---

Tea Master Sun seems to comprehend that I’m being transformed, yet his words are as colorless as can be. “So, Pu’er. Tell us what you know about it.”

The minute he asks this question, I understand two things…

That’s a quote from The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane by Lisa See (page 175-176)

---

A Brilliantly Layered Book

Despite being a work of fiction, one immediately feels that the tea content is thorough and factually based, adding interesting and personable facts to a tea reader’s knowledge banks.

By Kyle Whittington | Tea Book Club

I found myself repeatedly drawn in and captivated by the story whilst doing my initial skim read, checking there was sufficient tea content for TeaBookClub members. There was. Tea content aplenty. Whilst reading, and by the time I’d finished it I found myself with a renewed interest in the world of Pu’er tea, a pond I’d previously only dipped my toe into. Fascinating and well researched tea content is liberally scattered throughout the book, revealing the mysterious world of Pu’er tea. From ancient secret groves and lost production through its re-discovery to rapid growth, boom and bust over the last three decades. Despite being a work of fiction, one immediately feels that the tea content is thorough and factually based, adding interesting and personable factoids to the tea readers knowledge banks. And ultimately, for many, inspiring a new or renewed interest in the world of Pu’er.

Undoubtedly a literary work worthy of the recommendations that brought it to my reading chair, it is interesting how different lenses can change the readers experience. Reading it with a tea mind gives, I feel, a rather different experience to that of a reader coming to it purely as a novel. Something which became clear when discussing it with TeaBookClub members.

For the tea reader, this is a book of two halves. Whilst the first half cleverly sets up Li-yan’s world of Akha tradition and starts her on her journey. It can at times feel like wading through a documentary on the Akha, despite the captivating writing. It’s not until Li-yan makes it to Kunming that the pace suddenly picks up and we’re zipping through the exciting tea world as the pu’er trend picks up pace alongside. I personally wanted to spend more time with Tea Master Sun and in Li-yan’s tea shop in the tea market at this point. But on we zipped to California and the eventual riveting ending, which left me desperately wanting to know what happened next.

There are so many brilliant layers to this book, and it could be looked at through so many different lenses. The rapid transition of the Akha way of life into the modern world was fascinating and could spark its own lengthy discussion. From another view, the mother daughter story, adoption, or Chinese immigrants in the USA could all be delved into and discussed. But for the tea reader this is a wonderful story, packed with great tea content that will either develop or ignite an interest in, and desire to explore the world of Pu’er further.

Here’s what some TeaBookClub members thought:

“I haven’t gotten into Pu’er that much, but the book has definitely inspired me to now.” – Alison, UK

“I thought the ending was a tear-jerker, I was definitely glued to those last ten pages“- Chris, USA

“I found it touching to read” – Aimée, Canada

“I thought it was too encyclopedic initially [the first time reading it], I found the beginning too much explanation about the Akha people but then because TeaBookClub chose it to read I picked it up and I’m happy I really read it though.” – Aimée, Canada

“I found it a little bit cliche when she finds the love of her life and he’s like her knight in shining armor and she’s a little bit of the princess, a Cinderella kind of thing. But then what I really liked about it was the little nuggets about tea culture in China. How the women when they’re picking the leaves talk about life. The culture in the villages, tea is their life, their culture, they have this appreciation of the leaf. She describes that really well; it’s not just about picking and processing. But I thought bits of the story line were a bit Disney, she’s shopping on Rodeo drive, its like Pretty Woman at one point! I liked those little bits about the life, about the culture of tea.” – Alison, UK

“When it talked about selling the fake tea, that was very relatable in the tea industry. And their reaction to it, how could you be upset with all the money they’re making, just make a little bit more. It showed how different the view was on the ground versus our 30,000 feet distance view.” – Chris, USA

“There was so much build up around the tribe and then it jumped very quickly though the story.” – Chris, USA

“The first part really explains the character and how she feels different from the Han majority and from her own tribe.” – Aimée, Canada

“It’s easier to digest the tea knowledge in that [novel] format sometimes, it drops bits of information in and it’s easier to take the information in.” – Alison, France

“I liked how she brings up the challenges of being an adopted Chinese girl in America. Not feeling Chinese, not feeling American…. I thought she captured the experience of wanting to find her [Hayley] birth parents and the excitement she got around seeing how other people found it. It’s a one in a million chance, its never going to happen but at least I’ll try, it makes sense to go and do that. I thought that was captured really well.” – Chris, USA

“I really loved the part with all the girls talking with the psychologist. That was really clever.” – Aimée, Canada

Although based in the UK, The Tea Book Club is an international group of tea lovers and readers who meet up virtually each month to discuss tea books. If you’d like to join us for the next read, visit teabookclub.org or @joinTeaBookClub on Instagram. 

