Have you ever wondered why half of the world calls tea "tea," while the other half refers to it as "cha" or its variations? And why is there no other universal and widely used name for this globally renowned beverage apart from the variations of the two? The answer lies in the difference between trade routes that brought tea to the rest of the world.
With few exceptions, nearly the whole world calls the beverage we know today as tea in two distinct ways. As depicted on the map above, the journey of tea leaves from China, primarily through the famous Silk Road, led to their association with words derived from the Mandarin root -cha (茶). Consequently, in India, tea began to be known as "Chaai," while in Persian, Turkish, Russian, Arabic, and numerous other languages of Central Asia and North Africa, it adopted the name "Chai." Conversely, variations of the root -te, such as those observed in English "tea," Spanish "té," French "thé," and Indonesian and Malay "teh," emerged from tea's transportation via water routes.
But how did the distinction between "cha" and "tea" come about? Despite both terms referring to the same beverage originating from China, the linguistic separation is quite intriguing. The reason behind this lies in the fact that "tea," represented by the Chinese character (茶), is pronounced differently depending on the variety of Chinese spoken. For instance, in Min Chinese, typically spoken in Fujian, a coastal province in China, tea is pronounced as "te." However, in Mandarin, the predominant variety of Chinese, tea is pronounced as "cha" (Quartz). These distinctions suggest that European travelers trading tea in various regions of China would adopt the local pronunciation based on the province from which they acquired the leaves. Dutch traders primarily sourced tea from Fujian, which is why most European countries, to which the Dutch introduced tea, refer to it with a word having the root -te.
A notable exception stands out with the Portuguese word for tea. Unlike its neighboring countries and much of Europe, where tea arrived via oceanic trade routes, Portugal refers to tea as "chá" instead of "te" and its variations. This distinction originates from Portugal's pioneering role as the first country to engage in extensive commercial tea imports to Europe, as well as the location from which tea leaves were purchased. Portugal mainly traded tea from Macao, where the variation of "cha" was more common. Prior to the later Portuguese breakthrough, tea remained primarily a luxury commodity beyond the reach of many, which is why "cha" was not a widely popular beverage in most of Europe. However, with tea's growing popularity, the Dutch East India Company and later the East India Company, which belonged to the British Empire, played pivotal roles in expanding tea trade even further following the Portuguese lead, ultimately democratizing access to this cherished beverage from the 17th century onward. The success of the tea trade led by the Dutch and the British resulted in their way of calling tea spreading across Europe along with the product. Through these intriguing historical observations, we can gain insight into the distinction between the two ways of referring to "tea." Now, you have uncovered a little piece of history behind your country's encounter with this renowned beverage, whether it's known as "tea" or "chai."
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