Dutch traders brought the first recorded shipments of Chinese tea to Europe around 1610, with the English East India Company beginning regular tea imports by the mid-seventeenth century. Initially a luxury good consumed mainly by the wealthy, tea gradually became a staple of English and Dutch households and a central commodity in European trade with China. Its growing popularity encouraged chartered companies to expand their presence in Chinese and later Indian tea-producing regions.
Relevance to Trade History
Tea became one of the most valuable and socially influential commodities in early modern global trade, shaping consumption patterns and company strategy for centuries.
Read the full story in our article The Rise of Chartered Trading Companies.
Source: Victoria and Albert Museum. See our Sources & Methodology page for how we select and verify references.