as the portuguese royal family, along with various english traders and politicians, permanently established themselves in rio, they decided to import tea to the city - being tea an important upper-class tradition in europe at that time.  

so, during the rule of Dom João vi, starting in 1812 hundreds of chinese immigrants from macau arrived in rio to to help cultivate the plants - in fact, until then, tea was only produced in china and exported mostly to europe.

this was a particularly meaningful moment in history, as this is when the Chinese first arrived to brazil.

the earliest tea plantation in the city was in the royal nursery, which is today rio's botanical garden (jardim botânico), and was a very exclusive affair, with the tea strictly reserved for the royal family, and some of their close associates.