Putting the Tea in Britain: The Scots Who Made Our National Drink

This epic history tells the story of the intrepid Scots who pioneered the global tea trade in Darjeeling, Assam, Ceylon, and elsewhere.

For centuries, a "nice cup of tea" has been Britain's quintessential source of comfort in a crisis. But tea itself has a surprisingly dramatic, even violent, history—one that is inextricably linked to the story of Scotland.

Scots were overwhelmingly responsible for the introduction and development of the UK's national drink, and were the foremost pioneers of...