Tea: History, Terroires, Varieties

An illustrated guide to the world's teas.

Tea is second only to water as the most-consumed beverage in the world. When recent studies revealed green tea's health benefits, North American consumption skyrocketed.

Tea is a comprehensive guide to non-herbal tea, the plant Camellia sinensis. Concise and authoritative text and an abundance of color photographs take the reader on an escorted tour of the world's tea-growing countries: China, Japan, Taiwan, India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Vietnam and East Africa. Like a fine wine, it is the "terroir" -- a region's soil and climate -- that imparts unique characteristics to a tea.

The book covers black, green, white, yellow, oolong, pu'er, perfumed, aromatic and smoked teas. Topics include:

• An overview of the history of tea
• Tea varieties
• The worldwide export of tea
• How tea is processed
• Signature tea cultivars
• The art of making, serving and tasting tea, including tea ceremonies
• Tea in cooking, with 15 recipes from gourmet chefs
• A directory of teas.

A set of detailed charts, tables and graphs shows the caffeine, antioxidant and other biochemical properties of 35 teas.

Tea aficionados go on organized tours of tea-growing regions, enroll in tasting seminars and earn professional certificates. For them and for the interested reader who enjoys the occasional cup, Tea is a beautifully presented homage to the world's most beloved hot beverage.