---

Link to share this post with your colleagues

---

Signup and receive Tea Biz weekly in your inbox.

---

---

Later, pouring some of last year’s temple tea, he says, “Tea has so much information to give. If you pay attention, you know not only the place, but how the tree grew, even the mood of the person who processed it.” – The Life of Tea by Michael Freeman and Timothy d’Offay (page 101)

---

Visual Splendor

By Kyle Whittington | Tea Book Club

This book, in a word, is stunning, just stunning. By far the most beautiful tea book visually to land on my tea shelf. The coffee table book format and fabulous photography by Michael Freeman make this a treasured addition to any collection of tea books. Add to that the knowledge that pours forth in the words written by Timothy d’Offay and we have a truly special book in our hands.

One of the lovely things about this book is that you don’t feel that you’re rereading information on tea that you’ve read 1,000 times before. Rather, you go on a journey to each tea type, each country, region, artisan or tea house, and along the way, dotted throughout the text like so many villages amongst the tea mountains are these wonderful gems and nuggets of information. There’s so much to learn and absorb both from the pictures and the text in this book. It sits such at an unusual sweet spot where a visually enticing book meets a well-researched and written reference book.

This is not a book that requires cover to cover reading. Rather, you can pick an area and go on a journey, then move on to another. In any order. An approach that Tea Book Club members really enjoyed. The text is so well written, with great flow, great knowledge and great humanity. From historical and cultural context to processing details of a specific tea and the atmospheric approach up a tea mountain road. You really feel that Tim has been there, knows the farmers, the people, and the tea.

The large format and visual splendour of this book is, however, perhaps its biggest sticking point, as well as what sets it so beautifully apart. It’s simply not easy to read and requires effort to open and get on with. One solution is to grab the Kindle copy for easy train or bed reading, allowing you to fly through the content laden and beautifully written text without the heft and size the physical book requires.

And here is what some of the Tea Book Club members had to say:

“A great coffee table book, the text wrapped around photography bringing it to life.”  – Alison, UK

“I adore it. It’s definitely going to be a long term treasure for me.” – B, USA

“The artistic quality of the depiction is so beautiful and has such integrity. It’s connected things in my head.” – Terri, USA

“One of the strengths of this book is to show different views of what we see in every tea book” – Aimée, Canada

“This book gives you all the information like other tea books but in a very elegant way… plenty of little details, but very important ones.” – Pilar, UK

“The writing was really insightful and the photography was really beautiful.” – Karri, USA

“I really liked his focus on the people in all the different places he traveled to. His perspectives of the farmers was really really nice.” – Nicole, USA

“I’ve been drooling over the pictures. My husband is not a big tea drinker but he even picked it up and learned a lot just from the pictures.” – Terri, USA

“I love the text and I also love the pictures but I found ti difficult to read at night. But I found there was a lot of pieces of information that added a piece to the puzzle in my mind about tea… ‘Oh, that’s the link between those two ideas!’” – Aimée, Canada

“I loved the section on tea ware, his knowledge and love for the tea ware really shines through.” – Nadine, UK

“I really really like that it didn’t have the ad nauseam facts that are repeated in every other book on tea. There’s so much in there but it’s not done in a stereotypical way.” – Nicole, USA

“I really appreciated seeing pictures of some of the behind the scenes stuff that you don’t usually see in such good quality.” – Sean, USA

“The tea ware section is amazing, you feel like you are reading about art!” – Pilar UK

Although based in the UK, The Tea Book Club is an international group of tea lovers and readers who meet up virtually each month to discuss tea books. If you’d like to join us for next read, visit teabookclub.org or @joinTeaBookClub on Instagram. 

