This week, Gastropod tells the story of two countries and their shared obsession with a plant: Camellia sinensis, otherwise known as the tea bush. The Chinese domesticated tea over thousands of years, but they lost their near monopoly on international trade when a Scottish botanist, disguised as a Chinese nobleman, smuggled it out of China in the 1800s, in o ... Show More
Jun 24
Ask Gastropod: Bubblegum, Meal Kits, and the Real Truth About Rooibos
What do bubblegum, rooibos tea, and meal kits have in common? They’re all topics that puzzle and fascinate you, dear Gastropod listeners. This episode, we're getting to the bottom of your most pressing culinary questions! Such as: Are meal kits really better for the planet than b ... Show More
50m 13s
Feb 2022
#238 | A Short History Of Tea
It's the second most popular drink in the world after water, with 3.7 billion cups drunk every single day.In this episode, we explore tea's fascinating history, how it changed global politics, caused countries to go to war with each other, and literally changed the world.
How m ... Show More
23m 46s
Nov 2023
The invention of bubble tea
In 1987, a tea shop in Taiwan named Chun Shui Tang began selling pearl milk tea, or bubble tea, as it’s often called. It would revolutionise the tea-drinking world. Ben Henderson speaks to Liu Han-Chieh, the shop owner, and Lin Xiuhu, who first added the drink’s signature tapioca ... Show More
10m 4s