Tea race (competitions)

In the middle third of the 19th century, the clippers which carried cargoes of tea from China to Britain would compete in informal tea races to be first ship to dock in London with the new crop of each season. These races were also known as the races from China. The consignees of these cargoes wanted to be first in the market with this new crop, so they started to offer a "premium" to a ship that was the first to dock in London in that tea season.

The premium existed as an extra freight payment written into the bill of lading. The first ship known to sail with this contractual provision was Vision, with a premium of an extra £1 per ton in 1854. A more general premium had become established by 1861, when an extra 10 shillings per ton was given to the first clipper arriving in London, being written into the bills of lading of all the ships loading in China at the beginning of the tea season.

A fast sailing clipper would usually obtain a higher rate of freight than other vessels. So the passage time of ships was important for negotiating the price paid to carry their next cargo. The first identifiable ship to carry a tea cargo with an increased freight based on her performance record was the American China packet Oriental, receiving £2 10 shillings per ton more than any other vessel loading that year. (The normal rate of freight varied between about £3 10s and £5 10s per ton during the 1860s.) When the premium ceased to be offered to clippers after 1866, clippers still competed for the ability to negotiate a better price for their next tea passage.