Michael Freeman Gallery

• 

• 

• 

• 

---

Link to share this post with your colleagues

---

Signup and receive Tea Biz weekly in your inbox.

---

---

“So I must warn you of two things. Firstly: be careful of drinking good tea; you might get hooked and be unable to stop. If the tea is really good, you might indulge deeply drinking and drinking until your heart feels close to exploding with pleasure and caffeine. Even those habituated to hard drugs and amazing tastes get swept away.

And secondly: the pleasure might take away your inhibitions. Above and beyond the caffeine, the exquisite beauty of tea can turn your head and rob you of your normal control. Intensely delightful experiences are so out of the ordinary that our response to them can be similarly unexpected.” – Henrietta Lovell (Chapter 13, page 99.)

---

A Book to Reignite your Tea Flame

By Kyle Whittington | Tea Book Club

Wow! What a book! From start to finish Henrietta had me captivated, excited and enthralled by her world. A tea book unlike most, this is the very personal story of Henrietta’s adventures with tea, in tea, and all around tea. From her first fledgling sips out of dainty China Cups at Diana’s House as a child, we are taken along on a ride of reminiscence. With trips to far flung tea fields swathed in mist via the odd lightning strike or two, we zip off to tea tastings with chefs at some of the best restaurants in the world, accompanied by her little yellow suitcase and strange meetings on trains. To mention but a few of her adventures. 

The extreme highs of Henrietta’s life in tea (which could otherwise have felt like so much name-dropping) are balanced by her battles with cancer. And yes, she really has been struck down by lightning. The realness and personality of Henrietta and her book comes through in these juxtapositions, making the book expressively and genuinely human. You really feel like you are sitting over a cup of tea with Henrietta as she regales you with her stories, the highs, the lows, and the off on a tangent. Oh, and the recipes! Dotted throughout the book are her teas and recipes, each connected with its own story. 

This is not a book with sections on different teas, recipes, growing and history like most other tea books. But all this and more is woven throughout the stories that Henrietta tells. Like real life, we learn as we go along, picking up useful tips, ideas, and inspirations. 

And here is what some of the book club members had to say:

I opted to get the audio book. It was so fun to hear her voice and her telling the stories. It was like I was there having tea with her!  – Shawn, USA

It’s about her story and the experiences she has with those teas, and with these people. It absolutely gets you excited and interested in all these teas.  – Nadine, UK

She makes it all sound so delicious. – Alison, UK

I really enjoyed it, Henrietta is such a storyteller. I could hear more of her stories any day, she is just a very interesting character.  – Laura, UK

I think it was very brave of her to share that part of her life, about her illnesses, that wasn’t easy. And she shared how it was in the beginning of her company and how it has transformed to what it is today. It’s really inspiring. – Kristine, Sweden.

I like the way that she makes it fun as well. What she’s doing is a really noble cause, but she doesn’t make it heavy or preachy. It’s more a joyful experience and trying to celebrate and have joy. – Tran, UK

Made me want to try different teas again. – Saunders, UK

I really liked when she wrote about Malawi Antlers. As I grow tea myself, I have to try this; Swedish Antlers.  – Greta, Sweden

Usually I’m not interested in blends, and I found it fascinating. The way she talks about how she creates these different blends for different chefs and different foods. With her little yellow bag. – Nadine, UK

I connected a lot with this book. – Sean, USA

When I read her book, I thought I would like to write my own stories or adventures with tea. – Brigette, Canada.

If you’d like to join us for next read, visit teabookclub.org or @joinTeaBookClub on Instagram. 

Rare Tea Co.

Henrietta Lovell is perhaps best known as the Rare Tea Lady, after her company “Rare Tea Co.” rareteacompany.com. Sourcing directly from farmers since the very beginning Henrietta has traveled the world and searching for rare and precious harvests of teas and tisanes. Her quest has taken her on many adventures, from the far flung and bizarre to those closer to home. She has worked with some of the most prestigious restaurants and hotels around the world, pairing teas and creating bespoke blends. Henrietta founded Rare Charity, which works to bring educational opportunity to young people in tea growing areas.

— Kyle Whittington

---

Link to share this post with your colleagues

---

Signup and receive Tea Biz weekly in your inbox.

