Etymological observations

The different articulations of the word for tea into the two main groups: "te-derived" (Min Chinese dialects) and "cha-derived" (Mandarin, Cantonese and other non-Min Chinese dialects) reveals the particular Chinese local cultures where non-Chinese nations acquired their tea and tea culture.

• India and the Arab world most likely got their tea cultures from the Cantonese or the Southwestern Mandarin speakers.
• Russia encountered tea via the northern Mandarin speakers.
• The Portuguese, the first Europeans to import the herb in large amounts, took the Cantonese form "chá," as used in their trading posts in the south of China, especially Macau.
• Western Europeans who copied the Min articulation "teh" probably traded with the Hokkienese while in Southeast Asia.