The Empire of Tea:The Remarkable History of the Plant That Took Over the World
by Alan MacFarlane & Iris MacFarlane
You know you've read too many books on tea history when you find yourself getting weary of that quaint little myth about tea's origin. You know the one - the Chinese emperor who just happened to be boiling water...outside. A few tea leaves just happen to blow off of a conveniently located tree and land in the water. The emperor drinks it and oila, thousands of years later everyone's got their drawers in a pinch about how good this stuff is for you.
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The Story of Tea: A Cultural History and Drinking Guide
by Mary Lou Heiss and Robert J. Heiss
In the two years I've been publishing a Web site about tea I've learned enough about it to make me realize that I really don't know much about it. Which is a roundabout way of saying that tea is a vast subject. This point was driven home recently when I read The Story of Tea, by Mary Lou and Robert Heiss. As "A Cultural History and Drinking Guide," it's got to rank right up there with the best of them. But there's really no way that such a work can do much more than scratch the surface of this topic.
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