Tea, it’s what’s for dinner…sort of. For many of us, tea is the drink of choice with dinner or any type of meal, for that matter. And tea is just fine without any food to go with it, now that you mention it.

But, as we’ve mentioned here a number of times before, tea can also be a useful ingredient when it comes to cooking. There are a number of cookbooks that tackle this aspect of tea culture, as well as a number of others that feature recipes for foods that are simply a good accompaniment to tea.

Alice’s Tea Cup
by Haley Fox, Lauren Fox
One of the most recent of this latter type of title comes to us from the kitchen of Alice’s Tea Cup, a popular Manhattan tea room that currently boasts three locations. As the subtitle of the book tells us, it’s a collection of “Delectable Recipes for Scones, Cakes, Sandwiches, and More from New York’s Most Whimsical Tea Spot”. More about the book in this brief article from the New York Daily News.

Tea Cookbook
by Tonia George
If you never suspected before that cooking with tea could be an option, you might want to take a look at Tonia George’s Tea Cookbook, among others. It includes a variety of tea-based recipes in both sweet and savory form, including Mussels in Ginger, Lemon Tea Broth and Mint Tea Couscous.

Culinary Tea: More Than 100 Recipes Steeped in Tradition from Around the World
by Cynthia Gold, Lise Stern
There are several books on the market that will teach you the basics of how to cook with tea. Cynthia Gold and Lise Stern have turned out a volume that includes a mix of classic tea-based recipes (Chinese Tea-Smoked Duck) as well as a number of originals that they’ve developed on their own (Smoked Tea-Brined Capon, Assam Shortbread). [See a more detailed review here.]

Tales of a Tea Leaf: The Complete Guide to Tea Cuisine
by Jill Yates
Though the name suggests that this may be the only tea cookbook you’ll ever need, dedicated tea chefs may still want to check out some of the other volumes that are out there. Yates’ book takes a look at “the legends and lore” of tea and presents a variety of recipes for tea-based beverages and numerous sweet and savory food items.

Don’t miss William’s blog, Tea Guy Speaks!

[Editor’s note: Our blog is chock full of great articles on this topic. Use our search feature to find them!]

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