Reverend Dr. Thomas De Witt Talmage (1832–1902) was one of the most prominent and widely followed religious leaders of his era. He was also known as a social reformer who spoke out against many of the behaviors and cultural trends he viewed as harmful, a fact reflected in the title of one of his books,… Continue reading

Occasionally I take a look at a book here that I might have overlooked and this time around its Wild Tea Hunter, by JT Hunter, who “has studied with Taoist masters, Buddhist monks, and the tribal people of Yunnan in their mysterious tea cultures.” The book currently appears to be available only in an electronic… Continue reading

Modern publishers often receive criticism for producing books with impossibly long titles and subtitles. Yet a glance through nineteenth-century publications quickly reveals that today’s authors are merely continuing a long tradition. Consider the wonderfully elaborate title of Julia C. Andrews’ 1860 work: Breakfast, Dinner, and Tea: Viewed Classically, Poetically, and Practically: Containing Numerous Curious Dishes… Continue reading

The world of tea literature continues to grow, reflecting tea’s increasing popularity among enthusiasts, professionals, entrepreneurs, and hobbyists alike. Whether the subject is tea tasting, tea service, tea business, health benefits, or even knitted accessories for teapots, publishers seem to have discovered that there is an audience eager to learn more about tea. A look… Continue reading

There’s some debate about the appropriate age to introduce children to drinking tea, but books about tea are suitable for readers of any age. One excellent starting point is the Emma Lea series, a collection of tea-themed children’s picture books by Babette Donaldson. The series currently includes six volumes, following a young character as she… Continue reading

While I try to keep up with all of the latest and greatest tea books, it seems that I somehow missed a recent release – The Infusiast: Diatribes From The Devotea, by tea merchant Robert Godden. I won’t say much about it other than to direct you to this review by my Esteemed Editor and… Continue reading

The tea books keep coming. Which is a good thing because this would not be much of a monthly column otherwise. Here’s the latest batch of new and forthcoming titles. Wine sommeliers have been around for some time now, but the notion of a tea sommelier is a relatively new one. The Tea Sommelier Handbook… Continue reading

There is a category of tea book I like to call Tea 101. The exact details vary but these works tend to present background on the history of tea, an overview of the types and varieties of tea and the primary regions in which they’re grown. Some might look at the processing steps tea goes… Continue reading

It has often been noted that the United States has never been a major center of tea production. Nevertheless, interest in cultivating tea domestically has existed for more than a century. In 1907, the USDA published Farmers’ Bulletin 301, Home-Grown Tea, by George Frederick Mitchell—a concise but informative guide aimed at amateur growers interested in… Continue reading