The story of black tea is rooted in the Chinese tea trade with the West. Stronger and darker teas were favoured by the British and Dutch traders of the 18th century, because they lasted better on long voyages and appealed more to the western palate. By the 1850’s most Chinese tea regions were making fully oxidised teas, predominantly for export. As Western demand for black tea grew, the black tea production process and the related tea bush varietals were successfully transposed to newly created plantations in India, Ceylon, Indonesia and East Africa.