- Published: 1 June 2010
- ISBN: 9780099493426
- Imprint: Arrow
- Format: Paperback
- Pages: 288
- RRP: $24.99
For All the Tea in China
Espionage, Empire and the Secret Formula for the World's Favourite Drink
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- Published: 1 June 2010
- ISBN: 9780099493426
- Imprint: Arrow
- Format: Paperback
- Pages: 288
- RRP: $24.99
Sarah Rose tells a stirring tale of individual derring-do and the fate of the nations.
Waterstone's Books Quarterly
It's an amusing tale... I was fascinated
Sunday Express
This will ensure you value your cuppa as never before
Country Life
This fascinating book by Sarah Rose tells the story of Robert Fortune, an early 19th-century botanist who, disguised as a Mandarin, was employed by the East India Company to discover the secrets of tea-growing in China
The Observer
Fortune's act of agricultural espionage is the subject of Sarah Rose's fascinating book
The Tablet
Sarah Rose's For All the Tea in China is a gripping spy story, which brilliantly recounts how plant-hunter Robert Fortune committed one of the greatest acts of industrial espionage in history... Rose's account is superbly well written
Good Book Guide
Had your cup of tea this morning? If not, the next time you take a gulp of PG Tips or a sip of single estate orange pekoe you might want to send up a prayer of thanks for the dogged Scotsman who made it all possible, Robert Fortune ... Rose's account is full of colour
The Times
[Fortune's] story is well worth the telling, and Rose does so with skill and restraint
Literary Review
Reveals our cuppa wouldn't exist if it wasn't for an amazing Victorian, armed only with a rusty pistol and a pigtail, who stole the secret of tea from under the nose of China's ruthless warlords
Daily Mail
The best parts of the book are not the dangers that Fortune encountered, but Rose's assured, confident descriptions of the manufacture of tea. Like Fortune, the reader goes on a journey of discovery
Mail on Sunday
A compelling sketch of the world of globalisation before instant information, and transforms a modest Scottish botanist into a swashbuckling pirate capitalist, who incidentally changed the way we all have breakfast ... A genuinely curious and evocative yarn
Scotland on Sunday
Reshapes into gripping prose Fortune's own memoirs and letters ... An enthusiastic tale of how the humble leaf became a global addiction
Financial Times
In this lively account of the adventures (and misadventures) that lay behind Robert Fortune's bold acquisition of Chinese tea seedlings for transplanting in British India, Sarah Rose demonstrates in engaging detail how botany and empire-building went hand in hand
Jonathan Spence, author of THE SEARCH FOR MODERN CHINA
As a lover of tea and a student of history, I loved this book. Sarah Rose conjures up the time and tales as British Legacy Teas are created before our eyes. We drink the delicious results of Robert Fortune's adventures every day
Michael Harney, author of THE HARNEY & SONS GUIDE TO TEA
For All The Tea In China is a rousing Victorian adventure story chronicling the exploits of botanical thief Robert Fortune, who nearly single-handedly made the British tea industry possible in India. Sarah Rose has captured the thrill of discovery, the dramatic vistas in the Wuyi Mountains, and the near-disasters involved in Fortune's exploits. For tea-lovers, history buffs, or anyone who enjoys a ripping good read
Mark Pendergrast, author of Uncommon Grounds: The History of Coffee and How It Transformed Our World