Their influence can still be tasted at many of the thousands of restaurants serving dishes like Sichuan duck smoked with camphor wood and tea leaves, and a popular dish called Over the Bridge Noodles.

BBC: The melting pot of Chinese cuisine

Beautiful hand-carved panels, dark wood, vintage tea canisters and red lanterns create a soft and elegant atmosphere.

BBC: High-altitude dining in London

Dark brown, almost like wood, the tea rose inside the white cup.

NEWYORKER: Total Recall

There is a large dark-wood Victorian table here, around which Emin likes to serve afternoon tea in bone china cups and play dominoes with her friends on winter afternoons.

WSJ: Reformed Bad-Girl Artist Tracey Emin

Darting down the corridor to a wood-fired samovar tucked in a cupboard, she reappeared moments later carrying glasses in filigreed silver holders and tea bags of Siberian milk tea, thick, fragrant and soothing.

WSJ: Riding the Trans-Mongolian Railway through Russia, China and Mongolia