Tea : History, Terroirs, Varieties

Tea is second only to water as the most-consumed beverage in the world. When recent studies revealed green tea's health benefits, consumption skyrocketed. Tea is a comprehensive guide to non-herbal tea, the plant Camellia sinensis. Concise and authoritative text and an abundance of colour photographs take the reader on an escorted tour of the world's teagrowing 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; The modern tea industry; Signature tea cultivars; The art of making, serving and tasting tea, including tea ceremonies; Tea in cooking, with 15 recipes from gourmet restaurants; A directory of teas. A set of detailed charts, tables and graphs shows the caffeine, antioxidant and other biochemical properties of 35 teas. Enthusiasm for tea is high. 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.

Kevin Gascoyne, Francois Marchand, Jasmin Desharnais and Hugo Americi are professional tea tasters and the owners of Camellia Sinensis Tea House. Jonathan Racine is an editor with a passion for tea. For this book he travelled to China to tour plantations, meet with producers and tasters and, of course, to drink many cups of tea.