The Best Tea Books on Planet

Books and tea are perfect pairs and are the best companions. When we combine both of these we get something incredible! For a person who is a tea and book lover both, this combination is like heaven. The taste of tea and the enjoyment of reading a book increases when used in combination. Try it out some day!

Today let us dive into some of the best tea books available on the planet.

• THE STORY OF TEA: A CULTURAL HISTORY AND DRINKING GUIDE by Mary Lou Heiss, Robert J. Heiss

This book is said to be the bible of tea books and received many prestigious awards. It was nominated in 2008 for a prestigious James Beard Book Award and an IACP Cookbook Award. It was awarded Best Tea Book in the USA from Gourmand Awards, Paris, France, and also won the bronze for Best Tea Book in the World in 2008.

This 417 page is not like a novel but is a reference book in which you can select your favourite topic and read it. It consists of travelogue, history, information on tea-growing regions, discussion of flavor, identification, brewing and more.

This book is a must read if you are tea lover! Go for it today only.

• THE HARNEY & SONS GUIDE TO TEA by Michael Harney

This tea guide is helpful in understanding more than just tea basics. This is a solid book which covers topic related to different groups of tea like differentiating the Chinese green tea and the Japanese green tea. The book also has an elaborated history on various origins of tea. One interesting thing to note is that the book has included a “Brewing & Tasting Guide” with the book. The book has only one drawback that it doesn’t contain any photographs for support. The Harney & Sons Guide to Tea is a classic reference for the serious tea drinker. 

• THE TEA ENTHUSIAST’S HANDBOOK: A GUIDE TO THE WORLD’S BEST TEAS by Mary Lou Heiss, Robert J. Heiss

This is a small and handy pocket guide. This guide is very helpful in exploring the world of tea.It covers six classes of tea i.e. green, yellow, white, oolong, black and pu-erh. It discusses very specific types of teas, including how to buy, store and steep tea, along with detailed tasting notes. This is an excellent book for a serious tea taster!

• THE BOOK OF TEA by Okakura Kakuzo

This book is related to artists and philosophers. The author “Okakura” has defined the tea as a cup of humanity, medicine and a growing beverage. Tea eventually became an expression of the way of life in the Asian world. This book teaches us about Teaism, Taoism and Zenism in chronological order. Overall this book is all about art, philosophy, spirituality, meditation, design, gardening, architecture and yes – tea.

The book of tea is a very special tea and a must read!

• JAMES NORWOOD PRATT’S NEW TEA LOVER’S TREASURY. THE CLASSIC TRUE STORY OF TEA by James Norwood Pratt

This is a tea story book and it talks about ancient tea history. It talks about the origin of tea and about the tea renaissance in America. The author has written this with his heart and soul, and put his thirty years of experience of tea exploration into it. The New Tea Lover’s Treasury is an interesting and informative book written with humor, knowledge and loving enthusiasm for a simple cup of tea that’s not really so simple after all.

• THE NEW TEA COMPANION: A GUIDE TO TEAS THROUGHOUT THE WORLD by Jane Pettigrew, Bruce Richardson

This is a brief guide to production of tea, its types and grading of tea. This includes many chapters which focus on production of tea, the types of tea and the grading of tea. It includes chapters which talk about health benefits of tea, new tea information, tea production, tea blending and tea hospitality.

• THE TEA BOOK by Linda Gaylard

Now this book is something which every tea lover got to read! It tells clearly about different forms of tea. The book also describes various tea traditions around the world with ceremonies and blends. One of the important features of the book is the chapter on Tisanes because this is not covered in depth in any other books in the world. Moreover, an impressive twenty-nine herbs and their benefits are included so they may be blended with traditional teas or consumed on their own. There is also a bonus chapter which shows steeping notes and 88 tea recipes at the end.

• TEA: HISTORY, TERROIRS, VARIETIES by Kevin Gascoyne, Francois Marchand, and Jasmin Desharnais

This is the most complete book on tea on the planet earth as this was written by three expert men who ran Montreal’s tea staple. There is even a biochemical analysis of 35 teas, a tea tasting lexicon as well as a flavor wheel. The book won the Best Tea Book at the World Tea Awards in 2014.

The book is very useful in understanding the tea of various varieties. The book also has a section of health benefits of tea with 35 analyzed teas focusing on caffeine content, antioxidants, and catechins. This book is a must read if you are really in the business of tea!

• TEA: A USER’S GUIDE by Tony Gebely

This is the most up to date book on specialty tea. The book navigates around the world of tea and the person who has writeen it, Tony, is a great blogger who has great knowledge on tea. This book is also a must read if you really want to know about tea more!

• THE TEA DRINKER’S HANDBOOK by Francois-xavier Delmas,‎ Mathias Minet,‎ Christine Barbaste

This book describes about America’s roots in tea-drinking. This is a comprehensive guide which describes tea cultivation and manufacturing process in detail. It is also a true tasting guide for the majority if teas. It has a list of top fifty teas of the world with tasting sheets, comments and advice for each. The Tea Drinker’s Handbook informs and instructs with both fascinating text and alluring images.

Final Verdict

If you really want to know more about tea then these books is a must read. With these books you will find yourselves more familiar with the world of tea. If you are into opening a tea business then this book will do wonders to your business. Go grab a copy today itself!