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Spies, Smugglers, and How a Bitter Plant Became the World's Favorite Drink

Food

Please "Like" if you enjoy the video, subscribe to the channel, and turn on notifications! - Who was the first to start planting tea? When and why did we start drinking it, and why does half the world call it "cha" or "chai," and the other half "tea"? These might sound like simple questions, but the answers explore thousands of years of wars, conflicts, controversies and even acts of espionage. From the spread of Buddhism to the American Revolution, the story of tea is a wild ride through our global history. - Please consider supporting OTR on Patreon and thanks so much to anyone who does; your support truly keeps us going. http://www.patreon.com/OTRontheroad Website: http://www.OTRontheroad.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/otr.offtherails/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y%3D - 0:00 - Introduction 1:05 - The Necessity of Life 3:37 - Shennong 5:05 - Tu vs. Tea 7:51 - Laphet Thoke 13:27 - The Real Start of the Story 14:59 - Mahayana 17:06 - Lu Yu 19:51 - The Tea Ceremony 24:39 - Japan and Korea 28:25 - The Tea Horse Road 31:11 - Yak Butter Tea 36:33 - All the Tea 40:44 - The Trade Begins 44:16 - London and Boston 47:38 - Afternoon Tea 50:17 - Opium Wars 53:51 - The Spy 56:12 - India and Beyond 1:00:34 - Masala Chai 1:02:14 - Everything About Everything 1:08:09 - Credits and Post-Credits - Video Credits: https://youtu.be/5Ni3g13mtCQ?si=RLncyLiF-IIF2b7G https://youtu.be/bB-pr2gFcQM?si=mKfnWqcCEPo0mVNB https://youtu.be/WAi_bXOXZVc?si=7VqvJA6PWkFwvLdk https://youtu.be/Qsz1cIbV8sA?si=kSLcDjoApp0-uhHe https://youtu.be/WRLVrfIBS1k?si=ZCL36Hi5pOrQEFiY https://youtu.be/gV0_RDAxphs?si=GPX8-lFWRVtT3Jpb https://youtu.be/fGcL2_D6es4?si=OPtDeY26EUnp7iDZ https://youtu.be/lGYkxigEBRE?si=lGDGlzvsuc21-XEk https://youtu.be/0vU_hngia5g?si=qKk5Hz70fe69po4O https://youtu.be/PscGgndJEGc?si=f4IUqwT5oVem7lR1 https://youtu.be/SMvQtRtT4-I?si=lHILs8dvdQx3wayx https://youtu.be/KfDTuNyup9Y?si=GVIo0ej8PmEMAgNR https://youtu.be/cdWKkmCfca8?si=EKE3kSZQjeVqlr1q https://youtu.be/Z66ou1pfTOE?si=uDeH_cmOqaN0Li46 https://youtu.be/4wQVxj_0Mdo?si=xIm1sUIaBrvelYNF https://youtu.be/Z66ou1pfTOE?si=rWkkEbGIlQQ_xOHu https://youtu.be/KfDTuNyup9Y?si=fIz3uKUUd6IasD_5 https://youtu.be/xD7qUfSOGOE?si=A1zQ2xC3FrrI-u8z https://youtu.be/rMiOxrJJeo8?si=omUv0SMXQ79Vgb06 https://youtu.be/cdWKkmCfca8?si=miqDir-lYCAfFq65 https://youtu.be/cGP5n0uY1wo?si=TI9FmmmMo65pffa5 https://youtu.be/5AmYjztNe4A?si=STAfDVYvoCGwR_Nd https://youtu.be/0ro7FRqyq00?si=pH_wGlLCWDLvRyqc https://youtu.be/x42GDjsdMYs?si=yPvUCSCLazpLRMFv https://youtu.be/VAt7n_1RIsI?si=BUTHTxJD2UAdQ-ip https://youtu.be/TVQmCFyrjs4?si=HUbviH_PL9gumGif https://youtu.be/Yx8EmMuMjgM?si=5mjKMjJtatte0Jcy https://youtu.be/Oe6kGFmFLnc?si=PK85m9P87Mdjkz0A https://youtu.be/Pjuemh9KshY?si=FecTLfxqUx1mjoUz https://youtu.be/v5merLaAw4A?si=c__k36lKzcFXsWMq https://youtu.be/bHI9c74m-6E?si=R4pC9DRC9A0aG-LF https://youtu.be/g_5zLSStjKc?si=WtKAt6GBBKaACDFc https://youtu.be/1cvH8bCl14Y?si=RbhKqES3X8ls-jl4

