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The New Tea Companion
London's Jane Pettigrew has joined American tea writer Bruce Richardson in creating the latest definitive guide to teas throughout the world. Beautifully illustrated, this classic book gives detailed information and brewing instructions for over 80 teas. Chapters on the newest information about tea and health, tea production, tea blending and tea hospitality are included. This book is a valuable up-to-date addition to libraries of both tea novices and professionals. If you have ever wondered about the time and temperature to brew your teas - white, green, black, or oolong - this is the book for you.
176 pages, Hardcover
First published April 1, 2005
9 people are currently reading
389 people want to read
About the author
Jane Pettigrew
85 books32 followersJane Pettigrew is a tea specialist, historian, writer and consultant. Since 1983, she has been working in the UK and around the world to explain and share the fascinating world of tea.
She has written 15 books on the many and varied aspects of tea, its production, history and culture, and she writes for tea related magazines and journals.
She also gives regular tea masterclasses and tea tastings, speaks on radio and TV and acts as consultant to tea companies, new tea businesses, table ware and tea ware companies.
She has written 15 books on the many and varied aspects of tea, its production, history and culture, and she writes for tea related magazines and journals.
She also gives regular tea masterclasses and tea tastings, speaks on radio and TV and acts as consultant to tea companies, new tea businesses, table ware and tea ware companies.
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
October 22, 2018
I heard good things about A Social History of Tea by these two authors and wanted to read it, but the library didn’t have the book so I borrowed this instead. It’s a pretty comprehensive look at tea, focusing on the various types of teas around the world.
The book is divided into three parts:
The first is a short history of tea. If you’re familiar with the history of tea (I feel like re-reading(I want to reread Tea: The Drink that Changed the World by Laura C Martin now), then most of it won’t be new. While it covers the history of tea around the world, it does have a disproportionate focus on tea in Britain and North America which I’m not too pleased about since tea came from China. To illustrate, the section of tea in China is about 5-6 pages while the section of tea in Britain alone is around 10 pages.
The second part is titled ‘tea production’ and is about how tea is produced, the types of tea, and different ways of storing and brewing it. This part is pretty similar to the Black Tea Bible, although the black tea bible has illustrations for the section on how to brew tea, so it’s a bit easier to understand.
The third and last part is a catalog of teas from around the world. This makes up the bulk of the book and is really fascinating. Each tea has a short description (including tasting notes), tips on how to brew it, and pictures of the tea leaves when it’s dry, when it’s wet, and a picture of the tea that’s brewed. It’s a very detailed and interesting to understand guide and I would now like to try teas from places like Georgia and Korea! The descriptions make the tea sound amazing!
If you’re looking for a book to guide you through the world of tea, this would be a good fit. The extensive catalog gave me lots of suggestions on types of teas to look out for and the section on the types of tea and how to brew it was pretty helpful. And fingers crossed that I can find a copy of A Social History of Tea soon!
This review was first posted at EusTEA
The book is divided into three parts:
The first is a short history of tea. If you’re familiar with the history of tea (I feel like re-reading(I want to reread Tea: The Drink that Changed the World by Laura C Martin now), then most of it won’t be new. While it covers the history of tea around the world, it does have a disproportionate focus on tea in Britain and North America which I’m not too pleased about since tea came from China. To illustrate, the section of tea in China is about 5-6 pages while the section of tea in Britain alone is around 10 pages.
The second part is titled ‘tea production’ and is about how tea is produced, the types of tea, and different ways of storing and brewing it. This part is pretty similar to the Black Tea Bible, although the black tea bible has illustrations for the section on how to brew tea, so it’s a bit easier to understand.
The third and last part is a catalog of teas from around the world. This makes up the bulk of the book and is really fascinating. Each tea has a short description (including tasting notes), tips on how to brew it, and pictures of the tea leaves when it’s dry, when it’s wet, and a picture of the tea that’s brewed. It’s a very detailed and interesting to understand guide and I would now like to try teas from places like Georgia and Korea! The descriptions make the tea sound amazing!
If you’re looking for a book to guide you through the world of tea, this would be a good fit. The extensive catalog gave me lots of suggestions on types of teas to look out for and the section on the types of tea and how to brew it was pretty helpful. And fingers crossed that I can find a copy of A Social History of Tea soon!
This review was first posted at EusTEA
September 19, 2008
This book is simultaneously a bit dry and a bit of a superficial treatment, which you would think would be avoided together. But it's nice as a reference book for a mostly casual tea drinker--the last half or so of the book is a catalogue on teas by region, with pictures of dry leaves, wet leaves, brewed tea in a cup, and very short descriptions of the tea's provenance and its taste. This isn't the kind of book you sit and read straight through, really, but for someone who wants to learn more about tea and get some ideas of other types of tea to try, but doesn't need to write a graduate thesis on the tea production process, it's a nice quick guide.
April 29, 2015
Very informative! It separates teas based on country and region and includes tasting notes, history, photos of dry leaf/wet leaf/infusion for each one. I particularly liked the succinct description of tea-drinking customs (how it's served) around the world.
July 31, 2018
The first half of this book provides a good overview of the history of tea on the world stage, categories of tea and some information about their manufacture, a look in to the system of grading black tea, an introduction to blending tea, tips on buying/shipping/storing tea, and an overview of a dozen different world traditions for brewing and serving tea.
The second half of this book ambitiously lays out a sampling of world tea terroirs complete with photographs of dozens of example teas including their brewed liquor, dry leaf, wet leaf, tasting notes, and brewing tips for optimal results. I would have rated this book higher but several obvious editing errors for teas I was very familiar with left me questioning if I was looking at the right liquor color, dry leaf, and wet leaf photos for teas I was less familiar with. In many cases more annotated maps, especially in China, would help better orient the reader to specific locations and relative geography.
