A botanist by trade, Fortune had been sent to China following the first opium war into newly acquired British territory to collect interesting plants for English gardens. But Fortune set his sights much higher. The Chinese monopoly on tea had put a severe strain England's economy. The xenophobic Chinese were at the time, the most powerful military force in the world and refused to accept international banking terms, requiring payment for tea and silks in silver. England just didn’t have enough silver to accommodate the growing trade. So a scheme was developed to replace silver with Indian opium. In the arrangement, Indian grown opium was sent to China and sold for silver. This silver was used to buy Chinese goods. Crisis avoided. Unfortunately, 6 million Chinamen became addicted to opium and the Emperor cut off the opium trade. England faced again with economic ruin sent in the gunboats and won the first opium war. A whole new world of trade was opened and Robert Fortune was an early entrepreneur.

Fortune spent three years traveling through China as an agent of the Royal Botanical Society collecting interesting specimens. He made several shipments back to England using Dr. Ward's invention, a Wardian cases, later called a terrarium.

While on his first mission, Fortune learned Chinese customs and became proficient in Mandarin; so much so that with a shaved head and ponytail, he was able to pass himself off as a Chinese merchant from a far off Chinese province. In this disguise, now an agent of the East India Company, he was to obtained knowledge of tea growing and preparation and acquired plants and seeds to smuggle back to English held territory. If successful, his mission could bring the Chinese monopoly on the tea trade to an end.

Fortune braved numerous perils including malaria, bandits, rioting mobs of increasingly xenophobic Chinese and a typhoon to recover tea and other botanical treasures. He was successful in not only acquiring tea plants, 20,000 of them, but in gaining a knowledge of how tea was manufactured. He published accounts of his travels in four publications from 1847 through 1863 living comfortably off the proceeds until his death in 1880.

Meanwhile, a pair of Scottish brothers had discovered a variety of the tea plant growing in one of the wildest places on earth, Assam India and had identified vast areas where tea could be easily grown. They need only survive long enough to make it a reality. We'll visit with these enterprising Scotsmen next week.

Gunpowder Green Organically Grown (China)   Tightly twisted whole leaf tea that steeps a slightly pungent and toasted tasting yellow cup. It derives its name from Englishmen who thought the tightly rolled leaves resembled gunpowder shot. SKU - 2003-005 $ 7.95 - 4 oz bag