The Story of Tea: A Cultural History and Drinking Guide
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- Author：Mary Lou Heiss
- ISBN：1580087450
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Summary
Whether it's a delicate green tea or a bracing Assam black， a cup of tea is a complex brew of art and industry， tradition and revolution， East and West。 In this sweeping tour through the world of tea， veteran tea traders Mary Lou Heiss and Robert J。 Heiss chronicle tea's influence across the globe and provide a complete reference for choosing， drinking， and enjoying this beverage。
The Story of Tea begins with a journey along the tea trail， from the lush forests of China， where tea cultivation first flourished， to the Buddhist temples of Japan， to the vast tea gardens of India， and beyond。 Offering an insider's view of all aspects of tea trade， the Heisses examine Camellia sinensis， the tea bush， and show how subtle differences in territory and production contribute to the diversity of color， flavor， and quality in brewed tea。 They profile more than thirty essential tea varietals， provide an in depth guide to tasting and brewing， and survey the customs and crafts associated with tea。 Sharing the latest research， they discuss tea's health benefits and developments in organic production and fair trade practices。 Finally， they present ten sweet and savory recipes， including Savory Chinese Marbled Eggs and Green Tea Pot de Crâme， and resources for purchasing fine tea。
Vividly illustrated throughout， The Story of Tea is an engrossing tribute to the illustrious， invigorating， and elusive leaf that has sustained and inspired people for more than two thousand years。
The Story of Tea begins with a journey along the tea trail， from the lush forests of China， where tea cultivation first flourished， to the Buddhist temples of Japan， to the vast tea gardens of India， and beyond。 Offering an insider's view of all aspects of tea trade， the Heisses examine Camellia sinensis， the tea bush， and show how subtle differences in territory and production contribute to the diversity of color， flavor， and quality in brewed tea。 They profile more than thirty essential tea varietals， provide an in depth guide to tasting and brewing， and survey the customs and crafts associated with tea。 Sharing the latest research， they discuss tea's health benefits and developments in organic production and fair trade practices。 Finally， they present ten sweet and savory recipes， including Savory Chinese Marbled Eggs and Green Tea Pot de Crâme， and resources for purchasing fine tea。
Vividly illustrated throughout， The Story of Tea is an engrossing tribute to the illustrious， invigorating， and elusive leaf that has sustained and inspired people for more than two thousand years。
Reviews
Kathryn Williams
，
Audiobook。 I disliked listening to this。 It is like a textbook on tea。 Very information dense but difficult to understand some vocabulary and technical processes without photographs or some sort of visual aid。 I think I would have liked to watch a documentary on tea better。
Amber Ray
，
This is a better encyclopedia of tea than a reading book。 The information is excellent but I found the writing style rather dull。 This book dives deeply into detail which is both its strength and weakness--if you want information about various processes this is a good place to look。 If you want to read the whole thing it's a slog。Best is the category of teas and the discussion of flavors， colors and types。 Sadly I found myself unsure if just one species or many varietals are actually grown for t This is a better encyclopedia of tea than a reading book。 The information is excellent but I found the writing style rather dull。 This book dives deeply into detail which is both its strength and weakness--if you want information about various processes this is a good place to look。 If you want to read the whole thing it's a slog。Best is the category of teas and the discussion of flavors， colors and types。 Sadly I found myself unsure if just one species or many varietals are actually grown for tea and exactly how tea trees specifically differ from the more commercially grown bushes--are they exactly the same species but older？ I'd have liked a side by side study of the two。I think this also skipped over mentioning British high tea culture。 The book centers on Asian tea customs， specifically China。The section on world teas beyond Asia was interesting though I'd have liked it to be more。。。。personal？ Show me brands， how it's drunk。。。get more into it on a one to one level。 The tone of the discussion of tea consumption in Africa， the Middle East and America could have just been more personal and colorful instead of quick and tepid。The best information I got from this book was about Pu'erh tea。 I've avoided it because it can get a "fishy" taste。 This means usually it's cheap， misbrewed or mishandled。 I bought a good one， gave it a quick dip/rinse to get rid of potential contaminants that give the bad "fishy" taste and found it was pretty good。But dammit， I want to try so many more and my tea cabinet is so full already！ 。。。more
