Probably being argued about as soon as the term 'china drink' was superseded:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leeds-42665167[early 18thc English pronunciation was probably 'tay' not 'tee'; Alexander Pope on Queen Anne:
"Here thou, Great Anna! whom three realms obey
Dost sometimes council take - and sometimes tea. "
.. possibly reflecting importation of the word, as well as the product at that time, from France. Nearest 'chay' area is probably Russia-Turkey; in the latter, the (Latin script) "c,ay" is pronounced to rhyme with 'eye', as in Russian; a word and pronunciation reflected all the way across the Turkic world as far East as Kyrgyzstan, which abuts the Turkic Uighur lands in what is now China, so overland shipment, bearing out the theory. The Modern Greek "tsa'i' " was presumably adopted from Turkish in Ottoman times. Tea was imported to UK in quantities (and by sea) which reduced it in price from high luxury (why early tea caddies had locks, for protection against thieving servants) to widely affordable only when tea plants were smuggled from China to British India in late 18th c. Following book is good:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Green-Gold-Emp ... 0091895456As ever, probably more than most Forumites wanted to know ..
]
(mere guide at) Jet Age Museum, Gloucestershire Airport
http://www.jetagemuseum.org/TripAdvisor Excellence Award 2015
http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Attraction ... gland.html