Author Description

This is the most complete and focussed book on a subject dear to the hearts of many millions of people around the world: tea. So much more than just a drink, tea is in many countries - China, Japan, India, Great Britain to name but a few -- a national institution.<p>This is really two books together: one book of sumptuous images; one book of thoroughly-detailed text. The photographs were taken over the course of nine years of travel in China, in the land of the Tuaregs, in the United Kingdom, in Japan, France and Sikkim. The images are unaccompanied -- no captions, commentary or framework bar the table on which the book rests and the hands that turn its pages. Inside, the ritual unfolds as it does billions of times a day all over the world, as people share a cup, mug or bowl of tea. The text book offers a sustained read, telling the story of tea, covering a variety of subjects: water, trade, botany, color, fermentation, earth, taste, sociology, political economy and time. All in all, a superb and original teatime book!