and folklore to murky stories of swindling, adulteration, greed, waging of wars, boosting of trade in hard drugs and slavery and the great, albeit dark engines that drove the globalisation of the world economy. All of this is spattered with interesting facts about tea etiquette, tradition and illicit liaisons making it an enjoyable rollercoaster of dark discoveries that will cast away any thoughts of tea as something that merely accompanies breaks, sit downs and biscuits.


My Review:
A Dark History of Tea is a history of tea from the British viewpoint. The author talked about how the British first imported tea as a medicinal herb and how the desire for more tea led to the Opium Wars and the increased use of opium in Britain, as well. The author talked about the high taxes that led to smuggling, how people added chemicals and leaves of other plants to the tea to make it cheaper and how this led to health problems for those who drank a large amount of tea, how the British tea time developed (etiquette, superstitions, teaware, dresses), and how tea was once linked with seduction. The author also talked about how tea was planted in India, what life was like for the workers on these tea plantations, the tea auctions in Britain, how tea went from being imported in blocks to loose leaf to the development and slow acceptance of tea bags. The book ended with things like the popularity of tea leaf readings and instructions on how to do it. It was an interesting overview of the history of British involvement with tea and how the harm done was hidden by propaganda or advertising.


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.