History of Tea: Britain’s stolen brew
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History of Tea: Britain’s stolen brew

B2Upper-intermediateSeptember 11, 202654 min

Greg Jenner is joined by Professor Yangwen Zheng and comedian Hugh Dennis to learn about the global history of tea, and how it became Britain’s national drink. Despite its popularity in the UK, much of our tea is grown in India and Kenya, while the tea plant itself is native to China. The story of how it made its way into Britain’s kitchens – and the nation’s hearts – is surprisingly bloody, encompassing war, colonialism, and even botanical theft. This episode charts the global history of tea from its Chinese origins, taking in the Mongol invasions, the contested role of a...

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Erykos kaupoya, sékato de nvalíkóiman rauta kaupan, samán katon alta.

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B2

B2 · Upper-intermediate

Comfortable if you already follow TV news

A1 61%A2 28%B1 9%B2 2%C1 0%
  • 98% of the words are B1 or easier.
  • 175 words a minute: natural, fairly fast speech.
  • 187 harder words (B2 and up) in the whole episode.

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0:00

This BBC podcast is supported by ads outside the UK. Erykos kaupoya, sékato de nvalíkóiman rauta kaupan, samán katon alta. Ja jó pavi sisata il máista parki paica. Terve stulo a lamder naan.

0:40

Lamder na piece te fí. the history of Britain's favourite hot bevy, tea. And joining our time-travelling tea party, our two very special guests.

1:07

In History Corner, she's Professor of Chinese History at Manchester University, where she specialises in Ming and Qing-era trade and economic history.

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