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Sarah Rose
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For All the Tea in China: How England Stole the World's Favorite Drink and Changed History Audio CD – CD, March 18, 2010

by Sarah Rose (Author, Narrator)
4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 626 ratings
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In 1848, the British East India Company, having lost its monopoly on the tea trade, engaged Robert Fortune, a Scottish gardener, botanist, and plant hunter, to make a clandestine trip into the interior of China-territory forbidden to foreigners-to steal the closely guarded secrets of tea horticulture and manufacturing. For All the Tea in China is the remarkable account of Fortune's journeys into China-a thrilling narrative that combines history, geography, botany, natural science, and old-fashioned adventure. Disguised in Mandarin robes, Fortune ventured deep into the country, confronting pirates, hostile climate, and his own untrustworthy men as he made his way to the epicenter of tea production, the remote Wu Yi Shan hills. One of the most daring acts of corporate espionage in history, Fortune's pursuit of China's ancient secret makes for a classic nineteenth-century adventure tale, one in which the fate of empires hinges on the feats of one extraordinary man.
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Previous page
  1. Print length
    8 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Tantor Audio
  4. Publication date
    March 18, 2010
  5. Dimensions
    6.4 x 1.1 x 5.3 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    140011537X
  7. ISBN-13
    978-1400115372
  8. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"With her probing inquiry and engaging prose, Sarah Rose paints a fresh and vivid account of life in rural 19th-century China and Fortune's fateful journey into it." ---The Washington Post

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Tantor Audio; Unabridged CD edition (March 18, 2010)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Audio CD ‏ : ‎ 8 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 140011537X
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1400115372
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 7.7 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.4 x 1.1 x 5.3 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 626 ratings

About the author

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Sarah Rose

Sarah Rose

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Sarah Rose is the author of D-Day Girls: The Spies Who Armed the Resistance, Sabotaged the Nazis and Helped Win World War II, and For All the Tea in China: How England Stole the World’s Favorite Drink and Changed History.

She was the Dynasties columnist at the Wall Street Journal, and her features have appeared in Outside, Departures, The New York Post, Travel + Leisure, Bon Appetit, The Saturday Evening Post, and Men’s Journal. In 2014, she was awarded a Lowell Thomas Prize in Travel Writing.

Customer reviews

4.5 out of 5 stars
4.5 out of 5
626 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Dr. Karmen Williams
5.0 out of 5 stars Enlightening
Reviewed in the United States on May 1, 2024
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An enjoyable book with many historical facts about Robert Fortune’s journey from China with treasured teas.
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M. Johns
4.0 out of 5 stars A pleasant sip of a rarely thought about history.
Reviewed in the United States on May 10, 2019
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Does not seem well organized or professionally written, but interesting data and easy to read. The historian in me winced a couple of times, but the ladies in my book club all seemed to like it, felt they'd learned a satisfying amount, and were glad they read it. So I'd recommend it for folks with a bit of interest, but not a strong concern for dates, chronology, or a strong sense of historical context.
2 people found this helpful
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MH
5.0 out of 5 stars Botany as cutting edge technology
Reviewed in the United States on February 3, 2024
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A detailed history Chinese tea plants theft by an English botanist that reads like an adventure novel. A real page turner.
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R. E. Roper
5.0 out of 5 stars History of tea
Reviewed in the United States on November 28, 2023
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Well written. Authorities. Accurate. Reveals tea as geopolitical commodity.
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Karen L. Ager
5.0 out of 5 stars The leaf that levers global economies
Reviewed in the United States on June 21, 2017
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For a fine-tea geek like myself, this book was enthralling. But even if that magic leaf is NOT your cup of tea, learning about the history of this rare commodity and its power in world economies is worth the read. Ms. Rose brings the career of Robert Fortune to life and illuminates the monopolistic power of the famous East India Company, tool of Britain's empire-building strategy. Rose reports history yet tells a story of living people set against a backdrop of culture clashes, espionage, political gamesmanship, and scientific discovery. Whether you're into tea, botany, sociology, history or just love a good page-turner, this book is for you. We learn that Fortune, a prominent British botanist, led the largest theft of intellectual property known to man: tea growing and processing secrets held closely by the Chinese. The social justice component is also an important theme running throughout the book. We learn of the intensive labor required to produce the teas that so captivated the upper classes of the time (and still captivate average people like myself). I even learned that American history books once again whitewashed the truth: those Chinese railroad laborers of the mid-1800s were actually victims of human trafficking; indentured servants at best, outright slave labor at worst. Despite all these harsh truths, Rose keeps the narrative both factual and interesting without crossing over into preaching. You cannot help but root for Fortune through all his failures and successes. The book is eye-opening and completely engrossing.
8 people found this helpful
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Amazon Customer
4.0 out of 5 stars Great Story, Only 'Okay' Narration
Reviewed in the United States on January 1, 2013
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The story is fascinating, I really enjoyed it, and while I'm no historian on the topic, it certainly seemed that the author did her homework. The author reads this audiobook, which is the reason it gets four stars instead of five. It was not one of the better reading jobs I've listened to over the years (but by no means bad); this is one of those books that could have benefited from a professional...like some of the actors that have read other books. Her voice trails off in some places, and she lacks the voice modulation to express the drama and excitement of the material. The packaging indicates that it won an "Earphones Award" from AudioFile, for "Exceptional Audio Performance", but I have to disagree on that one. It's still certainly worth purchasing, but I feel it necessary to warn listeners that this could have been better had a professional read the book instead. Book is worth five stars; the reading, 4 stars.
2 people found this helpful
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John D. Cofield
5.0 out of 5 stars Imperialism, Colonialism, Power Politics, And Tea
Reviewed in the United States on May 17, 2010
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This is a good example of why history is fun. Sarah Rose has focussed on one small event with a few participants nearly two centuries ago and deftly explained why and how it changed the subsequent course of events for China, India, and the rest of the world.

In the 1840s the British Empire and the British East India Company were rising powers, while China was in the first stages of a century long decline. Although the Chinese were rapidly weakening, they did still maintain control over tea production. Tea was a drink which had become increasingly important to Europeans, especially the British, and a small group of opportunistic and amoralofficials in the East India Company engaged in some skulldeggery and outright theft to obtain tea plants which could then be cultivated in Britain's "jewel in the crown," India.

The plot of this story reads like a detective or spy novel, but its even more fascinating because it really happened. The loss of China's tea monopoly contributed to British aggrandizement and Asian decline. This was part of the process by which European imperialists gained hegemony over large parts of the world, leading to the growth of nationalist and anti-colonial movements with which we still deal today.

Rose writes vividly and entertainingly, with an eye for a good anecdote. I look forward to seeing more work from her pen.
3 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

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mpjsca678
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent for tea lovers
Reviewed in Canada on April 14, 2020
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The history of tea and how it got to the UK
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ranjit raina
5.0 out of 5 stars Brewed to perfection
Reviewed in India on October 29, 2018
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A wonderful read , part history , part adventure and part thriller. You don’t have to like tea to like this book
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Luke
5.0 out of 5 stars Phenomenal read
Reviewed in Australia on February 13, 2024
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Hard to put down as it's well written and engaging read. Show's how truly fowl and despicable Queen Victoria is. Also show the inefficiency of monopoly and the struggles to overcome it.
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hungryformore
5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating, intriguing - it has added to my life!
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 3, 2017
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Any tea or botanical enthusiast is likely to warm to this easily to read and thoroughly intriguing book. I recommend.
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Cadmium yellow
5.0 out of 5 stars 見てきたような嘘ではないかと疑いたくなるエピソード。でも状況証拠とその後の歴史は本当にその通りだ。
Reviewed in Japan on April 9, 2017
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① 翻訳書の表題は「紅茶スパイ―英国人プラントハンター中国をゆく」、内容はまさにそのとおり。
② 翻訳書は価格が２，５９２円で、英語のペーパーバック版よりかなり高い。ページ数は英語版で索引込み２５９ページと比較的短く、英語も平易なので、原文で読まれた方が良いと思う。
③ 正真正銘の英国人が中国人に変装して、中国各地からお茶の苗木や種子を収集し、インドへ持ち出すのだが、あまりに具体的で見てきたような嘘ではないかと思ってしまう。
④ さらに苦労の末、ヒマラヤの麓で商業栽培にこぎ着けるのだが、この点がスパイ以上に重要な点かも知れない。地域の「伝統的名産品」が、グローバルな「ブランド商品」へ変身するのだ。「大英帝国」が世界中から、鑑賞用の園芸品から商品作物に至るまで、各種の植物を集め、栽培や改良の技術を磨いてきた成果と言える。
⑤ 本書の範囲外ではあるが、リプトン、トワィニング、F＆Mなどロンドンの大手ブレンダーの隆盛、半植民地化される中国など、その後の歴史は読者諸氏の知るとおりであろう。
⑥ 私事で恐縮だが、小生の一日はLIPTONの「EXTRA　QUALITY　DARJEELING」の白い缶の蓋を開けることから始まる。濃い紅茶の香りに新しい朝を実感するのは楽しい。「紅茶スパイ」に感謝を捧げよう。
2 people found this helpful
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