Earlier this year, I shared a booklist focused on tea and sympathies in the world of cozy tea shops and murder most foul. But if your interests in the steaming brews have a historical bent, or you're curious about tea and the makings of a good cuppa, try this blend of tantalizing tea titles:
Infused: Adventures in Tea by Henrietta Lovell
Lovell, an evangelist for and an owner of an artisanal loose tea shop, leads readers on a journey across the globe searching for the world’s best and most extraordinary teas. Traveling to such places as Sri Lanka, Scotland, Norway, Italy, Mexico and more, the Rare Tea Lady introduces us to the people who grow and craft the leaves, and serve these brews in their restaurants. Along the way she shares the story of her life long obsession with tea. And for those who enjoy a good cocktail, Lovell has recipes for tea-infused martinis and other spirited drinks.
Darjeeling: The Story of the World's Greatest Tea in Four Harvests by Jeff Koehler
This is the story of how Darjeeling tea began, was key to the largest tea industry on the globe under Imperial British rule and came to produce the highest-quality tea leaves anywhere in the world.
The story is ripe with the imprint of the Raj as well as the contemporary clout of "voodoo farmers" getting world record prices for their fine teas—and all of it beginning with one of the most audacious acts of corporate smuggling in history.
But it is also the story of how the industry spiraled into decline by the end of the twentieth century, and how this Edenic spot in the high Himalayas seethes with union unrest and a violent independence struggle. It is also a front-line fight against the devastating effects of climate change and decades of harmful farming practices.
-FOR LATER-
Once our neighborhood libraries open up again, explore these additional titles on the history of tea:
A Thirst for Empire: How Tea Shaped the Modern World by Erika Rappaport
Tea has been one of the most popular commodities in the world. For centuries, profits from its growth and sales funded wars and fueled colonization, and its cultivation brought about massive changes—in land use, labor systems, market practices, and social hierarchies,the effects of which are with us even today. A Thirst for Empire takes an in-depth historical look at how men and women throughout the tea industry transformed global tastes and habits.
Growing Your Own Tea Garden: The Guide to Growing and Harvesting Flavorful Teas in Your Backyard by Jodi Helmer
If you’ve ever considered raising your own tea, this comprehensive guide is the place to start. Jodi Helmer helps you plan and plant a productive backyard tea garden, with sample garden designs and cultivation advice. She shows you how to choose the right crops for your soil and climate, starting with the tea plant and going on through a comprehensive survey of tisanes, or herbal teas.
Discover how to grow the full range of herbal infusions that make wonderful teas, from flowering chamomile and lavender to chicory roots, rose hips, lemon verbena, peppermint, aromatic bergamot and more.
Growing Your Own Tea Garden is packed with inspiration and practical instructions for cultivating and enjoying delicious teas.
Tea Sommelier: A Step-by-Step Guide by François-Xavier Delmas, Mathias Minet; illustrations by Lauriane Tiberghien
Delmas and Minet run the L’École du Thé in Paris, a school to train students to become tea sommeliers. Blending this knowledge with easy to understand drawings, tables and charts makes Tea Sommelier a delightful book to flip through or read from cover to cover to help up your tea game.
Don't forget to visit us online for a full list of books about tea.
BONUS: Do you know the 10 rules for making the perfect cup of tea? Watch this film in the British Film Institute’s Library, made in 1941 by the Empire Tea Bureau, to learn all the tips necessary for the perfect cup.
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