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Check out Pettigrew's book. Not something I care about in the least and for something that (to me) is so insignificant, I found that too much time was given to the information. All in all, not a bad book, but you can really do better. I ordered both this book and The Tea Companion: A Connoisseur's Guide by Jane Pettigrew. I would have been happier just getting that one alone. Tea Basics seemed to have a bit more depth when talking about the history of tea, but it disappointed me most was the end. Though I read this book first, I was most impressed by Tea Companion. I had hoped to learn more about specific types of tea, but instead the author tells how to plan and execute a tea party.
WARNING to tea novices, this stuff is addicting and before you know it you will have an assortment of kettles cups and pots, thermometers, scales, infusers, tins and a dogeared copy of John Blofeld's book. Throw in Okakura Kakuzo, one of the paperbacks by Diana Rosen and you have yourself a nice present to give someone just starting out with tea. just some good basic information on tea.
Going through the recently published books on tea I found this one which is a nice paperback book on tea basics. I like it when a "book on basics" is done well for a topic, and this one is in that category. To try to prevent my niece from spending all of her time in college going to starb%#ks I recently put together a care package of tea brewer, a few starter books on tea, and some nice loose leaf teas in tins.
Not a lot of pretty pictures here. You have been warned. It has a little filler but covers all of the fundamentals in a concise way, a brief history of camellia sinensis, where it is grown today, grades, types, how the market for tea works, tea vocabulary, some pros/cons on how to brew, and has a nice list of tea resources appended to the back.
It even has a good brief description on how to cure a new yixing pot.
I am by no means a tea snob, just a tea lover. I liked learning about "TGBOP", Oolong teas, how to brew teas, teas from different countries, etc. This book is great for tea drinkers of any kind. I absolutely was intrigued by this book, read while sipping a cup of tea. My favorite teas are Republic of Tea, I'd recommend those as well.
I have five books on tea so far (a beginner), and this is my favorite. The health section is pretty basic, so if that interests you, you might want to also look at a health-related tea book (green tea). This book impressed me. If you only want one book on tea, this is my recommendation. This book describes the general regions, whereas the Tea Companion book describes the individual tea gardens (which may or may not be useful to you). It is easy to read, has a personal feel, and covers all of the basics (what tea is, history, where it is produced, how to brew it, tea tasting, tea ceremonies, etc). Many resources are listed in the back.
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