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A Game Changing Book About Tea,
There are few books about tea that add to the discussion about tea in any meaningful way, but Mary Lou and Robert Heiss’s new book, ‘The Tea Enthusiast’s Handbook’ is one of them. This is a book about quality, although they sidestep the word because it has very little meaning in the industry, and instead use the word ‘soundness’, saying “We prefer to begin judging the potential merits of a tea by evaluating its soundness”.
Their book points the reader in a sound direction. Serious students of tea may find that they disagree with some of the details, but it is indisputable that the path to the world’s best teas is clearly defined in this book. The international tea industry has never been clear about this path because it points to China and unblended, unflavored tea, and the established industry has a hard time delivering such tea to consumers. Even though teas from other areas are mentioned, the heart of the book is about Chinese tea. China, after all, is where tea originated, and definitions about tea need to be consistent with Chinese standards.
They have taken a risk in writing this book. The industry has not been very supportive of writers that dare to write books that challenge conventional wisdom. It may not be obvious to the people reading that are outside of the industry, but a book like this really is a game changer. People will start to look at the tea that they are buying from the conventional sources and will start to realize that tea that they are buying and is being sold for ‘good quality’ is in reality very ‘sound’. Then the open secret that people in the industry know, and increasingly ‘tea enthusiasts’ are becoming aware of, is that there is much better tea out there, it’s just that it is difficult to come by in the US and Europe. Mary Lou and Robert have stirred that controversy just by providing good information.
Mary Lou and Robert Heiss are excellent teachers. The lessons presented in this book are clear and concise. This book contains lessons that professional tea buyers ought to pay attention to and gives the consumers a high standard with which to judge in buying tea. The book is intelligently organized, highlighted with good photography, and well written. There are no examples of flowery rhetoric in place of substance. They tell the reader what good tea is, and where to find it. It may seem like a small book, but it gives the reader everything they need to get started with, or to expand their experience with tea. This is a book that every tea drinker should own, enthusiast or not, and in my opinion it is the most substantive book about tea to be written in English. It is not a travel log or a romanticized history.
I get asked often to recommend books about tea. The Heiss’s first bookThe Story of Tea: A Cultural History and Drinking Guide set the bar higher for tea education, but they have surpassed it with this book. I do recommend both of their books, but this one is really a game changer. Buy it.
— Austin Hodge, Seven Cups Fine Teas
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|Big book, small package,
The authors know tea. More importantly, they know how to make the world of tea accessible and interesting to all levels of steepers. Literally a “handbook,” this small volume fits comfortably in the palm and packs quite a punch. A majority of the book’s information is devoted to explaining the six classes of tea by describing processing techniques, mapping growing regions, and showing the leaves and liquor of specific teas, such as Tung Ting oolong. New to purchasing tea? Follow their well-informed advice on deciphering pricing, freshness and seasonality, and how to brew a proper cup. And make sure to flip to the glossary in the back to expand your tea vocabulary even further.
Don’t be deceived by its small size-this book is a must-have for the tea enthusiast!
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|Excellent historial handbook on “real” tea,
This book explains what real tea is. All tea comes from one plant and variations on that one plant. It also talks about the six types of tea from least processed to most processed (green, yellow, white, oolong, black, and Pu-erh). You’ll learn about tea processing in the countries of origin (China, Japan, Sri Lanka, India, etc.) and the different variations of tea and how the leaves should look and the tea should taste. There are also pictures of the brewed tea being described so you can get an idea of the liquid in your cup.
If you are looking for recipes or information about what the West calls tea but really isn’t tea (like herbal infusions or tisanes), then you won’t find information on that in this book. This book is strictly about real tea from the countries of origin that come from the camellia sinesis plant. I love this handbook and am impressed with the education I received just from reading it.
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