People domesticated tea and tea trade economically and culturally changed the world history. China is the hometown of tea where the cultivation of artificial tea trees began in the Neolithic Age. During the Tang and Song dynasties，tea culture became popular in China. During the Ming and Qing dynasties，tea garden economy rose and the ocean trade developed magnificently. Tea began to be exported on a large scale. The evolution of archaeological objects provides evidence of how the ancient tea style evolved from “congeeing tea” to “eating tea” and then to “drinking tea”. Tea changed the life style of people，stimulated the plantation economy，and even accelerated the development of shipbuilding and shipping industry，and as a result，greatly increased the communication between eastern and Western civilizations. Tea has shaped a unique history of the world. This paper attempts to start with the archaeological discovery of early Tea in China，the evolution of ancient tea drinking methods and the history of tea trade seen in the archaeology of shipwreck，to explore the planting and development history of tea，and to interpret the profound impact of tea trade on the progress of world civilization.