British writer and tea historian Jane Pettigrew has joined forces again with American tea writer Bruce Richardson to chronicle the fascinating story of tea's influence on British and American culture, commerce and community spanning nearly four centuries. These two leading tea professionals have seen first-hand the current tea renaissance sweeping modern culture and have written over two dozen books on the subject of tea, including The New Tea Companion. No beverage has shaped Western civilization more than the ancient elixir - tea. Follow tea's amazing journey from Canton to London, Boston and beyond as these two leaders of today's tea renaissance weave a fascinating story detailing how the leaves of a simple Asian plant shaped the culture and politics of both the United Kingdom and the United States. CHAPTER HIGHLIGHTS THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY: First Tea in England * East India Company * America's Thirst for Tea * Tea Jars & Caddies THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY: Teas for Sale * Tea Smuggling * Tea Etiquette * Liberty Tea * Boston Tea Party THE NINETEENTH CENTURY: An Empire Built on Tea * Jane Austen's Tea Things * Afternoon Tea * Glasgow Tea Movement * Tea & Suffrage THE TWENTIETH CENTURY: Teabags * The Tea Room Movement * Wartime Tea * Rise of American Tea Brands * Tea Dances * Specialty Tea THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY The American Teasmith * Tea & Health * The Starbucks Effect * Culinary Tea

How did drinking the infusions of a unique plant from China become a vital part of everyday life? This gift book presents an entertaining and illuminating introduction to the history and culture of tea, from its origins in the Far East to the flavors and properties of different varieties, and the rituals of tea preparation and drinking around the world. This simple hot beverage is suffused with artistic and religious overtones. The Chinese Ch'a Ching gave very precise guidelines to the preparation and sipping of tea, and the Japanese tea ceremony elevated it to an art form. Following its introduction to the royal court in the 17th century, the British created their own traditions, from the elaborate etiquette of afternoon tea to the humble pot of tea at the heart of family life, and the modern appreciation for specialty infusions.

A dramatic historical narrative of the man who stole the secret of tea from China In 1848, the British East India Company, having lost its monopoly on the tea trade, engaged Robert Fortune, a Scottish gardener, botanist, and plant hunter, to make a clandestine trip into the interior of China—territory forbidden to foreigners—to steal the closely guarded secrets of tea horticulture and manufacturing. For All the Tea in China is the remarkable account of Fortune's journeys into China—a thrilling narrative that combines history, geography, botany, natural science, and old-fashioned adventure. Disguised in Mandarin robes, Fortune ventured deep into the country, confronting pirates, hostile climate, and his own untrustworthy men as he made his way to the epicenter of tea production, the remote Wu Yi Shan hills. One of the most daring acts of corporate espionage in history, Fortune's pursuit of China's ancient secret makes for a classic nineteenth-century adventure tale, one in which the fate of empires hinges on the feats of one extraordinary man.

“A delightful tour of the tearooms that dotted the nation in the first half of the twentieth century . . . [an] irresistible slice of American popular culture.” —Booklist The Gypsy Tea Kettle. Polly’s Cheerio Tea Room. The Mad Hatter. The Blue Lantern Inn. These are just a few of the many tea rooms—most owned and operated by women—that popped up across America at the turn of the last century, and exploded into a full-blown craze by the 1920s. Colorful, cozy, festive, and inviting, these new-fangled eateries offered women a way to celebrate their independence and creativity. Sparked by the Suffragist movement, Prohibition, and the rise of the automobile, tea rooms forever changed the way America eats out, and laid the groundwork for the modern small restaurant and coffee bar. In this lively, well-researched book, Jan Whitaker brings us back to the exciting days when countless American women dreamed of opening their own tea room—and many did. From the Bohemian streets of New York’s Greenwich Village to the high-society tea rooms of Chicago’s poshest hotels, from the Colonial roadside tea houses of New England to the welcoming bungalows of California, the book traces the social, artistic, and culinary changes the tea room helped bring about. Anyone interested in women’s history, the early days of the automobile, the Bohemian lives of artists in Greenwich Village, and the history of food and drink will revel in this spirited, stylish, and intimate slice of America’s past. “The book is both informative and clear-eyed, and leavened with wonderful illustrations.” —House & Garden

Although tea had been known and consumed in China and Japan for centuries, it was only in the seventeenth century that Londoners first began drinking it. Over the next two hundred years, its stimulating properties seduced all of British society, as tea found its way into cottages and castles alike. One of the first truly global commodities and now the world’s most popular drink, tea has also, today, come to epitomize British culture and identity. This impressively detailed book offers a rich cultural history of tea, from its ancient origins in China to its spread around the world. The authors recount tea’s arrival in London and follow its increasing salability and import via the East India Company throughout the eighteenth century, inaugurating the first regular exchange—both commercial and cultural—between China and Britain. They look at European scientists’ struggles to understand tea’s history and medicinal properties, and they recount the ways its delicate flavor and exotic preparation have enchanted poets and artists. Exploring everything from its everyday use in social settings to the political and economic controversies it has stirred—such as the Boston Tea Party and the First Opium War—they offer a multilayered look at what was ultimately an imperial industry, a collusion—and often clash—between the world’s greatest powers over control of a simple beverage that has become an enduring pastime.