Robin Tobin （On the back porch reading）
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Oh to be a tea master or sommelier！
Warren Wulff
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Like other reviewers have said， this book required a stronger edit prior to publication。 The overall organization means one returns to the same topic repeatedly in subsequent chapters and one ends up reading the same things over and over。 Also， better editing at the sentence level would create sharper writing with better flow。 I was sorely tempted to give this book a lower score。What saves it， however， is that the authors have clearly mastered tea knowledge， culture， and practices。 They bring a Like other reviewers have said， this book required a stronger edit prior to publication。 The overall organization means one returns to the same topic repeatedly in subsequent chapters and one ends up reading the same things over and over。 Also， better editing at the sentence level would create sharper writing with better flow。 I was sorely tempted to give this book a lower score。What saves it， however， is that the authors have clearly mastered tea knowledge， culture， and practices。 They bring a wealth of information not found anywhere else in a single English-language volume。 Their sidebar stories of travelling to prominent tea producers and giving the reader a rare view into this world were extremely well written。 The chapters on the life of a tea bush， tea brewing， and customs and culture were the finest。 As other reviewers have mentioned， the chapters on tea manufacturing and the tea trail were very dense and brought me to skip pages （rare for me） as I maxed out on my ability to retain this intricate level of information。 Some things are probably best experienced firsthand to understand it。Overall， a recommend， but don’t feel bad about dipping in and out if it helps。 。。。more
Margarita
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This one has been on my shelf for several years now。 While it’s perhaps a little dated at this point， it’s still a very informative and beautifully organized textbook on tea。
Liam O'Toole
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I don’t know what I was expecting
David Szatkowski
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This is part coffee table book， part exhaustive look at tea - it's evolution， use， drinking， style of consumption， various kinds of tea， etc。 This is not a book to quickly browse through， but to consider with the same seriousness that you would take to wine or coffee。 Worth noting， tea is relatively inexpensive as well。 An expensive tea will run only about 15 cents per cup （compared to coffee， it is much cheaper）。 It was an interesting， but quite a long and at times slow read。 But when you are d This is part coffee table book， part exhaustive look at tea - it's evolution， use， drinking， style of consumption， various kinds of tea， etc。 This is not a book to quickly browse through， but to consider with the same seriousness that you would take to wine or coffee。 Worth noting， tea is relatively inexpensive as well。 An expensive tea will run only about 15 cents per cup （compared to coffee， it is much cheaper）。 It was an interesting， but quite a long and at times slow read。 But when you are done， will be throughly educated about tea。 。。。more
Sergio Huaman Kemper
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A well rounded tea book for the enthusiast。 I definitely learned a lot！
Dwight
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Quite interesting。 Lots of teas I want to go out and try。 There were segments that seem like they'd be more useful as a reference that didn't quite work as an audiobook。 Quite interesting。 Lots of teas I want to go out and try。 There were segments that seem like they'd be more useful as a reference that didn't quite work as an audiobook。 。。。more
Tim
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I listened to an audio version of this， which was not the best way to appreciate this book。 It is not a narrative or a work of journalism。 It is more like an encyclopedic collection of short pieces that cover the many aspects of growing， selling， and enjoying tea， along with a fair amount of historical background。 This book taught me a lot about the different varieties of tea and how and where they are produced， and how tea is different in the world's great tea cultures （China， Japan， India）。If I listened to an audio version of this， which was not the best way to appreciate this book。 It is not a narrative or a work of journalism。 It is more like an encyclopedic collection of short pieces that cover the many aspects of growing， selling， and enjoying tea， along with a fair amount of historical background。 This book taught me a lot about the different varieties of tea and how and where they are produced， and how tea is different in the world's great tea cultures （China， Japan， India）。If you are a tea lover and have not read anything like this before， by all means pick this up， brew up a pot of your favorite tea， and enjoy。 There is no need to listen to it or read it cover to cover。 It is the kind of book that is good to hold onto and dip into from time to time。 。。。more
