at a glance

in the early years of the nineteenth century, around the time the portuguese royal family moved to the city of rio de janeiro, tea was a favored drink of many european upper classes, especially the portuguese and the english.

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 that tea was a distinguished tradition in europe at that time.  

hence, during the rule of Dom João vi, starting in 1812, hundreds of chinese immigrants  arrived in the city from macau to help cultivate tea plants. previously tea had only been produced in china and exported mostly to europe - this was a particularly meaningful moment in history, as it mars the beginning of chinese migration to brazil.