During the reign of Queen Victoria, the first China tea of the season, landing in London, was particularly costly. As a result, a great rivalry occurred between the shippers of the day, who were frantically searching for the fastest sailing ship in order to import the tea. Soon a ship called “the clipper” appeared designed by the Americans. This ship cut the return journey time by half. The first British clipper was sailing in 1850 and the so-called “clipper races” from China to London soon became a popular sporting event.

The cultivation of tea soon began in India where it was found growing wild in the Assam region. The cultivation spread all the way to Ceylon.

England saw its first Indian tea being brought over in 1838, and the English quickly adopted it favouring it to China tea.