Heidi
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Interesting but very dry
NikkiNine
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Amazing！ Loved the history， content and recipes！
Summer
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I did not read every word of this book， although in the beginning， I tried。 This is a great big reference book that tea lovers would enjoy keeping on their shelf and glancing at from time to time or pulling out to clarify a point about a particular type of tea。
Hamed
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An interesting book covering different aspects of tea， from history and preparation to even cooking with tea。 But， there are times when the authors did not make enough effort to collect the data。 For example， they talk about tea in Indonesia， they admit that it is one of the largest tea producers but they even do not devote a section to introduce the tea that they produce。 Or they talk about Georgia with a limited impact on the tea market and history but they disregard lots of middle eastern cou An interesting book covering different aspects of tea， from history and preparation to even cooking with tea。 But， there are times when the authors did not make enough effort to collect the data。 For example， they talk about tea in Indonesia， they admit that it is one of the largest tea producers but they even do not devote a section to introduce the tea that they produce。 Or they talk about Georgia with a limited impact on the tea market and history but they disregard lots of middle eastern countries like Iran where tea is very appreciated with 200 years of history behind it。 。。。more
Mark Koester
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Quite interesting read that deepened my knowledge and understanding of tea。 Especially liked Ch 1-3 on history and manufacturing of tea。 After that book gets repetitive and boring。 Definitely a recommended read for anyone seeking a better understanding of tea。
Smitha Murthy
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This was the most frustrating， maddening， delectable， annoying， painful， heart-rending book I have ever read。 I have always been a tea lover， and imagine my frustration as I picked up this ode to tea， that I hardly know anything of tea！ Everytime the author described a variety of tea， I went running to my tea shelf to find if I have it。 Why did I not stock my shelf with delectable jasmine tea？ Where are the white budset teas？ And why on earth did I not realize that the Chinese tea box I had rece This was the most frustrating， maddening， delectable， annoying， painful， heart-rending book I have ever read。 I have always been a tea lover， and imagine my frustration as I picked up this ode to tea， that I hardly know anything of tea！ Everytime the author described a variety of tea， I went running to my tea shelf to find if I have it。 Why did I not stock my shelf with delectable jasmine tea？ Where are the white budset teas？ And why on earth did I not realize that the Chinese tea box I had received was beautiful Anxi Tieguanyin tea？ I cried。 I raged。 And I vented more when I realized that I spent years in China without understanding its tea culture。 And that， sob， I went to Kyoto without seeing the earliest tea house there。 In the end， this is the sort of book I want to buy in hardcover and keep on my bookshelf so that I can refer to it as I continue my journey through the world of teas。 As a book， it kind of lost its infusion towards the end， but I loved learning about the history of tea， its origins， and all the different kinds of manufacture。 。。。more
Eustacia Tan
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Continuing on my quest to read as many tea books as possible， I found The Story of Tea at the library！ Written by two tea traders， The Story of Tea claims to be a “cultural history and drinking guide。”The first chapter is called “A Brief History of Tea”， though it’s pretty comprehensive to me。 I enjoyed the fact that it focused only on tea-producing countries， which meant the main focus was on Asia， specifically China and Japan。 Of all the books I’ve read， this probably had the most in-depth acc Continuing on my quest to read as many tea books as possible， I found The Story of Tea at the library！ Written by two tea traders， The Story of Tea claims to be a “cultural history and drinking guide。”The first chapter is called “A Brief History of Tea”， though it’s pretty comprehensive to me。 