Home Page

Autobiography / Biography   Travel / Places   Cooking / Food   Fashion / Health / Beauty   Other / General / Self-Help   Crafts / Home Improvement   Humor

Tea (Boxed Set of Two Books)
by Christine Dattner
Flammarion
ISBN 2-0803-0022-5
Published September 2007 - Hardcover - (two books of 94 pages each) - $29.95

This is undoubtedly two of the most beautifully bound (complete with an elegant green ribbon) books you'll come across.  A PERFECT CHRISTMAS GIFT for the tea lover in your life!  No longer is tea the drink of the Chinese, the English, or the Indian, people all over America enjoy it too.  And no longer are there just a few flavors to choose from either.  This book on tea is actually two books - The History of Tea and The Taste of Tea, both printed in the most pleasant shades of green.  It starts off relating the tea first discovered in China, which I found interesting.  Then it's to Japan where tea drinking is a ritual and they have tea masters!  Next it's to Tibet, India, France, Russia, and places further afield.  The second book goes into detail about the growing and picking of tea, the process of "making" the various teas in the various countries, and the best way to prepare them (steeping times).  I discovered in this book that the Yunnan Pu-Erh tea (China) absorbs surplus cholesterol and aids digestion!  There is even mention of the healthy Rooibos (Red Bush) and Green Rooibos teas from my native South Africa.  Enjoy the pretty tea ware throughout these books and scout around for a new favorite and personal tea vessel for yourself, or as a meaningful gift.  Tea has always had an air of elegant serenity and ritual about it.  Whether you love Black Tea, Lapsang Souchong, Green or White Tea, Chai, Darjeeling, Earl Grey, Jasmine, or Oolong, make it an elegant drink worthy of its noble history.  May I make a suggestion?  Please don't serve tea to guests with the teabag still in the cup/mug.  (Or the spoon in the cup/mug for that matter.)  There's nothing sophisticated about drinking tea with the tag and string dangling down the side of the cup.  Besides, you don't need to steep it forever.  Rather invest in a teapot.  I drink tea the English way, in case you're wondering.
Beautifully illustrated.  Search out a tea that suits you from the Buyer's Guide at the back of The History of Tea book.  I wish there was more information on the author - see her teas in the Taste of Scented and Flavored Teas book.
Conclusion - Indeed a treasure of a book.  There's nothing more hospitable or welcoming than a cup of tea.