If we should pick one person who influenced the history of international tea trade the most, that person is without doubt Robert Fortune. As a botanist and adventurer from Scotland, was sent by the British East India Company on a journey to the interior of China in 1848. At this time, china was forbidden to foreigners. The goal of Mr. Fortune’s mission was to steal the techniques for the manufacturing and horticulture processes of tea. This Scotsman committed a daring act of corporate espionage by donning a disguise and travelling into the hills of Wuyishan and the Yellow Mountain. Robert Fortune’s story reads like something out of fiction, but it’s very real, and it’s an impressive accomplishment that helped shape today’s world of tea consumption. Robert Fortune’s First Trip to China After spending four months […]

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