Ep. 12 | Tea-mania Takes Europe by Storm

As tea did everywhere it was drunk, Europeans were no less enthusiastic than anyone else. It started off with the royals and aristocrats. But once prices came down and the haves and have-nots got to enjoy it, the demand will become insatiable. The Russian tea caravans are also explored.

Though their tea culture was different from the ways of the Europeans, Russian people loved their tea no less. During the Qing Dynasty tea just kept getting better. We look at the tea-loving Qianlong Emperor and his contributions to tea culture. We close the episode with the story of John Dodd and Li Chunsheng, the fathers of Taiwan's tea industry

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Terms in Episode

Pinyin/Term	Chinese	English/Meaning
Wǔyí	武夷山	Picturesque mountains in northern Fujian famous for all their Buddhist temples and teas, especially Oolongs. The term "Bohea" comes from a pronunciation of Wuyi in the local dialect. Bohea was any old kind of black tea and became like the "Kleenex" of black teas from China. Congou was a little more upscale. Hyson remained the green tea.
Fújiàn	福建	Coastal province in south China
Qímén	祁門	County in southeast Anhui Province, famous for their tea and for being the headquarters of Zeng Guofan's Xiang Army
Guǎngzhōu	广州	Guangzhou city, capital of Guangdong, Sister City to Los Angeles, also known as Canton
Chámǎ Gǔdào	茶马古道	The Ancient Tea Horse Road that transported tea to the borders of western China in exchange for horses
Zhāngjiākǒu	张家口	Formerly known as Kalgan, a city on the outskirts of Beijing
Hankou	汉口	The "Han" in Wuhan. One of the cities that makes up this megalopolis in Hubei Province
Lao Shan	崂山	Mountain located near Qingdao, Shandong Province
Kāngxī	康熙	Qing Dynasty ruler who reigned 1661-1722
Qiánlóng	乾隆	Grandson of Kangzi, Qing Dynasty ruler who reigned 1735-1796
Chónghuá Palace	重华宫	Palace built in 1727 by Yongzheng Emperor for his son, the Qianlong Emperor
Oolong	乌龙	A category of tea sometimes referred to as semi-fermented tea
Pu-erh	普洱	Fermented tea produced in Yunnan Province, also a category of tea
Qing	清朝	The Qing Dynasty 1644-1911
Lóngjǐng	龙井	Tea that comes from Longjing Village outside of Hangzhou
Húgóng Temple	胡公庙	Temple located on Mt. Shīfēng 獅峰山 where the Qianlong Emperor visited and planted eighteen tea trees that went on to produce Longjing Tea
Huīzōng	徽宗	Second to the last Song Emperor of the Northern Song. Also quite the tea expert it's said
Southern Song	南宋	The Southern Song that survived the Kaifeng-based Northern Song. It lasted from 1127-1279
Yangzi	扬子江	The Yangtze River, longest in China
Hangzhou	杭州	Capital of Zhejiang Province. A city of superlatives.
Ming	明朝	The Ming Dynasty 1368-1644
Jǐngdézhēn	景德镇	Town (now a city) in Jiangxi province famous for the kilns and porcelain making legacy
Gàiwǎn	盖碗	A lidded bowl used for drinking tea
Xiamen	厦门	The city of Xiamen in southern Fujian
Lǐ Chūnshēng	李春生	1838-1924, Xiamen-born Father of Taiwan's Tea Industry
Dòngdǐng	凍頂	Tea that came from around the mountains of Lùgǔ Township 鹿谷鄉, Nántóu County 南投縣 in Taiwan

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