It seems like such an innocuous drink, but tea has a rich and convoluted history -- some of which is quite surprising and subversive. Food historian Seren Charrington-Hollins spills the tea, so to speak, on the ultimate British beverage in A Dark History of Tea, which reaches back to its origins in China, its rise in popularity there and eventual spread to other nations (Japan in particular became quite enamored of the drink) and its broad reach into England, where tea became an institution so ingrained in the national culture that it approaches parody.

The first chapter begins in China, where the first evidence of tea was found in an archeological study of the Han dynasty (206 BC-220 CE) and may have been around centuries earlier in the time of Confucius. The first written work on the subject was penned during the Tang dynasty in the 760s. Charrington-Hollins touches on the historical and mythological origins of the drink, as well as the rituals of its use -- both as a drink and as a medicine.

The first written reference to tea in Europe was in Italy in 1559. Records, Charrington-Hollins explains, show that tea reached Amsterdam in 1610, France in the 1630s and England in 1657 where it was soon being sold at the Sultaness Head in the Royal Exchange. Privately, tea was "a prized commodity" that was sold "at exorbitant rates to wealthy individuals." Famed diarist Samuel Pepys wrote of his first taste of tea in 1660, and Catherine of Braganza, consort of King Charles II, made tea something of a fad at court.

The book spends a good bit of time on the early days of British tea consumption, and its connections to the aristocracy, coffeehouses, houses of ill repute and seditious politics. The latter actually led to several royal attempts to ban the drink entirely, but its hold on England was already too stubborn to be shaken off by mere regal whims. Then, by the mid-1700s or so, the price of imported tea dropped sharply, and suddenly it became a drink of the people rather than simply the wealthy elite.

It's here where some of the darker aspects of the tea trade arise, as the East India Trading Co. -- having difficulty paying cash for the much-desired product -- began dealing opium in trade. Although the drug was already known in China, British traders increased the supply dramatically, leading to "serious social and economic consequences" for the Chinese people.

The British ignored the Chinese pleas to halt the flow of opium into the country. Money was at stake and the British did not want to jeopardise the profitable opium-silver-tea business triangle, so they simply ignored China's appeals.

In fact, the British people were so desperate for their tea that the nation waged two bloody wars against China to retain the right to flood that country with opium. Meanwhile, the people of Victorian England were also falling prey to the drug, and addiction among the masses led to related problems including prostitution, child trafficking, and murder. At the same time, the demand for tea led to widespread smuggling, counterfeiting and the adulteration of tea leaves with other substances, some of which were potentially fatal to ingest.

Tea was offered as a moral substitute for gin, but it was also pilloried as the cause of a great many woes and sins. As its place society evolved, you'll even see it employed as a sort of sexual lubricant.

Through it all, Charrington-Hollins also delves into the evolution of British tastes from green tea to black, from tea from China to tea from India, from loose tea to tea bags. She looks at the development of tea-time rituals, etiquette and the proper tea set. She concludes by examining the role of tea in murder, magic, superstitions and fortune-telling, including instructions on how to practice divination using loose tea leaves.

The book is at times repetitive, with some information popping up multiple times, but overall A Dark History of Tea is a well-written and informative look at a topic that, frankly, I never gave much thought. I found the book illuminating and, quite frankly, made me want a hot cuppa.