FoB Business Administration Departmental Seminars: The Evolution of the Early Turkish Tea Market

Date: April 29, 2025 - Tuesday

Time: 13:00

Place: santralistanbul Campus, E1-301 

Speaker: Esra Ansel Derinbay – Independent Researcher

This seminar will explore the development of the tea market in the Ottoman Empire and the early Turkish Republic. Drawing on archival sources, trade reports, and advertisements, Dr. Ansel Derinbay will review the major sources of tea imports, including shipments from Europe, the Americas, and Southeast Asia. By presenting the backgrounds of prominent tea merchants and brands, the seminar will trace the transition from a European- and non-Muslim-dominated trade to the emergence of local tea merchants and businesses such as Albayrak Mustafa Nezih Çayı.

Dr. Esra Ansel Derinbay received her bachelor's and master's degrees in History from Boğaziçi University and her PhD. from Bilkent University. She has published on the subject, including an article in Middle Eastern Studies and the book Çayın Hikayesi: Osmanlı ve Erken Cumhuriyet'te Çay Ticaretinin Global Tarihi (Doğan Kitap). Dr. Ansel Derinbay currently continues her research as an independent scholar, in addition to sharing her research on the history of tea as a guest speaker on various podcasts and academic events.