公元1606年，荷兰东印度公司将第一批从中国购得的茶叶运至阿姆斯特丹
In 1606, the Dutch East India Company Shipped the First Batch of Tea Purchased from China to Amsterdam
西方最早有关对茶叶记载的文献是公元851年一位阿拉伯商人撰写的《中国与印度的关系》一书中。
The earliest written record about tea in the West was in the book The Relationship between China and India by an Arabian businessman in 851 AD.
从17世纪20年代起，英国东印度公司从中国进口的产品一半是茶叶。19世纪以后，英国东印度公司从中国进口的茶叶都占其总货值的90%以上，在其垄断中国贸易的最后几年中，茶叶成为其唯一进口的产品。
Since the 1620s, half of the products imported from China by the British East India Company are tea. After the 19th century, tea accounted for over 90% of all the products imported from China by the British East India Company in value. In the last few years of it monopolizing China's trade, tea became the company’s only imported product from China.
公元1704年，英船“根特”号在广州购买470担茶叶。
In 1704, the British ship "Gent" purchased 23,500 kg of tea in Guangzhou.
19世纪70年代之前，因为中国是茶叶主要的甚至是唯一的供应国，因此茶叶价格基本是受中国支配，而之后，渐渐受伦敦市场支配。导致此格局变化的原因是，中国受到印度和锡兰茶叶的竞争，绿茶则有来自日本的竞争。
Before the 1870s, because China was the main and even the only tea supplier, the price of tea was basically dominated by China. It was then gradually dominated by the London market because of the strong competition of tea from India and Ceylon, and also green tea from Japan.
19世纪70年代后，中国茶叶在国际市场竞争中落败，其原因有三：一是中国茶叶品质不稳定，二是以次充好、假货充斥，三是信息闭塞，不了解国外市场。
Since the 1870s, Chinese tea failed in international competition. There are three reasons for its failure. First, unstable quality; second, shoddy and fake tea on the market; third, the short of market information.
