Tracing the Ancient Trade Routes that Shaped History:
The Silk Road was a trade route which started in China, travelled through Asia, and ended in Europe. It was one of the earliest attempts to connect the world and it started because China shared its precious resources. China was able to provide the rest of the world with silk (hence the name), printing materials, and technology. Not only that but China was exploring space and were able to share their knowledge across the Silk Road.
This trade can be traced back to the 2nd century BCE, in this time people would travel by either walking, using camels, or horses. As time went on trade routes were developed to make the exchange of goods easier; boats would arrive at the coastline and caravans would be placed along the routes. From there people would exchange resources, to get silk they would have to trade one of their valuable goods. This is how countries started trading all sorts of items, from silk, spices, and grains to precious metals, ceramics, and manuscripts.
There is an insert in each order so stay tuned to find out more.
Exploring the Global Impact of Ancient Trade Routes:
Of course, the biggest impact of the Silk Road Trade was economic development, it allowed many countries to expand their resources and form cities. But what we would like to focus on is the social impact, people developed a sense of community through sharing ideas and tales.
As scholars would travel across the Silk Road, they would share fascinating religious experiences and practises, this is how many countries got access to religious manuscripts. There were many other ideas shared across the Silk Road including Buddhism and Astrology
Not only that but arts were shared too. Poetry was very popular and a way to bring people together, where they would sit together around a fire and share fascinating poems. Rumi was a key poet during this time and his poems continue to be widely appreciated today. People also shared arts and philosophy with enriched and diversified countries. Some influential art forms include Chinese landscape paintings, Buddhist cave murals, ceramics, carpet making, calligraphy, and many more.
What does this mean for us?
The Silk Road is a very inspirational moment in history. We want to continue its legacy of spreading knowledge and creating a community through a common love of coffee. This is why each coffee bean is inspired by the traditional tastes of countries along the Silk Road and why each box comes with an insert about its history and culture. We hope you love it as much as we do!
