209 1 ‘A Family of Three at Tea’, oil on canvas, Richard Collins, c. 1727. Tea, which originated in China, became popular in Europe from the 17th century onwards, green tea first and later black tea. Initially it was a luxury product, but over time it increasingly became a popular beverage for the middle classes. 2 Steel engraving, Thomas Brown (after Joseph Lionel Williams), 1850. Dependency on the limited Chinese market for tea led to the creation of large new tea plantations in India by the expanding British colonial empire in the 19th century. The cultivation and processing of tea were optimized.
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