James Norwood Pratt

James Norwood Pratt's approach to the world of tea (in the very broadest sense) is chatty, opinionated, and full of stray bits of wisdom that are often quite fascinating. The downside of this volume is the rambling nature of the contents, which follow a loose organization that makes for interesting reading at times, but weakens the book's potential to serve as an ongoing reference and resource for the dedicated tea drinker.

A genuinely informative, yet charmingly written overview of tea's history - east and west; its varieties, production methods, customs, properties, brewing techniques, etc. Unlike run-of-the-mill tea books, it treats camellia sinensis and treats it seriously, though the style's relaxed, personal, and laced with humor. No recipes for tea sandwiches, no doilies, and nothing Victorian need apply. (For an Anglo-centric view of tea as drink, custom, and meal, see Michael Smith's The Afternoon Tea show more Book. It's very good.) (****) show less

I was lucky enough to find this book in a used bookstore some years ago. It is a larger book, but is surprisingly easy reading. For a non-fiction book it is written in a very conversational tone. If you have been wanting to read up more on tea but have been putting off delving into a long non-fiction book on the topic, this may be a good compromise book. It is older so a few of the points are out of date. However I did find teas discussed here that I have not found discussed in other tea show more related books, which made it a very interesting read. There are sections on tea history, tea trade (clipper ships!), tea growing/processing, different tea regions, and tea types. There is also a section on various mail order options for tea which I imagine is now out of date. Quite a fun read! show less

Indeholder "Introduction - by M. F. K. Fischer", "Chapter I: Tea Tales", " The Greatest Stories Ever Told", " A Truthful Relation of Tea History", "Chapter II: Tea Things", " Where Did That Come From?", " An Introduction to Pottery, China and Silver", "Chapter III: Tea Types", " What Do You Call This?", " A Short Survey of the World of Tea", "Chapter IV: Tea Times", " What Is the Meaning of This?", " A Commentary on Tea Ways and Means", "Chapter V. Tea Trade", " Whose Business Is It show more Anyway?", " A Miscellany of Curious Lore", "Chapter VI. Tea Producing", " Why Does It Taste Like That?", " A Somewhat Technical Excursus", "Selected Bibliography", "Index", "Map of Major Tea Growing Areas".

Hmm, meget lang tekst uden ret mange billeder. Men også uden ret megen information. show less