Putting the Tea in Britain

Putting the Tea in Britain—The Scots Who Made Our National Drink

How Scots planted, traded, and brewed their way to Britain's national drink

About the Ebook

Shortlisted for the Saltire Society History Book of the Year

From the Indian Mutiny to the London Blitz, offering a 'nice cup of tea' has been a stock British response to a crisis.  But tea itself has a dramatic, and often violent, history. That history is inextricably interwoven with the story of Scotland. Scots were overwhelmingly responsible for the introduction and development of the UK's national drink, and were the foremost pioneers in the development of tea as an international commodity. 

This book reveals how Darjeeling, Assam, Ceylon and Africa all owe their thriving tea industries to pioneering work by Scottish adventurers and entrepreneurs. It's a dramatic tale.  Many of these men jeopardised their lives to lay the foundation of the tea industry.  Many Scots made fortunes – but it is a story with a dark side in which racism, the exploitation of native peoples and environmental devastation was the price paid for 'a nice cup of tea'. 

Les Wilson brings the story right up to date, with a look at the recent development of tea plantations in Scottish hills and glens.

Why You'll Love This Ebook

• Discover the surprising Scottish story behind every cup of tea
• Meet the planters, smugglers, and merchants who built an industry
• Explore how one drink transformed Britain and its empire
• Read another celebrated title from Birlinn Ltd - Independent Scottish Publisher

Reviews

'Rich in fascinating detail and stories — deserves to sell like hot cakes washed down with a fortifying blend of Assam and Ceylon tea' The Scotsman

'A skilled writer who weaves a fast-paced, compelling tale — the blood-stained story of tea is a fascinating one in which the Scots were front and centre' Scottish Field

'An intriguing and compulsive narrative — encapsulated in the cup of tea on the breakfast tray is a history that often reads like a novel of buckled swashes' Ileach

'Overwhelmingly a delight, infused with unstinting research' Glasgow Herald

About the Author

Les Wilson is a writer and award-winning documentary maker. Among his film credits is the 30-part series Scotland's War, an oral history of the Second World War, and the 13-part series The Real Tartan Army, a TV history of the Scottish regiments. He is the co-editor of Islay Voices (Birlinn, 2016) and the author of The Drowned and the Saved: When War Came to the Hebrides (Birlinn, 2018), which won the Saltire Society History Book of the Year award, 2018.

Publication Details

Publisher: Birlinn Ltd

Publication Date: 03 June 2021

Print Length: 274 pages (Ebook edition)

ISBN (Ebook): 9781788852876

Format: Ebook

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