In my quest to keep up with the latest and greatest tea books I like to think I’m aware of most of what’s out there or is coming soon. But it appears that one slipped by me. It’s called A Social History of Tea and it’s by noted tea experts Jane Pettigrew and Bruce Richardson. It comes to us from Richardson’s Benjamin Press, which has turned out a number of other fine books on tea.

As the publisher’s note indicates, “Jane Pettigrew’s classic treatise on the history of British tea has been expanded and updated with the inclusion of the American tea story told by Bruce Richardson.” Look for it in late 2013.

For more of this social history of tea stuff, take a look at A Necessary Luxury: Tea in Victorian England, a work by Julie Fromer that came out about five years ago.

Another one with a British feel, though it too is not exactly in the recent and upcoming category, is Tea at Fortnum & Mason, by Emma Marsden. It’s described as a “beautiful pocket book covers everything from the history of afternoon tea drinking to Fortnum’s relationship with tea. It also presents more than 45 recipes for all types of teatime delight, as well as guiding the reader through the best types of tea to accompany them.”

If you’re looking for kid’s book with a tea theme, you might try Master Davey and The Magic Tea House: Legend of the Blue Tiger. It’s a brief volume by Susan Chodakiewitz and David De Candia, and it tells the tale of a lad who faces off against a tiger (a blue one, of course) in the defense of tea.

Tea, for me, has always been about the beverage and nothing more. But for many others, of course, tea is not just a beverage but an entire gustatory package. For anyone with that definition of tea, the forthcoming National Trust Teatime Baking Book: Good Old-fashioned Recipes, by Jane Pettigrew, might be worth a look. It’s said to be “a wonderful collection of the best recipes for a traditional British tea range from well-known favorites to regional and historic gems that have stood the test of time and will satisfy even the most jaded of palates.”

See more of William I. Lengeman’s articles here.

© Online Stores, Inc., and The English Tea Store Blog, 2009-2014. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this article’s author and/or the blog’s owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Online Stores, Inc., and The English Tea Store Blog with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.