I enjoyed the fact that it focused only on tea-producing countries， which meant the main focus was on Asia， specifically China and Japan。 Of all the books I’ve read， this probably had the most in-depth account of the history of tea in China （then again， I haven’t read a book that is dedicated to Chinese tea history）。 The section on Japanese tea history was pretty short， and I think Making Tea， Making Japan has a more comprehensive account of the history。 And if you’re looking for something that looks at the relationship between England and her tea producing colonies， the book A Thirst for Empire will provide you with more information。 The second chapter focused specifically on the tea bush and a few tea producing countries。 There is a brief mention of the Java bush （camellia sinensis var。 cambodi）， but unfortunately the book doesn’t go into detail about it。 I did find the chart about when the tea could be harvested interesting， because it shows which countries can produce tea year-round and which can’t。 It turns out that climate plays a pretty big role in this。 The third chapter is the second longest in the book and talks about the type of tea。 I thought their distinction between the types of white tea to be very helpful – they divided white tea into the traditional budset white tea， which uses only buds， and the new-style leaf white tea， which uses the first leaves to make the white tea。 That said， they also divided the budset white tea by terroir （whether it’s from a place that traditionally produces white tea or not）， which I found a bit too restrictive for my taste。 Quite sadly， the book only talks about puer when they discuss dark tea， which is a pity given that there are also excellent dark teas that are not puer。 In this respect， The Art and Craft of Tea’s discussion of the types of tea is better。 Chapter four is called “journeying along the tea trail” and it goes into detail about the different types of tea found in different places。 It’s very much like a tea-focused travelogue and I enjoyed this section very much。 It even covered places like Korea， Georgia， and Nepal and gave some information about their tea history along with the types of tea they produce。 The fifth chapter is their ‘encyclopedia of tea’， which they admit isn’t comprehensive。 Instead， they choose teas that they feel are representative of a particular tea category。 While I did find a few teas that were new to me， most of them will be familiar to a tea enthusiast。 But the part that I found unhelpful were the colours – everything seemed washed out。 It’s a pity， given that the colour of the tea leaves can be different even within a subcategory and that is part of its charm。 The next chapter is on tea brewing and covers buying and storing tea。 It’s not bad， but there aren’t any illustrations and might not be very helpful to a beginner。 The seventh chapter is on tea customs and cultures and is one of the most interesting parts of the book。 To be honest， I would have liked this to be with （or perhaps integrated into） the chapter on the history of tea and the tea trails because I feel that tea history， culture， and terroir are all pretty closely intertwined and it would be rewarding to look at it holistically。 Chapter eight is on the health benefits of tea， and I appreciated they included scientific studies。 The discussion on caffeine was pretty interesting too。 The second last chapter， chapter nine， is on ‘ethics in tea trade’。 Sadly， this chapter misses the opportunity to explore unfair tea practices in places such as India or Malawi， or how tea farms in non-recognised parts of China are struggling （if you’re interested， this blog post from teapasar talks about unfair tea practices and has a bibliography you can use as a starting point for more research）。 Instead， most of the chapter is spent talking about certifying bodies and the column about tea estate workers issues says that “only today， with the return of privatization and national pride， tea estates operate with the ethical awareness of the importance of workers’ lives and welfare as well as the interdependent contribution that each makes to the common good of each other。” Considering that there are reports of poor working conditions from places like the BBC as recently as 2016， I find that quote a bit hard to swallow。 There are good tea estates， but they aren’t quite the norm yet。 The last chapter is on cooking with tea and has a variety of recipes。 I haven’t tried any of those， since my interest is more in the history and cultural parts。 Overall， this is a pretty good introduction to tea。 While there are some things I disagree with （such as their coverage of ethics and them leaving out the rest of the dark teas）， I think that it’s got a lot of good information and stories about teas that will appeal to most tea lovers。 This review was first posted at Eustacia Tan 。。。more
Ronald Zuccaro
