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Steeped in History: The Art of Tea
After water, tea is the most frequently consumed beverage on the face of the earth. In ancient China tea was regarded as one of the seven daily necessities of life; for many Japanese it has served as a ritual element in the quest for enlightenment. In England afternoon tea holds an immutable place in the popular imagination, while in the United States it is often associated with the American Revolution.
While various teas have been prepared in an assortment of ways and have played parts in countless culinary practices, it is also important to note that tea is and nearly always been a highly important commodity. As such, it has played a variety of striking and often paradoxical roles on the world stage--an ancient health remedy, an element of cultural practice, a source of profound spiritual insights, but also a catalyst for brutal international conflict, drug trafficking, crushing taxes, and horrific labor conditions.
In the course of Steeped in History , editor Beatrice Hohenegger and eleven distinguished historians and art historians trace the impact of tea from its discovery in ancient China to the present-day tea plantations of Assam, crossing oceans and continents in the process. In so doing, they examine the multitude of ways in which tea has figured in the visual and literary arts. These include not only the myriad vessels fashioned for the preparation, presentation, and consumption of tea but also tea-related scenes embellishing ceramics and textiles and forming the subject of paintings, drawings, caricature, songs, and poetry.
While various teas have been prepared in an assortment of ways and have played parts in countless culinary practices, it is also important to note that tea is and nearly always been a highly important commodity. As such, it has played a variety of striking and often paradoxical roles on the world stage--an ancient health remedy, an element of cultural practice, a source of profound spiritual insights, but also a catalyst for brutal international conflict, drug trafficking, crushing taxes, and horrific labor conditions.
In the course of Steeped in History , editor Beatrice Hohenegger and eleven distinguished historians and art historians trace the impact of tea from its discovery in ancient China to the present-day tea plantations of Assam, crossing oceans and continents in the process. In so doing, they examine the multitude of ways in which tea has figured in the visual and literary arts. These include not only the myriad vessels fashioned for the preparation, presentation, and consumption of tea but also tea-related scenes embellishing ceramics and textiles and forming the subject of paintings, drawings, caricature, songs, and poetry.
240 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2009
113 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
April 24, 2016
Amazing and detailed illustrated exhibition catalogue delineating the global economy and culture of tea.
January 17, 2026
I bought this book pretty impulsively, thinking that it was going to be a nice coffee table book with lots of pictures of teacups, but I was so impressed by what I got that I had to do a review of this!
If you remember, a long time ago, I reviewed A Tale of Tea by George Van Driem. Till date, that book remains the most scholarly and comprehensive overview of the history of tea that I’ve read. But, it’s also very hard to find and expensive to get – I checked and the paperback is USD140ish on Amazon, which is a “think twice” price for any book. But given that I found Steeped in Tea on Bookxcess, and it seems to be available on ebay at a lower cost, I think I’ve found a well-rounded and scholarly introduction to tea that I can happily recommend.
The sections in this book are
China – Cradle of Tea Culture: A good introduction to the history of tea in China by dynasty, and with insightful sections on the link between Daoism and tea. I don’t think I’ve seen this link explored very much in other tea books, so I learnt a lot from this! There is also a really fun essay on yixing teapots, where the author went to learn more about how they are made from a modern yixing potter.
The Way of Tea in Japan: This section had essays on Buddhist thought and the way of tea in Japan, the Senchado practice (which I’ve always wanted to learn more about), as well as the role of women in Edo period tea culture. By the way, if the last topic interests you, there is a book called Cultivating Femininity which goes into a lot of detail on this – the last I checked, the publisher released the ebook version for free!
The Tea Craze in the West: This section looked at tea and the middle class, how tea was drunk in America, and the role of tea in the American revolution. This is a bit more America-focused, though I think the essay on tea in the middle class was most interesting to me and reminded me of parallels to another culture, but I will want to reread at least one of my tea books to make sure that I’m remembering things clearly before I say anything more!
