Tea: A User's Guide

by Tony Gebely

A User's Guide is the most up-to-date and factual guide to specialty tea. This volume presents an extensively peer-reviewed framework for navigating the world of tea whether you are just embarking on your tea journey or whether you have been drinking tea your entire life.
In this book, you'll

How tea is grown and processed. How so many tea products are derived from a single species of plant. What chemical changes occur in tea leaves during processing. How 130 famous teas from around the world are classified. How to expertly prepare and evaluate tea.

Genres: Tea, Food, Nonfiction, Food and Drink, Health

249 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 1, 2016

Reviews

[Tim Nowotny · Rating 5 out of 5]

A marvel of a book. Exactly the non nonsense guide I wanted to read now for so long.
It goes into how tea is made, what the most important sources are for good tea and what‘s important for creation. I would have wished for a bit more depth in the last part, but liked that the author made no fuss about little variables like material of the tea kettle as well.

[Cristian Ubeda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really good book, really detailed information in a way that was easy to understand. The main part of this book was to describes the different type of teas and the more important styles and variants, the big problem for me was here because in kindle edition (black and withe) you cant appreciate the colors and the details of the pictures that the book have(and theres a lot), so i miss almost one third of the book.

So for the book: 5 stars, I think that Im going to buy the hardcover edition.
Fir kindle edition: 2 stars.

[Vinícius Godoy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent book. I believe this is perhaps the best bibliographic recommendation available for anyone interested in entering the world of tea — especially for those looking to do so in a clear, grounded, and intelligent way. The book manages to cover a wide range of essential topics without becoming overly technical or pretentious, which is a rare balance. Whether you're a curious beginner or someone looking to deepen your appreciation, it offers a reliable foundation for learning, encouraging genuine curiosity while steering clear of the usual myths, commercial jargon, or elitist attitudes that sometimes cloud the subject. It’s concise without being superficial, informative without being pedantic, and above all, deeply respectful of the reader’s time and interest. In short, it opens the doors to a vast and fascinating universe with precision and elegance.

I have just one, and only one, criticism: I don’t believe that a book written—presumably—for a broad international audience can justify using a measurement system other than the universally accepted decimal scale. The choice to use, for instance, temperature in Fahrenheit ultimately does a disservice to readers around the globe who are not residents of the one country that still insists on this senseless oddity. Global readers end up confused at one of the book’s key moments: the tea preparation itself.

[Kris · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good book

This seems to be a good resource for tea enthusiasts (I'm not really qualified to evaluate this as fact, so I will only claim what I think it appears to be). I found it easy to understand. My biggest gripe is that it could provide more examples of each tea, but that would then mean a bigger, longer book, so a compromise must be made. I think this compromise was a reasonable one.

[Malthan Malmarowicz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good collection of tea information

I liked the book, it contained quite a lot of information organized in a clear manner. It delved into the chemistry of tea which was a new topic for me. Some of the information was repeated or paraphrased several times, I wish that instead the author delved even deeper into different tea types.

[Tomi · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good intro to tea, with useful information on things like different tea types, ideal steeping temperatures, and basic tea-related terminology, history, and science. It's not exactly an exciting read, so I couldn't recommend it as anything more than a reference book - but in this case, that's what I was looking for.

[Greggory Delman · Rating 4 out of 5]

A guide to the world of tea. The information about the science and production of tea is quite fascinating. Does bounce between very basic explanations to more complex technical discussions but overall a good read if you want to understand more about tea.

[nuclear_peacock · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good tea reading for tea begginers, but also for people who are longer in the world of tea. This book is defenitely need to read for every tea afficionado.

[Sergiu · Rating 5 out of 5]

Indeed a user guide, with the key, essential, facts everybody should know about tea types and styles.

[Arnut Pongprueksa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good book that provides an illustrative understanding of tea - from tea harvesting, processing, steeping, appreciation of tea, etc.

[Francesco Vezzola · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best book about tea read so far

[Phương Nam · Rating 5 out of 5]

Một khởi đầu tốt để hiểu về trà. Cuốn sách giới thiệu đầy đủ về các loại trà nổi tiếng nhất thuộc các dòng lục trà, bạch trà, hoàng trà, hồng trà, hắc trà và ô long cũng như cách pha trà cơ bản. (hầu hết trà ở VN chỉ là trà đen quốc tế - hồng trà).
Mặc dù có nhiều sách của các tác giả Trung Quốc sẽ đi sâu vào chi tiết từng danh trà hơn, cuốn sách này chỉ dừng lại ở mức giới thiệu.
Trà chứa lượng lớn các polyphenol giúp chống viêm và chống oxy hoá, có tác dụng rất tốt với cơ thể mà không gây nghiện. Trà cũng là thức uống thanh tịnh về mặt tinh thần, gần với đạo.
Hãy uống trà!

[Franta · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am a long time tea master and I can recommend this book to anyone who wants to learn basics about traditional teas. This book is quite a good reference and contains sensible practical advice.
The book could be more detailed and much more comprehensive, but the best way to learn is to try it yourself. Check the book and experience the teas!
Happy tasting!

[Carthago Delenda Est]

Good overview

[Harris · Rating 2 out of 5]

Amusing, quick book to read about tea for a beginner starting out. I got to compare the tea I had currently to what he was talking about which was fun.

[Daniel Vasilev · Rating 5 out of 5]

If this is your first book, concerning the world tea, it should fit nicely as a very decent guide. Here you will become familiar with tens of teas, along with the differences between the various types of tea anf the ways they are produced. A very good addition are the photos for almost all of them, which give the reader a very good feel about what they are all about. Besides, had they not been included, this work would look more like an incomprehensible list, rather than a book or a guide.
The chemical side of the processes, related to the plant and the preparation of the liquor is covered. However, their history is not, but since I did not turn to "Tea: A User's Guide" for it, the book receives my five stars.