Robert Fortune, tea spy (pt. 2)

Robert Fortune had done the Crown's mission and stolen the secret of tea from the Chinese in the form of thousands of seeds and camellia sinensis plants. But Fortune was already back in China, this time visiting China's black tea regions, by the time his first shipment was on its way to India. Although India had long had its own indigenous variety of tea plant (the camellia sinensis var. assamica), the goal was to establish a commercial-grade enterprise there capable of mass production and export in order to compete globally with what had literally been a Chinese monopoly. The plants were shipped through Calcutta (where historical records tell us that the plants were still intact) the capital of the British East India Company colonial government, to Allahabad. It was here that disaster struck.

Two unlucky events coincided to result in the spoliage of this first shipment. First, an incompetent local official of the British East India Company who knew little about botany and even less about tea plants subjected the plants to excessive watering. Second, the ship carrying the plants was trapped in Allahabad due to a severe drought which lowered water levels so drastically that it was unable to leave. The ship, and the plants, were stuck in Allahabad for six weeks in the sweltering summer heat. By the time the plants were ready to go to their next destination, Saharanpur, none of the plants were viable, and most were covered in mold and fungus due to the combination of excessive watering and excessive heat.

Upon his arrival in Shanghai, Robert Fortune received a letter advising him of the disaster. Like any good spy, he had insurance in case of a worst-case scenario: against Company orders, he had kept a substantial stash of seeds for himself. He sent a substantial amount of these seeds in the same custom-made Wardian cases (see photo) which he had used to transport the plants for the first shipment. The seeds proved much hardier than the plants in transit, and with a little luck, made it to India in one piece.

These initial plants were cross-bred with the native Indian tea plants to produce a hardy variety that would become the staple for worldwide black tea production. Although many of the initial plants died and there was still a lot of trial, error and outright failure, by 1900, only 7% of England's tea was imported from China, and India had become the world's biggest producer. (They held onto the title until 2006, when they were dethroned by China).

Thanks to Robert Fortune and his one small act of insubordination, England was in control of its own tea production and tea became firmly established in the Commonwealth countries as the beverage of choice. Next time you enjoy a hearty cup, think of the brave efforts of this bookish Scots horticulturalist and say thanks.

RECOMMENDED READING:

1. Fortune, Robert. Three Years' Wandering in the Northern Provinces of China, A Visit to the Tea, Silk, and Cotton Countries, with an account of the Agriculture and Horticulture of the Chinese, New Plants, etc. London: John Murray, 1847.
2. Fortune, Robert. A Journey to the Tea Countries of China: including Sung-Lo and the Bohea hills; with a Short Notice of the East India Company's Tea Plantations in the Himalaya Mountains. London: John Murray, 1852.
3. Rose, Sarah. For All the Tea in China. Hutchinson, 2009*
4. Mair, Victor H., & Hoh, Erling. The True History of Tea. Thames & Hudson, 2009.

*An enjoyable read, especially for Fortune fans, but must be taken with a grain of salt; some of the factual information is not accurate.