The Book of Tea: Growing it, making it, drinking it, the history, recipes and lots more

by teapigs, Louise Cheadle, Nick Kilby

This is a book about tea but not as you’ve ever seen before. It takes the core information about tea but presents it in a highly original and entertaining way. It uses infographics and illustrations to convey facts and figures as well as other informative content.

With five parts, the book starts off with a celebration of tea-drinking around the world: from drinking masala chai in tea shacks in India or from a samovar in Russia, to the dramatic pouring of Moroccan mint tea and the brewing of a salty butter tea in Tibet.

Part two is an illustrated timeline that takes you through the history of tea in a humorous and engaging way.

Part three – From Plant to Pot – explains in a simple but informative way the origins of different teas, where they come from and how they are processed. Take a visual journey, with the tea leaf, and see what happens during the processing business as well as learning about the different types of tea and what each needs to bring out its very best in terms of taste. It’s here, too, that we meet the people behind the tea estates that teapigs deal with.

Part four explains everything you ever wanted to know about drinking tea. Should you slurp or sip your tea? Follow in the steps of a tea taster and learn how to taste like a pro. Is a cup or a bowl best for drinking tea? The book takes a look at all kinds of drinking vessels from across the globe. To dunk or not to dunk – that is the question? Teapigs subscribers give their top 10 biscuits to dip in a cup of tea, does your favourite biscuit feature?
And how can tea influence your mood? The fun but informative mood-o-meter shows you how to pick the right tea to cheer you up or calm you down. Plus, discover a whole tea chest of health-related benefits.

The last part of the book is packed with 30 or so recipes, offering inspiration for using tea in cooking or partnering recipes with the best teas.

Genres: Tea, Cooking, Nonfiction

457 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 1, 2015

Reviews

[Raluca Daniela · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a lovely, informative book! I had no idea the effort involved in the processing of tea and just how many varieties there are depending on how you do it. As I'm mostly a herbal infusion drinker (love myself a cup of Rooibos), I had no idea that true tea only comes from the Camelia sinensis plant. This book was an excellent resource for the different types of teas and infusions worldwide, how they're traditionally enjoyed, their history and so on. There are also recipes involving tea at the end, and while the drinks seem fairly accessible to make, the foods seem to be on expert mode. Overall, this was a cute, cozy, detailed coffee (tea?) table book with excellent graphic design (kudos to the designer!). I definitely recommend it to tea enthusiasts worldwide.

[Arthur Dent · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is incredible. Definitely my stranded-on-a-desert-island book... or kidnapped-by-aliens-when-my-planet-got-destroyed book, for that matter.

[Adele · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not a bad book for a general introduction to the history of tea and the place of tea in multiple cultures around the world. The layout is easy on the eyes and quite engaging with pictures, diagrams, and cartoons. I particularly enjoyed the unbreakable tea making rules and the recommended teas for certain moods...

The only downside to speak of is that this book was written by/for the owners of Teapigs, so there are hints of advertising and a comprehensive list at the end of the book of all the teas available from them. Otherwise it was an interesting and fun read.

[Cathryn Pattinson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant . Just because TEA!! No more to be said other than it’s tradition 😊☕️

[Nicole Magolan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mmm, tea. This book is delicious! It has an adorable style, full of pretty art and a good overview of information. The recipes look yum too.

[Nat · Rating 2 out of 5]

No era lo que esperaba, pero aún así he encontrado mucha información interesante.

[Karmen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Muy interesante el mundo del té, alguna cosa nueva he aprendido.

[Tampie Guijt · Rating 3 out of 5]

Clear information on tea, devided into clear sections. Really was nice to learn more about tea. I only was a little frustrated that the perspective is from English tea.