Lynda J R. reviewed on 1/9/2013 + 39 more book reviews

"For All the Tea in China" reminded me of the "The Orchid Thief," but it went so much farther, fitting the theft of tea-growing secrets from China into a whole social, anthropological, political and industrial context that staggers the mind. In 1848, when the British East India Co. hired Robert Fortune, a botanist and plant hunter, to travel to China to steal tea seedlings and seeds, with the hope of growing tea in India, it set off a domino effect that ranged from monetary gain and scientific knowledge to improving the health of the British people and the speed of sailing ships. This is a fascinating look at a part of history that covers a short number of years, but changed the world.

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