How the global tea industry influenced the international economy and the rise of mass consumerismTea has been one of the most popular commodities in the world. For centuries, profits from its growth and sales funded wars and fueled colonization, and its cultivation brought about massive changes-in land use, labor systems, market practices, and

“Rappaport tells with authority how tea and the culture of tea drinking has influenced the greater history of the British Empire and the British-influenced world beyond. . . . [Her] description of the ways in which tea has been marketed over the years is entirely absorbing.”—Simon Winchester, New York Times Book Review“Meticulously researched, the book showcases materials from archives scattered across the globe to illustrate how one product’s flow across borders was knitting the world together long before the term ‘globalization’ was coined. . . . Rappaport’s book is one of relevance to us all.”—Jeffrey Wasserstrom, Wall Street Journal“The book moves from the coffeehouses of London to the muggy plantations of Assam to the advertising firms of Madison Avenue. . . . Exhaustively researched and winningly recounted.”—Publishers Weekly“A sweeping and richly detailed history of tea.”—Pietra Rivoli, Financial Times“This detailed work provides interesting explorations of the health-giving powers attributed to tea, and how it came to be seen as a wholesome and vital drink.”—Katrina Gulliver, Spectator