Steeped in the World of Tea

by Sharon Bard (Editor), Juliana Spear (Photographer), Birgit Nielsen (Editor)

Spanning the globe from Russia to Japan, from Kenya to Palestine, from Germany to Sumatra, Steeped is a literary anthology about the world's most popular drink. This full-color, beautifully illustrated collection celebrates the ancient traditions of tea, and their place in the modern world. Here are recipes for Moroccan mint tea, the perfect Indian chai, Chinese fertility tea. And just as conversation and stories go naturally with a cup of tea, there are stories that take you around the to Japan during the Korean War, to a tea picnic on the roof of the world in the Himalayas, to a Sumatran jungle where POWs eat Danish cookies and drink English tea over chess, to an American kitchen where a Palestinian makes mint tea. A quirky and moving selection of essays and poems, Steeped does much more than evoke that delicious, hot or cold, spicy or soothing, dizzying or healing beverage. It is an intimate invitation-Can I make you a cup of tea?-writ large. Here, tea drinking bridges the ethnic, continental, and temporal divides of our rapidly changing world.

Genres: Tea, Nonfiction, Food Writing

183 pages, Paperback

First published February 15, 2003

Reviews

[Ruth Shelton]

Such a beautiful and intimate book of essays about tea. I picked this up at the library on a whim and can say I was touched by every single story. So grateful to have found this book!

[Stacie]

I'm not sure what I was expecting, but I was disappointed by this book. Most of the selections included had little to no effect on me, inspiring neither thought nor feeling- a fatal flaw for something that is more than half poetry. The photography was good and there were two of the selections I did enjoy ("A Geography Of Tea" and "The Wine Of The Poor") so it wasn't a total loss... But I'm glad I bought it off the bargain table instead of paying full price.

[Rebecca Huston]

One of those wonderfully cute, sentimental books about tea that keep appearing everywhere. There are better books about tea available, so unless you're determined to own every book there is about tea, skip this one.

For the complete review, please go here:
http://www.epinions.com/content_97218...

[Kbg503]

Loving the art of short stories and trying to develop my palate for different teas, I am astounded at how talented these authors are. I am amazed to learn more about the "rituals" of tea, whether it's the everyday cup, that special cup to help you cope and endure a crisis, or the one that takes you back to your childhood.

[Renee]

Lovely images stories and poems about peoples love for the pleasures of tea