Green Gold

Green Gold

The Empire of Tea

Summary

Apart from water, tea is more widely consumed than any other food or drink. Tens of billions of cups are drunk every day. How and why has tea conquered the world? Tea was the first global product. It altered life-styles, religions, etiquette and aesthetics. It raised nations and shattered empires.
Economies were changed out of all recognition. Diseases were thwarted by the magical drink and cities founded on it.

The industrial revolution was fuelled by tea, sealing the fate of the modern world. Green Gold is a remarkable detective story of how an East Himalayan camellia bush became the world's favourite drink. Discover how the tea plant came to be transplanted onto every continent and relive the stories of the men and women whose lives were transformed out of all recognition through contact with the deceptively innocuous green leaf.

Reviews

  • A book that can only be described as my cup of tea
    Financial Times

About the authors

Alan Macfarlane

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Iris Macfarlane

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