Because of this, I would only recommend this book to tea industry professionals who already have some experience with a wide variety of world teas and can spot and ignore editing errors. For these readers, you will find this book opening your mind to lesser-known terroirs in Africa, Eastern Europe, and South America to name a few.
The second half of this book ambitiously lays out a sampling of world tea terroirs complete with photographs of dozens of example teas including their brewed liquor, dry leaf, wet leaf, tasting notes, and brewing tips for optimal results. I would have rated this book higher but several obvious editing errors for teas I was very familiar with left me questioning if I was looking at the right liquor color, dry leaf, and wet leaf photos for teas I was less familiar with. In many cases more annotated maps, especially in China, would help better orient the reader to specific locations and relative geography.
Because of this, I would only recommend this book to tea industry professionals who already have some experience with a wide variety of world teas and can spot and ignore editing errors. For these readers, you will find this book opening your mind to lesser-known terroirs in Africa, Eastern Europe, and South America to name a few.
December 18, 2022
|| 4.5 ⭐️ ||
An excellent broad tea reference book to have on hand! It covers the history of tea production in general, and then branches out into the tea history of many major (and lesser-known) tea-producing countries. And then from there, it branches out even more and dedicates full pages to showcasing individual teas that are produced in each of those countries. It covers things like how each specific tea is produced, brewing parameters, common flavour notes, interesting facts about the tea, and to top it all off, full-colour pictures of dry/wet leaf & the liquor. It was such an exciting book to read and I learned a lot. I borrowed this book, but if I ever own a copy it’ll for sure get flipped through frequently!
An excellent broad tea reference book to have on hand! It covers the history of tea production in general, and then branches out into the tea history of many major (and lesser-known) tea-producing countries. And then from there, it branches out even more and dedicates full pages to showcasing individual teas that are produced in each of those countries. It covers things like how each specific tea is produced, brewing parameters, common flavour notes, interesting facts about the tea, and to top it all off, full-colour pictures of dry/wet leaf & the liquor. It was such an exciting book to read and I learned a lot. I borrowed this book, but if I ever own a copy it’ll for sure get flipped through frequently!
September 25, 2023
Overview of tea, lots I already knew, lots I didn't. Lovely design.
January 4, 2018
Okay but a bit dry.
p. 14: The travels of Peter Mundy in Europe and Asia, 1608-1667The Travels of Peter Mundy in Europe and Asia 1608-1667
p. 30: The everyday tea for most Japanese is green Sencha, Bancha or roasted Houjicha.
p. 84: I should get a dedicated Yixing pot for Lapsang Souchong.
p. 85: The Gaiwan -- I should check YouTube for how to use it
p. 85: The Gaiwan -- Japanese Tea Bowls
p. 86: Tea Thermometer
p. 153: Three most important growing areas in India: Darjeeling, Assam and Nilgiri.
p. 159: First flush Darjeeling
p. 173: Only Gyokuros and Kariganes are plucked and manufactured by hand
p. 218: Uva region teas made in September "have a concentration of flavor unlike any other tea found anywhere else in the world."
p. 238: Tregothnan Estate in Cornwall
p. 241: Bigelow Tea Company on Wadmalaw Island in South Carolina
p. 242: Roy Fong in San Francisco grows tea
p. 14: The travels of Peter Mundy in Europe and Asia, 1608-1667The Travels of Peter Mundy in Europe and Asia 1608-1667
p. 30: The everyday tea for most Japanese is green Sencha, Bancha or roasted Houjicha.
p. 84: I should get a dedicated Yixing pot for Lapsang Souchong.
p. 85: The Gaiwan -- I should check YouTube for how to use it
p. 85: The Gaiwan -- Japanese Tea Bowls
p. 86: Tea Thermometer
p. 153: Three most important growing areas in India: Darjeeling, Assam and Nilgiri.
p. 159: First flush Darjeeling
p. 173: Only Gyokuros and Kariganes are plucked and manufactured by hand
p. 218: Uva region teas made in September "have a concentration of flavor unlike any other tea found anywhere else in the world."
p. 238: Tregothnan Estate in Cornwall
p. 241: Bigelow Tea Company on Wadmalaw Island in South Carolina
p. 242: Roy Fong in San Francisco grows tea
July 3, 2015
An exceptionally in depth look into the history, culture and economics of tea the world over. I especially liked the reviews of specific teas by growing region and style. I love that this book has been updated as of 2007, as many similar guides are too old to give a good sense of where the industry currently stands (they even included Kauai which I was especially interested in hearing about). A huge amount of travel and research went into composing this book and I will be using it for many years to come as a reference guide. Tea is such an enormous subject with histories in some countries dating back thousands of years. Yet, Pettigrew and Richardson did a marvelous job of describing every tea growing region and their specialities in every country.
For a future edition, I'd love to see more content on Nepalese teas, which have really jumped to the fore in popularity in recent years (and whose fate is now unclear). Additionally, very little is described about recommended Fair Trade teas. Sure, organic is important, but not nearly as important as buying Fair Trade.
For a future edition, I'd love to see more content on Nepalese teas, which have really jumped to the fore in popularity in recent years (and whose fate is now unclear). Additionally, very little is described about recommended Fair Trade teas. Sure, organic is important, but not nearly as important as buying Fair Trade.
July 11, 2014
Very informative. Awesome.
February 9, 2015
Not only does this book discuss the many varieties of tea, but it includes a brief history and quirky facts about a beloved beverage. I highly recommend for tea lovers!
June 29, 2015
It was overall interesting and informative, but I would skip the second half if I were you.
February 10, 2019
Good as a coffee table book
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews