This was a really lovely and accessible book about tea. Michael Harney covers an excellent variety of teas from around the world, with brewing suggestions, tasting notes and some background. It’s written so that you can dive in just about anywhere or start from the beginning, exploring teas from the most delicate to the brisk and bold.
Harney recommends sampling these different teas in groups, to provide the best ground for comparison, which is something that I would like to do, but wasn’t able to during my read through. There’s also different tea tasting menus which look very interesting.
I quite appreciated the inclusion of tea history and tea production in the appendices, while keeping much of the main content of the book focused on experiencing the tea itself.
This book is delightfully unpretentious. Harney writes with the enthusiasm of someone sharing something they love, rather than someone waving their expertise over your head. He encourages you to form your own opinions and disagree with him, and above all, to enjoy your tea.
Cool, I didn’t even know they had a book out. Thanks for the review. :)