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The Ancient Art of Tea: Wisdom From the Old Chinese Tea Masters
The Ancient Art of Tea is a delightful look at the philosophy, history, and culture of tea in China.
The health benefits of tea, whether white, green, oolong or black, are well known in our world today. However, creating the perfect, healthy cup of tea is a process few people genuinely understand. As expert Warren Peltier explains, making an ideal cup of tea is a dynamic process that requires the right environment, clear spring water, a suitable fire to boil water, skill in steeping tea, and a deep understanding of tea connoisseurship. The Ancient Art of Tea offers a thorough, much-needed guide for tea lovers.
Peltier's commentaries include discussion
The Ancient Art of Tea parses historic tea texts to offer a broader perspective and deeper insight into the topics that surround the tea-drinking experience. The book contains vital information to assist tea drinkers in their quest for yet another pot of delicious tea. It teaches the two fundamental secrets to tea as practiced in ancient China--technique and taste. These exemplify some of the basic concepts of the philosophy of tea, which greatly enhances the enjoyment of the beverage. Not only an exhaustive source of tea knowledge, The Ancient Art of Tea is also a significant volume in the study of Chinese tea and is sure to become a classic in its own right.
The health benefits of tea, whether white, green, oolong or black, are well known in our world today. However, creating the perfect, healthy cup of tea is a process few people genuinely understand. As expert Warren Peltier explains, making an ideal cup of tea is a dynamic process that requires the right environment, clear spring water, a suitable fire to boil water, skill in steeping tea, and a deep understanding of tea connoisseurship. The Ancient Art of Tea offers a thorough, much-needed guide for tea lovers.
Peltier's commentaries include discussion
The Ancient Art of Tea parses historic tea texts to offer a broader perspective and deeper insight into the topics that surround the tea-drinking experience. The book contains vital information to assist tea drinkers in their quest for yet another pot of delicious tea. It teaches the two fundamental secrets to tea as practiced in ancient China--technique and taste. These exemplify some of the basic concepts of the philosophy of tea, which greatly enhances the enjoyment of the beverage. Not only an exhaustive source of tea knowledge, The Ancient Art of Tea is also a significant volume in the study of Chinese tea and is sure to become a classic in its own right.
160 pages, Hardcover
First published March 10, 2011
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216 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
April 9, 2018
This book is a scholarly comparative review of Chinese classics on the subject of tea - from water to fire to brewing methods to tea customs - broken down systematically to cover attitudes and wisdom across each of the ancient dynastic periods of Chinese history (Tang, Song, Ming, and Qing). The author has taken great care to source, translate, and describe very specific language used in these texts to help you understand how and why tea wisdom and customs changed over time.
This is not a book about how to brew tea or an introduction to different classifications of produced tea. This a "200 level" book that I would recommend reading after enjoying some of the more general historical texts about tea so you have a context for Chinese history that the author references in this text. If you are interested in deepening your appreciation of tea by understanding its more nuanced context in Chinese culture across history, this book will definitely be a good companion for part of that journey.
This is not a book about how to brew tea or an introduction to different classifications of produced tea. This a "200 level" book that I would recommend reading after enjoying some of the more general historical texts about tea so you have a context for Chinese history that the author references in this text. If you are interested in deepening your appreciation of tea by understanding its more nuanced context in Chinese culture across history, this book will definitely be a good companion for part of that journey.
August 9, 2020
Enjoyed learning about the way the ancients made and appreciated tea. Really enjoyed the poetic imagery surrounding tea at the start and learning how much of an art boiling water was in times before electric kettles
December 19, 2019
This is a very well thought and researched book. Not as comprehensive as others I've read, but very close. I love and appreciate the structure, the translation notes and even more, the inclusion of the original Chinese texts.
The book spans hundreds of years of texts, memoirs, and treaties about tea in China. It's been a long time since I've read a tea-related book that made me learn many new things. Kudos to Peltier for publishing a truly wonderful book for any tea nerd.
The book spans hundreds of years of texts, memoirs, and treaties about tea in China. It's been a long time since I've read a tea-related book that made me learn many new things. Kudos to Peltier for publishing a truly wonderful book for any tea nerd.
December 24, 2017
Really OLD tea lore. There's an emphasis around the ancient rituals of preparation down to water classifications. There wasn't a lot of information about tea types or current tea practices but it was a very short book and still somewhat interesting.
June 5, 2021
A rather thorough academic treatment of tea history
A bit disappointing. I was expecting a balance between cultural anthropology and art. What I found was a rather dry academic translation of historic tea writings without value added.
