Sara Slavin

Very much a coffee-table book (ironically), Tea: Essence of the Leaf is a very short, well-produced book of artsy photographs, recipes and rather mundane text. It provides a brief overview of the history of tea, its production process, various ceremonies and its influence in diverse cultures around the world. For a tea-lover, it is a nice book to have around, but don't expect too much. If you're keen on a headier brew, read Kakuzō Okakura's excellent The Book of Tea instead.

A nice conversation and bar decoration; the chalky history of champagne and its region and some quotes from novels, etc. There are also cocktail recipes and food recipes taking champagne or for bites to accompany it. Lots of pictures, this is something you could leaf through over a glass of bubbly starting any where.

From the technical history I was really struck with the idea of the bottles upside down collecting sediment near the opening where it is frozen, removed, and replaced with a plug show more of sugar for configuring to brut, sec, etc. show less

Pure food porn. Lots of photographs, some excerpts from various works of literature that mention coffee, and a smattering of information about coffee in general. The recipes are the most detailed bit of the book, and range from the interesting (Duck Breast with Prunes and Espresso) to the expected (Chocolate-Espresso Torte) to the odd (Toasted Espresso Nuts). One peeve – the word “espresso” is used with religious fervor in places where the word “coffee” would be used normally. So show more it's “espresso beans”, not “coffee beans”, and so on – it did start to grate a bit.

The other thing to keep in mind is that this is a small format book – 230 mm x 140 mm. So it's not the typical coffee-table offering. You can't leave it lying around, artfully opened to a particular page.

Verdict? Nice, but a little lite. An addition to your coffee porn collection, not a book to pour over again and again. show less

If you're at all "in" to tea then you probably already know most of the information contained in this book. This is a basic primer on tea: how it's grown, processed, prepared, and enjoyed. Scattered throughout this information literary passages relating to tea, recipies that incorporate tea, and absolutely beautiful photographs. Indeed, the photographs are essential to enjoyment of the book. I would recommend this book to someone who's just gaining an interest in tea and wants a one-stop show more source for basic information. Tea afficionadoes will likely find little they don't already know, though the recipies do sound good, and I'm planning to try some of them. show less