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I own this book and love it。 I was thoroughly fascinated while reading it and learned a lot about tea culture。 So much so， that when I went to tea markets in China I was able to speak with the tea sellers and they were surprised at my knowledge of tea。 I became a surprise to them when I described the type of Zheng Shan Xiao Zhong that I wanted to purchase。 The book also provided excellent information about the various grades of tea， something I did not know before。 This lets me shop at Indian gr I own this book and love it。 I was thoroughly fascinated while reading it and learned a lot about tea culture。 So much so， that when I went to tea markets in China I was able to speak with the tea sellers and they were surprised at my knowledge of tea。 I became a surprise to them when I described the type of Zheng Shan Xiao Zhong that I wanted to purchase。 The book also provided excellent information about the various grades of tea， something I did not know before。 This lets me shop at Indian grocery stores with confidence as I now understand the grades and which tea is from India， Ceylon， etc。。If you are not into tea this book may be a bit much for you。 But if you love tea this is the book for you and you'll consult it for years to come。 Plus it is so much more than a "tea" book。 This book offers a look at other cultures and how serious they are about their tea。 So sit back with a cup of fresh Chinese tea， and enjoy the cultural experience。 Tea is not only about the drinking。 Tea is an experience， and so is this book。 。。。more
Arizonagirl
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"Spiritually， tea was believed to be an "elixir of immortality"。 Besides the goal of yielding a pleasant-tasting tea， Lu Yu preached that inner harmony could be attained through the expression of careful， attentive tea preparation。 In his book， The Classic of Tea， Lu Yu explained the mindful execution of the ritual of tea preparation。"It's liquor is like the sweetest dew of Heaven。"Today， the tea plant is a general term for the several genera [sic] of Camellia sinensis。 These include Camellia si "Spiritually， tea was believed to be an "elixir of immortality"。 Besides the goal of yielding a pleasant-tasting tea， Lu Yu preached that inner harmony could be attained through the expression of careful， attentive tea preparation。 In his book， The Classic of Tea， Lu Yu explained the mindful execution of the ritual of tea preparation。"It's liquor is like the sweetest dew of Heaven。"Today， the tea plant is a general term for the several genera [sic] of Camellia sinensis。 These include Camellia sinensis var。 sinensis （China bush）， Camellia sinensis var。 assamica （Assam bush）， and Camellia sinensis var。 cambodi （Java bush）， also known as Camellia sinensis subsp。 lasiocaly。 Each of these genera [sic] has many subdivisions。 All together， there are more than a thousand subvarieties of the tea bush Camellia sinensis！Camellia sinensis var sinensis （China Bush）Thrives on cool mountainsides with a southern exposure at elevations of 6，500-9，800 feet。 Its short growing season generates a small yield of a tender， fine leaf that often has less tannin content than the Assam bush。 Because of the seasonality of the climate， China bush has distinct picking times with no more than four to five plucks a year。 China bush is grown throughout China， Japan， Taiwan， and some locales in SE Asia， as well as the Himalaya （most notably the half-dozen traditional garden of Darjeeling）。 This genus [sic]， combined with hand-plucking and careful manufacture， is celebrated primarily for the finer， most highly regarded quality leaf for green tea。 It is also the plant of choice for producing all the classes of tea in China， particularly the softer-style oolong of Fujian， the smooth black teas of Yunnan Province， and the winey， brisk， and stylish Keemun tea of Anhui Province in central China。Camellia sinensis var。 assamica （Assam bush）This tea plant prospers in junglelike conditions。 Assam bush can be picked every ten days， year-round。 Assam bush is the variety preferred for the high-quality black tea production of northeastern India， Sri Lanka， and most of Africa。 Japan has successfully cloned close to 75 cultivars of Camellia sinensis， including Kanayamidori， Okumidori， Sayamakaori， Yabukita， and Yutakamidori。 But growers tend to favor the Yabukita variety， which accounts for ~80% of all the tea cultivars planted。Camellia sinensis var。 cambodi （Java bush）This is the tea plant of choice for growing areas that are tropical， rugged， and often mountainous。 The Java bush is arguably a close relative of the Assam bush， sharing many similarities。 It is the variety on which many hybrids are based。 Java bush is found in the regions of SE Asia， especially Indonesia， where it is used for the higher volume-lower quality tea production need for local consumption。 The spring bud break is known generally as the "first flush" and signals the start of the growing period for new leaf。 