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olivierdrift98
olivierdrift98 1 month ago

This was exactly what I needed, thanks!

kabir_khalsa
kabir_khalsa 1 month, 1 week ago

OTR finally gives us the tea

steven.gonzalez
steven.gonzalez 1 month, 1 week ago

your video is just an extraodirnary peace of knowledge that explains so much about the roots of every cultural asiatic trend that appears nowadays. It made me understand the cultural differences of every historical aspect of the traveling of tea in the world, it's so amazing and interesting, thank you for recentering the history and the various and complex traditions related to this rich beverage!

T
thomastempest62 1 month, 3 weeks ago

this was ABSOLUTELY AMAZING!

A
andrew_montgomery 4 months, 1 week ago

-Tea expands across the world -reaches America -“throw that ish in the ocean”

R
reynaldo_godínez 4 months, 2 weeks ago

What a great video! I loved it! Thank you

valentim_darocha
valentim_darocha 5 months, 1 week ago

such a well researched video! I loved the music choices and the images used to accompany it! Glad this got recommended to me! your presentation was great as well too! Also I know loosely many of these tidbits of tea history but it was nice to see it all put together in one great video

zinalsood865
zinalsood865 5 months, 2 weeks ago

As something that I drink nearly every day (I'm from Mexico & the U.S) I find this video very fascinating.

K
kamilly_sousa 5 months, 3 weeks ago

This video is absolutely amazing. Thank you for creating this!

A
angela_rodriguez 6 months, 2 weeks ago

Underrated video on an underrated channel. Thank you for producing such informed and thoughtful content!

joseph_guerrero
joseph_guerrero 6 months, 2 weeks ago

This was an amazing and comprehensive introduction to tea history and culture. Thanks for this. I plan to share it with our staff!

G
garytaylor19 6 months, 3 weeks ago

the lady saying her family used the teabag 20 times isnt a joke. my grandpa still does that.

D
dimitrios_bonbach 6 months, 3 weeks ago

Excellent excellent excellent! ❤ This is the best history of tea video I have seen.

V
vasudhamalhotra949 6 months, 3 weeks ago

This is the documentary I've been waiting for. Thank you for compiling so much information for us tea enthusiasts!

L
leon_rogers 6 months, 4 weeks ago

Absolutely amazing video. I really appreciated the depth of the conversation and the inclusion of all the various origin stories and cultures that sprang from them. The history of tea is complex to say the least and this one of the most all-encompassing videos I've seen on the topic. Well done 👍 thanks for sharing. Good luck with your travels. I look forward to watching and learning more from you.

victoria.solano
victoria.solano 7 months, 2 weeks ago

Brilliant video, yet again. Thank you! ❤

N
nehaganesh976 7 months, 3 weeks ago

I started to drink dragon well tea, a kind of green tea originated in Hangzhou China, 15 years ago, and now I look at least 10 years younger than my actual age.

S
saanvi.sha 8 months ago

Wow, this one of the best videos I have ever watched on YouTube, huge respect! A drink common in almost every culture in its own way!

F
frédérique_weiss 8 months ago

Thank you so much for doing these high quality documentaries.

J
james_west 8 months ago

Thankyou so much for this video I’m like unhealthily obsessed with tea and how crazy cool it is. This is exactly what I’ve been craving