In the process of the development of the world tea history, there are ten figures who have played an essential role. Among them, how many do you know?

The Sage of Tea --- Lu Yu

Lu Yu, a Chinese tea master and writer, was fond of tea all his life and penned the first-ever exhaustive study on tea --- Cha Jing (The Classic of Tea) in A.D. 758. The Classic of Tea is the first definitive work on cultivating, making and drinking tea and is praised as the tea encyclopedia. Lu Yu is therefore respected as the Sage of Tea for his outstanding contribution to the development of tea industry in China and the world.

Japanese Tea Ancestor --- Eisai Zenji

The credit of starting tea culture in Japan is often given to Eisai, a Japanese Buddhist priest. He first brought tea seeds from China to Japan, and also wrote the seminal book, Kissa Yojoki (Drinking Tea for Health) in 1191. This work by Eisai was first intended as a medical treatise on the medicinal properties of tea. He is therefore honored as the tea ancestor of Japan.

 European Tea Spreader --- Gaspar da Cruz

Portuguese missionary Cruz took a merchant ship to China in 1560, nominally to study and explore, in fact, to steal porcelain, silk, tea and other secrets. He described in detail the tea-drinking custom in the Ming Dynasty in Treatise on things Chinese, which is the earliest written material of tea by Europeans. To some extent, it also promotes the spread and development of Chinese tea to the world.

 Tea-drinking Queen --- Princess Catherine

It is said that when Catherine of Braganza arrived from Portugal to marry Charles II in 1662, she brought with her a casket of tea. Since the Portuguese had been importing tea to Europe from the beginning of the seventeenth century, Catherine had grown up drinking tea as the preferred everyday beverage. Catherine’s fondness quickly made it fashionable in England, and first the ladies of the court and gradually those further removed from royal life developed a liking for the elegant drink.

Tea Thief --- Robert Fortune

China dominated the tea trade until the East India Company broke its monopoly, having sent Scottish botanist Robert Fortune on a covert mission to steal its plants and the secrets of tea horticulture and manufacturing in 1848. Though disgracefully, Robert Fortune indeed played a role in the development of the tea in the world, objectively.

The Founder of the First Tea Brand --- Thomas Lipton

Lipton, the world's most famous tea brand, is founded by Thomas Lipton, and its tea is sold in more than 150 countries. In 1890, Thomas Lipton launched Lipton Black Tea in England; in 1892, Lipton began the road of brand globalization; in 1898, Lipton enjoyed the reputation of the King of Black Tea in the world; and in 1992, Lipton entered the birthplace of tea --- China. The emergence of Lipton not only makes it the first brand in the tea industry, but also greatly promotes the popularity of tea in the world, and makes tea the most popular beverage in the world.

The Pioneer in the Revival of Modern Tea Industry --- Chi Bingde

Chi Bingde, who came from a family of Oolong Tea, founded Tack Kee & Co. in Canton (Guangdong) in 1898, which then moved to Hong Kong, was mainly engaged in oolong tea business and took Hong Kong as the springboard to expand the oolong tea trade to all over the world. Tack Kee & Co. was once developed into a modern Chinese tea company comparable to Lipton. Chi Bingde is therefore honoured as the pioneer of the revival of modern Chinese tea industry.

Tea Bag Promoter --- Thomas Sullivan

In Britain, people drink about 130 million cups of tea bags a day, and tea bags are chooses of 96% of British people. The invention of the tea bag is typically attributed to Thomas Sullivan, a New York tea importer, who sent out tea samples to prospective customers in silk bags which they then presumed should be directly placed in water. Through the tea bags, Thomas Sullivan promoted the industrialization and standardization of tea production to a certain extent, and promoted the tea to move from the agricultural age into the industrial age.

The Author of All About Tea --- William H. Ukers

All About Tea, a worldwide great work of tea written by William H. Ukers, was called the world's three major tea classics together with The Classic of Tea written by Lu Yu and Drinking Tea for Health written by Eisai Zenji. In this book, Ukers examined the tea trade from the ground up. His research led him to Brazil, Sumatra, Colombia, India, China, Japan, and the ports of Africa, Europe, and the Americas, often for months at a time. It took him took 10 years to complete the whole book, which cover the historical, technical and scientific aspects of tea. In this book, William H. Ukers describes the history, cultivation method and etymology of the world's teas.

 Contemporary Tea Saint --- Wu Juenong

Wu Juenong, a famous Chinese agronomist and tea expert, has studied tea all his life. He first discussed that China is the origin of tea plants. His commentary on the Chinese masterpiece The Classic of Tea: An Illustrated Modern Reader of 'The Classic of Tea' is the culmination of lifelong research on Chinese tea culture and history and has been acclaimed as a New Classic of Tea. In addition, he founded the first tea industry major in colleges and universities in China and a national tea head office, and pioneered the first tea research institute at the foot of Wuyi Mountain in Fujian, having made outstanding contributions to the development of Chinese tea industry. Wu Juenong has since been hailed as the most important figure in twentieth-century efforts to revive the Chinese tea trade.