---

---

“Therefore, it can be said that tea once it reaches us is only half finished, and that the way in which it is brewed as the final stage of bringing the tea to life. In the sections below I present a range of suggestions on how to fully enjoy a tea tasting session, but rather than focusing on claims as “this tea should be brewed in such manner”, I prefer to direct focus to letting you decide on how to infuse the tea you have in front of you.”

---

An Immersive Examination of Japanese Tea

“Therefore, it can be said that tea once it reaches us is only half finished, and that the way in which it is brewed as the final stage of bringing the tea to life. In the sections below I present a range of suggestions on how to fully enjoy a tea tasting session, but rather than focusing on claims as “this tea should be brewed in such manner”, I prefer to direct focus to letting you decide on how to infuse the tea you have in front of you.”

And that’s a quote from The Story of Japanese Tea by Tyas S?sen, one of the best and most comprehensive books on Japanese tea available.

Hello, I’m Kyle Whittington, founder of Tea Book Club. Although I’m based in the UK, Tea Book Club is an international group of tea lovers and readers who meet up virtually each month to discuss tea books.

Here are my thoughts:

Whether you already love (and think you know) Japanese tea or are just getting into it, this book is definitely a must read! Tyas S?sen takes us on a fully immersive look at Japanese tea through history (pages 94-125, 143-145), cultivation (pages 25-29 and 126 among others) and production (pages 56-90, 128-130 and 148-155 among others), customs and the different types of Japanese tea. As well as advice on preparing and drinking Japanese tea (chapter 6). From the traditional and historical right through to the bang up to date.

The discussion around how sencha might have tasted before mechanized production and those now trying to replicate this taste (pages 85-87) was truly fascinating and really got me thinking. Tyas also explores rare and unusual teas such as goishi-cha (pages 168-169), a post fermented tea and dancha (pages 97-99), a precursor to matcha. Tyas’s discussions around farming methods and taking care of the land (pages 18-55) are important and backed up with case studies. Indeed, case studies are to be found throughout the book to illustrate and back up Tyas’s points (page viv). Well worth reading. Overall an excellent book which really shines a light on the subject of Japanese tea.

My only slight gripe? It could perhaps have done with an edit by a native English speaker to iron out some of the language which can, at times, be a tad clunky. But then, I couldn’t exactly write such a book in a second or third language, so hats off to Tyas on compiling and writing this truly fantastic book!

Thoughts and comments from Tea Book Club members:

“I really liked it. It’s really hard to find a book on Japanese tea that’s really dedicated to it. For a book with so much great content, it was actually pretty readable.” (Nicole, USA)

More comments from members:

“So often “bancha” is just the “bad tea” and that’s that. But he really dug into it and the regional differences. There’s so many layers you’re just not normally told about.” (N. Wilson, USA)

“So often Japanese tea is just a little section in other books, it was nice to find a whole book dedicated to it.” (Ernest, UK)

“The part on brewing tea was very interesting. There’s no right or wrong, do how you like.” (Kristine, Sweden).

“Was refreshing to have someone who wasn’t so hard nosed about how to make the tea.” (Nicole, USA)

“He’s a big proponent of natural farming. He had the little case studies with the actual farmers to back it up.” (Nicole, USA)

“The content is so great!” (Greta, Sweden)

To purchase

You can purchase The Story of Japanese Tea here or, of course, on Amazon

If you’d like to join us for next read, visit teabookclub.org or @joinTeaBookClub on Instagram. 

• 

• 

• 

Tea Crane

Tyas S?sen was born in Belgium and now lives in Kyoto, Japan with his wife and two children. He is a qualified instructor in the Ensh? school of Japanese Tea Ceremony and a certified Nihoncha (Japanese tea) instructor. Having worked for tea vendors in Japan and traveled the country extensively meeting and talking to growers he founded The Tea Crane  in 2015 with the aim of promoting ‘authentic’ Japanese tea, selecting only traditionally and naturally produced teas, with a focus on Native cultivars. In August 2020 The Tea Crane flagship store opened in Kyoto.

---

Link to share this post with your colleagues

---

Signup and receive Tea Biz weekly in your inbox.

---