1|The Tea Camel Route

In the last issue we read about the ancient Tea Horse Route that connected Tibet and China, whose
exchange was Tea for Horses or Horses for tea between Tibet & China.

Our readers found the story very exciting and so we decided to delve deeper into other Tea Route and
their stories. We found another historic Tea Route between China and Russia via the great grasslands
& coldest dessert of Mongolia known as the Tea Camel Route, and interestingly the Modern Trans-
Siberian Railway route stencils this old tea route map.

After many scientific studies about the origin of Tea, it has been concluded that a wild plant whose
leaves when fell into the boiling water changed its colour and gave the water an unmistakable flavour
was used as a medicinal herb in China almost 3000 years before Jesus Christ was born. This
flavourable wildling was found in today’s geographical confluence of China, Tibet, Myanmar &
Northeast India, as if this ancient land already knew about the modern boundaries that’ll divide
people and therefore had an ancient congruence to create something that will act as a coalition of
culture in the future, bonding the people back separated by the modern world but One with a cup of
Tea.

The History

Understandably Tea replaced the ancient Sbiten in Russia. The very spicy or very sweet sbiten was
slowly taken over by aromatic & royal feeling hot beverage that soothed the tongue and comforted the
body in cold Russian winters.
It was almost mid-17th century when a Mongolian ruler gifted Russian Tsar Michael I, tea.

References:
www.eternal-landscapes.co.uk
http://www.siberiantimes.com/other/others/news/n0312-new-tourist-route-follows-the-great-tea-road/
en.unesco.org
Russian Tea Culture, History of Tea: Wikipedia
2|The Tea Camel Route

Although there are folktales found in Ivan Sakharov’s ‘Tales of Russian People’, that talks about the
nomadic tribes from southern Russia, the Ural region were the first to taste Tea from their travel to
the lands of China in 16th century.

The history of Tea connection that China had with Russia was not ancient, neither did it only cater to
that of a Trade Exchange, as it normally was in the past with other provinces. The gift of tea to Russia
was to regulate the relations between Imperial Russia and the Qing Empire of China, which later
formulated into Treaties that served as trade relations also, exchanging Russian furs with Chinese
Tea.

The Journey

This Great Tea Camel Route has been the longest land trade route in the history of mankind. Although
not ancient, the most critical significance of the Tea Camel Route is that it became the key to build the
longest Railway in the World, The Trans-Siberian Railway. But before transport became modern and
faster, the skill of transporting heavy bricks of tea were in the hands of the Mongolian Camel Caravans.
The Caravan leaders were among the most prominent and trusted who not only knew how to face the
geographical challenges in these extreme terrain conditions, but were also accounted for being the
messenger of world affairs and played a critical role in their time.

The Trans-Siberian railway ended the tea caravans, yet the interest in the history & stories of the Tea
Camel route did not kindle away. Many towns on this historic road have buildings and museum

References:
www.eternal-landscapes.co.uk
http://www.siberiantimes.com/other/others/news/n0312-new-tourist-route-follows-the-great-tea-road/
en.unesco.org
Russian Tea Culture, History of Tea: Wikipedia
3|The Tea Camel Route

collections relating to this earlier era. This route plays such an integral role in the connection of these
countries that recently, an important Railway section was honoured as a tourist route for tea drinkers.

The Present

What came as a gift to the Tsars of Russia from the Chinese Rulers, is today sipped by everyone in the
entire Eurasia and beyond. The rarity of the availability of tea due to difficult routes has now
transcended the difficulties and become the most desired drink of the World.

Tea, whether black or green, with milk & sugar or without, hot or cold, brewed in samovars or
saucepans, has designed its way into being the consort of human beings in health and in sickness.

References:
www.eternal-landscapes.co.uk
http://www.siberiantimes.com/other/others/news/n0312-new-tourist-route-follows-the-great-tea-road/
en.unesco.org
Russian Tea Culture, History of Tea: Wikipedia