When it comes to westerners drinking tea, people will naturally think of Britain, the world tea consumption kingdom. In fact, it was Dutch merchant ships that first spread tea to Europe.
As early as the beginning of17th century, Dutch merchants relied on the advantages of navigation to transport green tea from Macau to China, then to Java and then to Europe. At first, due to the imbalance between supply and demand, the price of tea was very expensive, and most people could not afford it. Tea is only a luxury of the court nobles, rich families and noble families, as a kind of health care and social etiquette. People drink tea to show off their elegance and strive for wealth. Therefore, tea soon became popular in the whole society. Some wealthy housewives are proud of having unique tea rooms, precious tea leaves and exquisite tea sets at home.
In wealthy families, if guests come, the host will welcome them to the teahouse and receive them with the greatest courtesy. After the guests are seated, the hostess will open the beautiful and exquisite tea box, take out all kinds of tea leaves and bring them to each guest, so that they can choose their favorite tea leaves and brew them in a small porcelain teapot, one pot for each person. The early Dutch used plates instead of cups when drinking tea. When the tea is ready, the guests themselves pour the tea soup into the plate and make a "tut-tut" sound when drinking tea to express their praise for the hostess and the tea.
With the increase of people's desire to taste tea and enjoy their stomachs, the trend of drinking tea is almost crazy. Some ladies are obsessed with drinking tea, addicted to social activities of drinking tea all day long, and even left home, which aroused people's eyebrows. /kloc-the comedy "Mrs. Tea Fan" staged at the beginning of the 0/8th century is a vivid portrayal of the tea drinking fashion at that time. The play further encouraged people in European countries to drink tea.
By the second half of the17th century, the import of tea increased sharply and the price of tea gradually stabilized. Coupled with the literati's admiration for tea, the wind of drinking tea spread throughout the whole society. Businessmen, the governor of Batavia, are also urged to bring tea imports into normal trade channels. By 1734, Dutch tea imports had reached 885,567 pounds. After the popularity of tea drinking, not only commercial tea rooms and teahouses have emerged. At the same time, morning tea, afternoon tea and evening tea are also popular in families, and the etiquette of entertaining guests with tea is very particular. From welcoming guests, offering tea, greeting and saying goodbye, there is a set of strict etiquette, which not only embodies the humility and virtue of the East, but also contains the romantic amorous feelings of the West, which blends the spiritual civilization of the East and the West. Although the enthusiasm of Dutch people for drinking tea is not as good as in the past, the wind of drinking tea still exists. Locals like to drink black tea with sugar, milk or lemon. Arabs living in the Netherlands, on the other hand, like to drink mint green tea. The fragrant jasmine tea is the most popular among thousands of restaurants in China.