The Tea Thief

The world's first black tea was born in Wuyi Mountain, and then stolen by a Scottish man, and transplanted all the way to British India. The man who stole tea from China is called Robert Fortune. He had a spy with a license to pluck. In the 1800s, the Britain was extremely obsessed with tea. China was the only supplier dominating the tea business. So the British East India Company sent in a spy. Robert Fortune shaved his head, wore a fake wig, dressed like a Qing merchant, secretely slipped into Wuyi mountains. He didn't just take seeds. He took over 20,000 live tea plants and seedlings. He put them in sealed cases and smuggled them out of China. More importantly, he stole knowledge how to produce tea, and the complete method of making black tea. Back in India, British East India Compay then started planting tea. Darjeeling black tea is well-known as the Champagne of tea. China's global dominance of tea was broken. Robert Fortune is remembered as a pioneer who introduced tea to Europe.

世界第一款红茶诞生在武夷山，然后被苏格兰人盗走并移植到英属印度。 从中国偷茶的男人叫罗伯特福穷。 他雇了个有执照的间谍。 19世纪英国人对茶非常痴迷。 中国是唯一的供应商，在茶叶行业占据主导地位。 东印度公司派出了间谍，罗伯特福穷剃了他的头，戴上假辫子。 穿上清朝商人的衣服，秘密潜入武夷山。 他不只是带走了茶种，他拿走了两万多株活茶树和幼苗。 他把这些密封进入箱子，并将它们走私出中国。 更重要的是窃取了知识，如何制茶，以及制作红茶的完整方法。 回到英属印度，东印度公司随后开始种植茶叶。 大吉岭红茶被誉为茶中的香槟。 中国在全球的茶叶主导地位崩塌。 罗伯特福穷被铭记为将茶叶引入欧洲的先驱。