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

There are few books about tea that add to the discussion about tea in any meaningful way, but Mary Lou and Robert Heiss's new book, 'The Tea Enthusiast's Handbook' is one of them. This is a book about quality, although they sidestep the word because it has very little meaning in the industry, and instead use the word 'soundness', saying "We prefer to begin judging the potential merits of a tea by evaluating its soundness".Their book points the reader in a sound direction. Serious students of tea may find that they disagree with some of the details, but it is indisputable that the path to the world's best teas is clearly defined in this book. The international tea industry has never been clear about this path because it points to China and unblended, unflavored tea, and the established industry has a hard time delivering such tea to consumers. Even though teas from other areas are mentioned, the heart of the book is about Chinese tea. China, after all, is where tea originated, and definitions about tea need to be consistent with Chinese standards.They have taken a risk in writing this book. The industry has not been very supportive of writers that dare to write books that challenge conventional wisdom. It may not be obvious to the people reading that are outside of the industry, but a book like this really is a game changer. People will start to look at the tea that they are buying from the conventional sources and will start to realize that tea that they are buying and is being sold for 'good quality' is in reality very 'sound'. Then the open secret that people in the industry know, and increasingly 'tea enthusiasts' are becoming aware of, is that there is much better tea out there, it's just that it is difficult to come by in the US and Europe. Mary Lou and Robert have stirred that controversy just by providing good information.Mary Lou and Robert Heiss are excellent teachers. The lessons presented in this book are clear and concise. This book contains lessons that professional tea buyers ought to pay attention to and gives the consumers a high standard with which to judge in buying tea. The book is intelligently organized, highlighted with good photography, and well written. There are no examples of flowery rhetoric in place of substance. They tell the reader what good tea is, and where to find it. It may seem like a small book, but it gives the reader everything they need to get started with, or to expand their experience with tea. This is a book that every tea drinker should own, enthusiast or not, and in my opinion it is the most substantive book about tea to be written in English. It is not a travel log or a romanticized history.I get asked often to recommend books about tea. The Heiss's first book The Story of Tea: A Cultural History and Drinking Guide  set the bar higher for tea education, but they have surpassed it with this book. I do recommend both of their books, but this one is really a game changer. Buy it.-- Austin Hodge, Seven Cups Fine Teas[...]

This is a good introduction to some of the true (not tisane or flavored) teas. However, I have some of the same complaints as other reviewers: namely that there didn't exist a thorough enough description of enough teas, nor did the book include all the most famous teas from china, Japan, Sri Lanka, etc. also, I feel that the heiss' purist ways led them away from listing the wonderful teas that have sprung up around the world in Japan, Tibet, India, etc.Most importantly, and I must preface this with the fact that this is a valuable contribution to a food item that has relatively little written about it for the general public, I did not appreciate the author's attitude when I got the chance to meet them in Northampton, MA. Regrettably, I did not get a chance to speak with Mary Lou. However, Robert seemed a little ticked off by my interest in tea and even told me, quite ironically because his book mentions it so tersely, that my understanding of storing oolong tea is too simplistic. I was also told that I must not have authentic teas because they looked slightly different than the teas he had. Upon purchasing from him and taking the tea home to compare, they were exact in smell and taste. While I will not recant every bit of our short conversation, I will say that it left me with a bad taste in my mouth (no pun intended). Robert could not be bothered sweeping his store to sell me any tea, and answered all my questions condescendiingly. The conversation was almost like a saturday night live skit, just not very funny to me in the moment. I can say that I will never shop there again for the sheer principle. I believe that those who are so devoted and excited about something such as tea should either be as excited to educate others about it, or keep it wholly to themselves.If the Heiss's are both this condescending to their customers, then I feel very sad that I bought their book and traveled the 2.5 hours to see them in NoHa. If you want great teas, without the condescention, try out the online tea store tea spring.com for great quality teas shipped directly from china.

I am a tea enthusiast. The last book I bought on tea was ten or fifteen years ago and was the second half of a volume that was also about coffee. This book concentrates on just tea. It is very in depth, talking about each of the area’s tea is grown in (except for the Americas; mostly covers India and eastwards as well as some areas in Africa), what varieties come from which areas, how the various type should of tea are made, General characteristics of each type, how to get the best brewing results from each type, where and how to buy and store tea... lots and lots of info I found very interesting. I just wish such books on tea would cover tea grown in the America’s. I know I love the tea from the Charleston Tea Plantation In SC....and more info on the big producers / importers / blends might be nice too. Look at companies like Biglow, Lipton, Harley and Son’s.

I purchased the kindle version of this book. I find it a good resource for anyone wanting to learn more about tea.. The photography is beautiful. The book provides much information on evaluating the various types of tea. It has helped me to think differently about the art of growing, harvesting, and processing tea.

This is an excellent book for anyone wanting more in depth knowledge of teas. It breaks it down by country and tea type. It covers a full breadth of teas providing hints and tips on taste and what to look for. An essential guide to better tea knowledge.

Very informative

Well written and carefully researched.

Good compact book with all the info you need.

good introduction to tea, but lacks a lot on the theoretical side.