Tea and Empire: This looks at the trade between China and the UK, covering teapots, opium, and guns in addition to tea, as well as the tea industry in India. This is perhaps the heaviest book, because of the harm and exploitation carried out for the sake of tea that are written about. There is also a good section on whether Fair Trade tea helps or is a greenwashing technique, and though it’s not pleasant to think about whether the tea industry is still exploitative, I believe it’s something we have to consider as we build our tea collections.
As you can see, this book covers a wide range of countries and topics. While smaller tea producing regions are not mentioned in detail, I think Steeped in History: The Art of Tea does a great job of introducing the history of tea and some of the pertinent issues to the reader in a scholarly but accessible way. And as you can see from the photos I shared, the book is also full of photos and pictures of tea ware, pictures, and other objects related to tea culture, which I think makes the book beautiful as well as informative.
This review was first posted at Eustea Reads
If you remember, a long time ago, I reviewed A Tale of Tea by George Van Driem. Till date, that book remains the most scholarly and comprehensive overview of the history of tea that I’ve read. But, it’s also very hard to find and expensive to get – I checked and the paperback is USD140ish on Amazon, which is a “think twice” price for any book. But given that I found Steeped in Tea on Bookxcess, and it seems to be available on ebay at a lower cost, I think I’ve found a well-rounded and scholarly introduction to tea that I can happily recommend.
The sections in this book are
China – Cradle of Tea Culture: A good introduction to the history of tea in China by dynasty, and with insightful sections on the link between Daoism and tea. I don’t think I’ve seen this link explored very much in other tea books, so I learnt a lot from this! There is also a really fun essay on yixing teapots, where the author went to learn more about how they are made from a modern yixing potter.
The Way of Tea in Japan: This section had essays on Buddhist thought and the way of tea in Japan, the Senchado practice (which I’ve always wanted to learn more about), as well as the role of women in Edo period tea culture. By the way, if the last topic interests you, there is a book called Cultivating Femininity which goes into a lot of detail on this – the last I checked, the publisher released the ebook version for free!
The Tea Craze in the West: This section looked at tea and the middle class, how tea was drunk in America, and the role of tea in the American revolution. This is a bit more America-focused, though I think the essay on tea in the middle class was most interesting to me and reminded me of parallels to another culture, but I will want to reread at least one of my tea books to make sure that I’m remembering things clearly before I say anything more!
Tea and Empire: This looks at the trade between China and the UK, covering teapots, opium, and guns in addition to tea, as well as the tea industry in India. This is perhaps the heaviest book, because of the harm and exploitation carried out for the sake of tea that are written about. There is also a good section on whether Fair Trade tea helps or is a greenwashing technique, and though it’s not pleasant to think about whether the tea industry is still exploitative, I believe it’s something we have to consider as we build our tea collections.
As you can see, this book covers a wide range of countries and topics. While smaller tea producing regions are not mentioned in detail, I think Steeped in History: The Art of Tea does a great job of introducing the history of tea and some of the pertinent issues to the reader in a scholarly but accessible way. And as you can see from the photos I shared, the book is also full of photos and pictures of tea ware, pictures, and other objects related to tea culture, which I think makes the book beautiful as well as informative.
This review was first posted at Eustea Reads
October 10, 2013
Having gone to and participated in the show at the Fowler Museum, the curator really brought to life the history of tea with the beautiful and valuable tea artifacts. The descriptions of the pieces and the text in the book fully made me realize the scope of the tea culture worldwide and throughout the ages.
May 13, 2017
This is an exhibition I'm really sorry I missed.
The catalogue is beautifully presented, and both texts and photos are amazing.
But as it's often the case, I have some problems in reading exhibitions catalogues. I don't think they are really made to be read from a to z, but to be seen. And I ended up skimming or photos aww-ing. :)
The catalogue is beautifully presented, and both texts and photos are amazing.
But as it's often the case, I have some problems in reading exhibitions catalogues. I don't think they are really made to be read from a to z, but to be seen. And I ended up skimming or photos aww-ing. :)
April 23, 2016
Fantastic read- I learned so much and I thought I already knew a lot.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews