Books About Tea

CharlasTea!

Únete a LibraryThing para publicar.

Books About Tea

Este tema está marcado actualmente como "inactivo"—el último mensaje es de hace más de 90 días. Puedes reactivarlo escribiendo una respuesta.

11dragones
Editado: Mar 31, 2010, 10:22 pm

Those of you who do business with Adagio Teas may be familiar with the little book they include in gift packages, A Guide to Tea. This book is an overview of tea; where it grows, how it's processed and marketed, the differences between varieties, etc. I like this book, but it doesn't go too far in depth about anything. I would like a more detailed book (or two) about tea. Any recommendations?

2WholeHouseLibrary
Editado: Abr 1, 2010, 2:08 am

Haven't read it yet, but I have a set of books that looks very interesting - part history, part photography. I can't drink tea (can't handle tanic acid), but that doesn't mean I don't hav an interest in the beverage.

See if you can find a copy of The Time of Tea by Dominique Pasqualini. The photographer was Bruno Suet. Some folks here have given him credit as the author.

3staffordcastle
Abr 1, 2010, 2:10 am

41dragones
Abr 1, 2010, 5:28 am

2. >> Ah yes... the acidic nature of the beast (tea plant). Have you tried herbal teas? For instance, Chammomile flowers produce a nice, relaxing beverage, but not a true tea, and have no tanic acid, and no caffeine either. Thanks for the recommendation.

3. >> Sounds like I have plenty to choose from... plenty to investigate before I decide upon which volumes to acquire. Thanks for the list.

5butterflybaby
Abr 12, 2010, 10:52 am

Don't forget Roobius teas. This is also caffine free and you still get the health benefits of green tea without the tanic acid.

61dragones
Abr 12, 2010, 10:55 am

Except I don't care for the flavor of Roobius teas... at least those I've tried. :( Nasty stuff.

7havetea
Abr 30, 2010, 10:20 am

I just finished For All the Tea in China by Sarah Rose. It is a fancinating historical work about how the East India Company flexes their muscle with China and commissions Robert Fortune (a botanist of poor social standing amongst the Brittish Social Elite) to smuggle precious tea plants out of the interior of China where no occidental has been before. The goal to control the largest commodity in British History. He endures great risk and many obstacles but in the end obviously successful.

8Osbaldistone
Abr 30, 2010, 4:14 pm

>4 1dragones: and 5
I can't help myself here - tea is brewed from leaves of the tea plant (Camellia sinensis). That's why it's called 'tea'. If it's not a tea plant, it's not tea (regardless of what a seller may print on their packaging). I love a good roobius infusion or tisane, but it's not tea. Neither is a tisane (or infusion) made from chamomille flowers.

Okay, I'm done now.

Os.

91dragones
Abr 30, 2010, 4:52 pm

Os, Technically, you are correct, but correct terminology in this case, is more difficult to remember. I suspect that's why the sellers (packagers, since you insist on being accurate) tend to use the inaccurate terminology. Not to mention that the words infusion and tisane are also longer and more costly to print on packages... yes maybe only a penny per package, maybe even only a penny per some multiple number of packages. But pennies do eventually add up to dollars saved. A large packaging facility can probably save dollars every day by using shorter words on their packaging.

10Bcteagirl
Editado: Abr 30, 2010, 6:51 pm

>8 Osbaldistone: I agree completely... calling herbal infusions 'tea' is a pet peeve of mine. A few times I have asked in tea stores for recommendations for a good tea and it irks me to no end when they recommend a tisane.

It is more a matter of promotion than smaller words on packaging.. not everyone knows what a tisane is, or they might assume an infusion was something medicinal. So they will mislabel infusions as tea to sell more. That does not mean that it is not incorrect ;)

Hopefully I am done now too... I am glad I am not the only one irked by this :P

11CliffordDorset
mayo 3, 2010, 8:06 am

Many of us feel the same way about tea being distinct as a tisane. I think the problem arises when we consider the grey area of infusions that are derived from tea itself by the addition of other things: bergamot in 'Earl Grey', peppermint, orange peel, jasmine, etc.

Approaching the problem from the other side, is there a good reason why infusions made from coffee beans should not be considered as just a (particularly common) type of tea?

12gmathis
mayo 3, 2010, 10:34 am

#11 -- interesting observation, especially since, lacking a coffeemaker at my house, I do occasionally serve coffie steeped in the little filter bags, either storebought or filled myself.

131dragones
mayo 3, 2010, 11:04 am

Ah yes, the large and confusing grey area... Okay with me if these are considered tea, they do, after all contain tea, but with other things added. To me, Bergamot is one of the better things added to our teas... While my morning beverage of choice is usually coffee for the caffeine content, I do also enjoy a cup of tea anywhere from Noon until the American supper hour - 6:00PM and Earl Grey is frequently my choice a those times.

Now, as to coffee.... well, if I recollect correctly, that beverage is derived from a different botanical source, with which many are familiar, so I don't see the need to call it tea, even when the preparation method holds more similarity to tea than to usual coffee preparation methods.

14Osbaldistone
mayo 3, 2010, 11:19 am

>11 CliffordDorset:

If it comes from the tea plant, or if a primary ingredient in a blend comes from the tea plant, then it's tea (which is usually served as an infusion). If it does not contain anything from the tea plant, it's not tea. If it contains a bit of tea but is mostly something else, then I'd prefer it not be called tea, but where the line is, I'm not sure.

Tisane is an herbal infusion

To infuse means to soak to extract flavor (flavour).

So, we have a perfectly fine word for an herbal infusion (tisane) and a perfectly fine word for a tea infusion (tea). But now that the use of the word tea for a tisane is so commonplace, even the dictionaries are adding another meaning to the word tea to accomodate tisanes, which will ultimately leave us with two words for an herbal infusion ('tisane' and 'tea', at the loss of the word that clearly means 'an infusion made from tea plant leaves'.

Os.

15audreyl1969
mayo 3, 2010, 2:37 pm

For All the Tea in China sounds like an interesting read. Thanks for sharing that! Lately I've been loving Yerba Mate tea, which contains a different type of natural caffeine and doesn't leave you with a jittery feeling.

16lahochstetler
mayo 3, 2010, 6:54 pm

Calling tisanes "tea" is also one of my pet peeves. Teavana is particularly bad on this account. I've gotten into arguments with the staff there when they tried to convince me rooibos was tea. They also sold my mom some rooibos claiming it was "tea"- she got it home and discovered it was not what she expected. I have since told mom she has to tell them if it's not black, green, or white tea, she doesn't want it. If you work at the tea shop, I do expect you to know your stuff.

17Bcteagirl
mayo 3, 2010, 7:07 pm

Yes, the people at Teavana (in my experience) tend not to know much about tea beyond their training. I am also seeing new tea stores around that sell almost no tea at all, only herbals. Very frustrating when you have gone out of you way to check out a new 'tea' store.

ps- I would have tried to take that tea back! How rude of them.

18juliamonk
Ene 14, 2011, 11:09 am

Hi-- this is a beautiful book -- Steeped in History: the art of tea edited by Beatrice Hohenegger and published I think by University of Washington Press. I'm sure you'd find it on Amazon--it's a kind of learned coffee table book but beautifully illustrated with different chapters on lots of different aspects of tea, tea history, tea culture etc. Check it out.

19staffordcastle
Ene 14, 2011, 11:41 pm

Touchstone fairy: Steeped in History

20Gail.C.Bull
Mar 6, 2011, 5:17 pm

I can highly recommend New Tastes in Green Tea by Mutsuko Tokunaga. It covers the history, the different varieties, and household uses for green tea as well as tips for making the perfect cup of green tea.

It also includes the recipes for drinks and entrees made with green tea. The "Matcha Coconut Drink" and "Ochazuke with Salmon Flakes" (a simple soup of cooked rice and salmon in a green tea "broth") are my personal favourites. I still have to try the "Matcha Ice Cream"; I'm planning to make a batch once the weather turns more spring-like.

21alaudacorax
Abr 6, 2012, 9:54 am

Hah! I've just done book searches on the word 'tea' and got 13,878 hits on UK Amazon and 2,683 on LT - a bit overwhelming.

So I thought I'd revive this thread and see if anyone can come up with a recommendation for a really comprehensive guide to teas and their varieties and their growing and making, and tea-brewing and its methods and traditions and paraphernalia.

The two likeliest candidates I've found so far are The Tea Lover's Companion by James Norwood Pratt and The Tea Enthusiast's Handbook: A Guide to the World's Best Teas by Mary Lou Heiss. Anyone have any thoughts on these?

22LolaWalser
Abr 6, 2012, 10:07 am

I'd recommend William Ukers' All about tea, in two volumes, from The Tea and Coffee Trade Journal Company, New York, 1935. It's never been surpassed. I read a library set, am still waiting to find an affordable first edition.

23alaudacorax
Abr 7, 2012, 9:15 am

#22 - I think that would have to be a library set for me, too, judging by the prices online. Ouch.

24LolaWalser
Abr 7, 2012, 9:37 am

Hm, yes, even the POD reprint is costlier than the ordinary run of tea books. But it's such a lovely set... over-sized, filled with pictures, maps, inserts...

25Marlie5
mayo 30, 2012, 2:47 am

My favourite Book About Tea was given to me as a gift, Friendship Teas to Go that came in it's own silken draw-string bag and has beautiful illustrations by Susan Rios. It reminds me how my mother's remedy for EVERYTHING was to have a "nice, hot, cup of tea!"

26Marlie5
mayo 30, 2012, 2:52 am

Oh, and I've just recently found Tea with Jane Austen and added that to my wishlist!