I know that England got its taste for tea from China, but it strikes me as odd that black tea seems to be the only style to attract their enthusiasm (or, at least, it eventually became the de-facto style), since it's such a flexible drink.
Why not green, oolong, pur-eh, herbal, etc?
Was black tea also ubiquitous in China at the time? Was there some real or perceived class difference related to the style of tea?
Thanks!
Black tea was sold in compressed bricks that would then be scraped into teapots for brewing. The dehydrated bricks kept extremely well during the months long passages from India to Europe. On the other hand, leaf teas like green tea or pu-erh could not be condensed as readily into a brick without destroying the leaf itself, thereby ruining the flavor. Moreover, these types of teas kept for a much shorter period of time, and were more susceptible to the negative conditions of cargo transport (humidity, salinity, mold etc). As a result, these types of teas spoiled long before they could get to the European market. The only tea commodity that could reliably withstand the long journey were black teas, and since Europeans knew no other type, black teas became dominantly popular.
As for popularity in China, I believe green teas reigned supreme with the longjing variety being an imperial favourite. Unfortunately my knowlege about the specifics is a bit hazy.