A bit disappointing. I was expecting a balance between cultural anthropology and art. What I found was a rather dry academic translation of historic tea writings without value added.
August 24, 2023
The ancients had tea really figured out, this book enables you to glimpse at the plethora of knowledge of the way of tea, in its many complexities.
March 23, 2021
This is an excellent introduction to Chayi, covering the great tea masters from the time of the Tang through the Qing. I highly recommend this book!
December 8, 2015
Reading the blurb about this book, I admit I was expecting it to be a large scholarly work, I was a bit surprised when I opened my package and found a fairly small book that was not a study on different scholarly works on tea...but more a book of quotes. Ok actually that is not really fair, it is so much more than that.
Not everyone has the head for translating archaic Chinese works, and not everyone likes reading the at times rather dry and dull translations available, so finding an abridged work that has gone through the hard work of translating works into a readable (for a more modern not necessarily academic audience) form and referencing very specific points is extremely useful. The book is organized by thematic sections, like water for tea, ways to heat the tea, tea etiquette, and so forth and these sections are further organized chronologically. This makes straight reading through very easy, and it makes looking for specific things super convenient. And for bonus tea/history/linguistic nerd credit, at the end of the book is all the texts that were translated in their original form, so you can practice your translation or copy it for calligraphy practice, tea room decor time!
The subject matter is extremely fascinating, from both a history and a tea stand, it is wonderful seeing how the philosophy behind tea, its preparation, and its enjoyment changed through the different dynasties. The parts I found most interesting were the sections of water and etiquette, specifically I really enjoyed the list of waters ranked from best to worst, and that it was not necessarily based on taste. For example, in the ranking of water, snow comes in last and not because it tastes rank but because the cold Qi is thought to be harmful, which makes me wonder if I can use it to help with inflammation, similar to drinking cooling teas when I am sick or during the summer.
As you can tell I like this book, it is short and sweet and light on art, but in this case the lack of pictures did not really bother me, I highly recommend reading if you are wanting more information on how tea was prepared throughout Chinese history and how the different dynasty's looked at it culturally.
Not everyone has the head for translating archaic Chinese works, and not everyone likes reading the at times rather dry and dull translations available, so finding an abridged work that has gone through the hard work of translating works into a readable (for a more modern not necessarily academic audience) form and referencing very specific points is extremely useful. The book is organized by thematic sections, like water for tea, ways to heat the tea, tea etiquette, and so forth and these sections are further organized chronologically. This makes straight reading through very easy, and it makes looking for specific things super convenient. And for bonus tea/history/linguistic nerd credit, at the end of the book is all the texts that were translated in their original form, so you can practice your translation or copy it for calligraphy practice, tea room decor time!
The subject matter is extremely fascinating, from both a history and a tea stand, it is wonderful seeing how the philosophy behind tea, its preparation, and its enjoyment changed through the different dynasties. The parts I found most interesting were the sections of water and etiquette, specifically I really enjoyed the list of waters ranked from best to worst, and that it was not necessarily based on taste. For example, in the ranking of water, snow comes in last and not because it tastes rank but because the cold Qi is thought to be harmful, which makes me wonder if I can use it to help with inflammation, similar to drinking cooling teas when I am sick or during the summer.
As you can tell I like this book, it is short and sweet and light on art, but in this case the lack of pictures did not really bother me, I highly recommend reading if you are wanting more information on how tea was prepared throughout Chinese history and how the different dynasty's looked at it culturally.
November 17, 2022
This is not a glossy, dumbed-down coffee-table book. The author spent many years taking an academic's mind to the task of poring over and translating tea classics from the Tang dynasty and up to make a whole bunch of arcane knowledge accessible to the modern lay tea drinker. The hardcover edition is also, regrettably, printed on unbecomingly thin paper. This is a little book to be contemplated over a solo cup, not to be shown off to friends.
Note: Familiarity with written Mandarin helps enhance the reading experience of this detailed book.
Note: Familiarity with written Mandarin helps enhance the reading experience of this detailed book.
March 18, 2016
The availability of these texts in translation, along with commentary and annotation, minimizes my concerns with some of the oddness of the language. I hope this work serves to spark more translations and scholarly work on Chinese tea texts into English.
April 9, 2015
This book is for those interested in tea history in China and the Art of tea. The book provides insights of the Chinese tea masters including information on the water, fire, taste, etiquette and art of tea. These skills can be applied to tea preparation today. An interesting read.
July 11, 2015
If you love tea, this is a book that should be in your library
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews