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Tea Book Reviews
Love reading tea, coffee, and herb books? Here is our book reviews. Email us at brew@specailteapots to add your own review. Writers of tea books are also encouraged to leave a brief account of their latest work. (Please leave the reviews up to the readers) We'd love to hear from you!
Tea Books
The Agony of the Leaves~Helen Gustafson ~1996~174 Pages ~List $23.00 ~Henry Holt and Company, Inc
Book is mainly Helen's personal stories about tea and tearooms with recipes included. Her whimsical writing style makes this book refreshing to read. Colorful boxes about tea on some pages break up the bit too much story book theme and give a much better dimension to the book. Pictures with text create a cute writing style.
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The Chinese Art of Tea ~John Blofeld ~1985 ~205 Pages ~List $9.95 ~Shambhala Publications
Well written. Good historical index of tea. Although the subjects have been well documented and written about, John gives the reader a fresh insight through his personal writing style. Knowledge gleaned after spending twenty years in China makes this book a great read. Very few actual pictures, does include some nice poetry though. Did I say well written?
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A Cup of Tea ~Geraldene Holt ~1991~ 92 Pages ~List $6.99 inUK ~ Clays Ltd.
Very small print makes this book a chore to read; However the tea cup patterns and complementing graphics are beautiful. Content would be easy to get through if the font was a normal size. Yellow cover and yellow pages ...a big plus.
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The Book of Green Tea ~Diana Rosen ~1998 ~156 Pages ~List $16.95
Delightful book on green tea. Packed with useful and sometimes unusual information. I especially like the section on Yixing teapots and the beauty and cooking recipes where Diana includes such delights as an anti fungal foot powder recipe and green tea mask recipe. Did I mention the how to repair fingernails with tea bags? A delightful book.
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Garden of Tea ~Nancy Shumaker Pallan ~2000 ~List $8.95
Charming small book. Small enough that it can be read on a very short lunch hour. Sports poems like: Borage...High in calcium is borage tea...Drinking this is thought to build bone density.
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The Republic of Tea ~Minister of Information Editor Nancy Friedman ~1993 ~ 157 Pages List $12.00
Informative although somewhat overdone subject on tea. Including the Minister of information on the cover gives the impression of a official book from a government agency. It is not. Good to keep on the shelf for tea basics if you don't have access or use a computer for your tea facts.
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Secrets from a Healthy Asian Kitchen ~Ying Chang Compestine ~2002~ 307 pages ~List $18.95
This is my go to book for recipes, Asian concepts, as well as a healthy green lifestyle. This is the everyday source book to enrich your life. Pages include a chart on The Traditional Healthy Asian Diet Pyramid ,where exercise is key, and healthy recipes including tea as a major ingredient. Here is where I learned about the types of ginseng and Yixing teapots. Really can't say enough about this book. It is such a refreshing change form the heavy traditional American lifestyle. Awesome Possum!!!
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Tea craft ~Charles and Violet Schafer ~1975 ~98 Pages ~List $4.95 ~Yerba Buena Press
This is such a fun book very reminiscent of a 60's local press creation. Innovative black and white graphics look hand drawn and are worth the cost of the book. The content can be just as clever at times. Love the funk!
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Coffee Books
The Complete Coffee Book ~ Sara Perry ~1991 ~96 Pages ~List $12.95~Chronicle Books
Nice coffee history and coffee pot history. Book is filled with oodles of pictures and fun coffee recipes. I especially liked the pictures of all types of coffee pots as well as directions on how to use each pot.
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Herb Books
The Herb & Spice Companion ~Marcus A. Webb Richard Craze ~2005 ~375 Pages ~Barnes & Noble ~List $14.95
Great reference book about all the spices and herbs in your life. Love the recommended over the counter remedies on page 187. Could be made better with a dictionary format and listing the herbs alphabetically.
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Herbaly Yours ~Penny C. Royal ~1982 ~127 Pages ~Sound Nutrition ~List $5.95
Great reference book for the herbal student as well as the herbal practitioner. Filled with pertinent information on herbs and herbal usages. This book is easy to read and use. Gets a A plus for teaching the beginner about herbs without boring the experienced student. Some unusual information in Chapter 6 lists the vitamins and mineral sources in herbs. Plenty of recipes for herb blending as well. Good reference book. Cost may be outdated as this is an older book.
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List price is the price on the book or what it sells for from some retailers. Please note some books may sell for a higher or lower price than listed simply because of the publishing date.
Favorite on line book store? Abebooks.com, a subsidiary of Amazon.com, has the best selections and prices from a large selection of retailers. They feature 110 million new, used, rare, and out of print books. That's a lot of pages.
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