The Tea Enthusiast's Handbook: A Guide to the World's Best Teas

AROUND THE WORLD IN A TEACUP
Did you know that tea is the most widely consumed beverage on the planet after water? Or that all of the world's tea originates from only three varieties of a single plant? While a cup of tea may be a simple pleasure for most of us, there are a dizzying number of tastes from which to choose. And every tea, whether a delicately sweet green tea from Japan or a bracing, brisk Darjeeling black, tells a story in the cup about the land that nurtured it and the tea-making skills that transformed it.
 
In this authoritative guide, veteran tea professionals Mary Lou and Robert J. Heiss provide decades of expertise on understanding tea and its origins, the many ways to buy tea, and how to explore and enjoy the six classes of tea (green, yellow, white, oolong, black, and Pu-erh). Additional advice on steeping the perfect cup and storing tea at home, alongside a gallery of more than thirty-five individual teas with tasting notes and descriptions make The Tea Enthusiast's Handbook a singular source of both practical information and rich detail about this fascinating beverage.

MARY LOU HEISS and ROBERT J. HEISS are the co-authors of The Story of Tea A Cultural History and Drinking Guide and HOT DRINKS. They own and operate Tea Trekker, an established purveyor of premium tea, and their online store, teatrekker.com.They are adventurous tea trekkers and food and travel writers, and they also present popular educational tea workshops and tastings around the country. When not traveling to source teas, they make their home in western Massachusetts, where Robert's lively food radio program can be heard each week. The Heisses's deep respect for and passionate interest in artisan food products, traditional foods, and the history and evolution of world cuisines bring a global perspective to their work.

The Heisses's previous book The Story of Tea A Cultural History and Drinking Guide was nominated in 2008 for both a James Beard Book Award, an IACP Cookbook Award and it won the title of Best Tea Book in the USA from Gourmand Awards, Paris, France.