As the first flush is almost universally the finest crop of the year's production， it is picked carefully and thoroughly。 In most tea-growing locations， there is a rainy season that separates the first and second flushes that provides respite and renewal for the plants after the heavy picking done during the first pluck。 If a growing area is particularly either rainy or dry throughout the year， the finished tea produced will tend to be inconsistent but will have "vintages": occasional years of exceptional quality tempered by many years of mediocrity。White = GreenYellow = OolongGreen = BlackRed = ScentedBlack = BrickedGreen， Yellow - No oxidiationWhite - Very slight oxidation （<8%）Oolong - Partial oxidation （20-80%）Black - Complete oxidationPu-erh - Always fermented， not always oxidizedThere are reputed to be more than 3，000 types of green tea in China alone， so it rivals wine in diversity。One of the Ten Famous Teas， Tai Ping Hou Kui， from Anhui Province in central China， is most unusual and worth searching out。 Steaming changes the nature of the chlorophyll in the leaf。 Steamed-leaf tea presents a more vegetal， sometimes kelpy character， often likened to the flavor of spinach or other leafy greens。 Steamed green tea is the tea taste of choice in Japan。 Steamed green tea that has been finely powdered is called matcha。 The inherent sweetness of high-quality Japanese green tea can become bitter if the brewing water temperature is too hot。 A controlled tasting of several sencha teas from Japan is a wonderful way to experience craft rather than terroir--how a tea blender can combine the leaf of several varietals from one or more producers to create a signature taste。 This type of comparison is difficult to do with Chinese green teas， however， as the style of leaf preparation nearly always changes with the geography。Yellow TeaIt is made from either vary early spring buds or a mao feng pluck and then processed by the same methods as green tea， up to the point of the initial firing。 Following the initial drying， just before the first firing， yellow tea undergoes a significant， additional step called men huan， during which yellow tea leaf is lightly and slowly steamed， then covered with a cloth to allow the leaves to breath （in this case they reabsorb their own aromatics）。 Less apt to develop a grassy or assertive flavor， yellow tea is reliably smooth and lush in the cup。 Astringency is rare， as the smothering procedure inhibits development of those flavor components in the finished tea。White TeaWhite tea in its original， pure form consists of only the tender， unopened budsets of particular varieties of China bush tea plants that are cultivated especially for this class of tea in Fujian Province on the eastern coast of China。 Like other famous place-specific teas， such as Hangzhou's Longjing and Tieguanyin from Anxi， white tea has a specific geographic terroir， style， flavor， and definition。Oolong TeaOolong teas possess a diverse and appealing range of sophisticated， complex， and richly rewarding flavors and aromas， such as peach， apricot， honey， orchid， melon， leather， amber， and sandalwood。 Their finish is long and sweet， with just a suggestion of astringency。 Although most green teas yield a second and sometimes third infusion， because oolongs are made from large mature leaves， they do not open to their full， original size until the third or fourth infusion。 Oolongs can commonly be infused several more times once fully open， for a total of as many as eight or nine infusions。 The degree of partial or semioxidation in oolong tea can range from 10-80% and is determined during manufacture。 Oolongs on the low end of the oxidation scale bear a resemblance to the tightly curled， tipy midseason green teas， and on the high end they look just like a super-large， individual-leaf orthodox black tea。Pu-ehr TeaPu-erh can be made from either oxidized "cooked" （shou） or nonoxidized "raw" leaf （sheng）。 。。。more
Michael Carrier
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MPLDetails lost in move from Shelfaire。Had much detail on what the different types of tea are， what grows in what area and the process of making tea from plant to your cup。 Very readable， not too high brow or scientific。 Many interesting facts。 covers ways of making tea aside from a bag in hot water。
Katie Armstrong
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This is a great book for both tea ethusiasts and tea finatics！ I work at a tea shop and use this as a reference piece all the time。 :）
Bobby Johansen
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One of the most comprehensive resources on tea。 This book has it all。 From the production of tea in different regions to distinguishing various varieties to even cooking with tea， this book contains literally everything that relates to tea。 Its in-depth treatment of the various countries and their tea cultures is one of my favorite sections as well as the section that thoroughly discusses the production of various styles of tea。
Christina
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If you really love tea and want to learn more about it， this is your text。 It covers a myriad of topics， including the origin of tea in China; its cultivation in India by the English， who stole tea plants from China; the harvesting and processing of six types of tea; tips for brewing and serving tea; and its health benefits。 My only quibbles are that the chapter on cultivation could have been a bit more engagingly written， and I would have liked to see South African Rooibos and South American Ye If you really love tea and want to learn more about it， this is your text。 It covers a myriad of topics， including the origin of tea in China; its cultivation in India by the English， who stole tea plants from China; the harvesting and processing of six types of tea; tips for brewing and serving tea; and its health benefits。 My only quibbles are that the chapter on cultivation could have been a bit more engagingly written， and I would have liked to see South African Rooibos and South American Yerba Mate covered in similar detail to the other teas。 。。。more
Nic Mcphee
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This is definitely a good book， but not a great book。 There's plenty of good information， and I learned a *lot* about tea （a subject I'd read about a fair bit）。 It doesn't seem terribly even， however， with far more depth on Chinese teas than other areas/cultures; they seemed quite disconnected from Japanese tea culture， for example。 I also found the history and cultural contexts a little simplistic， especially in the limited discussion of the impact of colonialism on the development of the tea i This is definitely a good book， but not a great book。 There's plenty of good information， and I learned a *lot* about tea （a subject I'd read about a fair bit）。 It doesn't seem terribly even， however， with far more depth on Chinese teas than other areas/cultures; they seemed quite disconnected from Japanese tea culture， for example。 I also found the history and cultural contexts a little simplistic， especially in the limited discussion of the impact of colonialism on the development of the tea industries in places like India and Sri Lanka。If you're into tea， or want to be into tea， I definitely recommend this。 Otherwise it might be a little specialist。 。。。more
Carol-Anne
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A good general reference book on tea for those interested in tea and its origins。 It covers a little of everything from history， tea production， customs and cultures and a few recipes to try。
Rena Sherwood
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The Story of Tea: A Cultural History and Drinking Guide by married couple and gourmet food store owners Mary Lou and Robert J。 Heiss。 Focuses only on teas made from Camellia sinensis – growing， history， preparation， serving and recipes。 If it's not in here， it's not worth knowing。 Everything you ever （or never） wanted to know about tea。 Includes some gorgeous photos。 The Story of Tea: A Cultural History and Drinking Guide by married couple and gourmet food store owners Mary Lou and Robert J。 Heiss。 Focuses only on teas made from Camellia sinensis – growing， history， preparation， serving and recipes。 If it's not in here， it's not worth knowing。 Everything you ever （or never） wanted to know about tea。 Includes some gorgeous photos。 。。。more
Jules
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It's an encyclopedia of all things tea from its history to harvesting and cultivation to consumption。 It's an encyclopedia of all things tea from its history to harvesting and cultivation to consumption。 。。。more
Nicole Perkins
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Interesting enough， but so not what I was looking to read。 However， if you have an interest in tea， and the Eastern history thereof， check this out。
Jessica
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This book is a little of everything--history， tea varieties， methods of tea production， traditional ways of consuming tea， how to shop for tea， etc。 As such， it may or may not be what you want。 No one section is really exhaustive enough for a reader with already-specialized interests。 As a general guide for someone who loves tea， but doesn't know a lot about it， it's a quite nice introduction and a great springboard for additional research。 This book is a little of everything--history， tea varieties， methods of tea production， traditional ways of consuming tea， how to shop for tea， etc。 As such， it may or may not be what you want。 No one section is really exhaustive enough for a reader with already-specialized interests。 As a general guide for someone who loves tea， but doesn't know a lot about it， it's a quite nice introduction and a great springboard for additional research。 。。。more
JDK1962
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