While it is true that tea is my beverage of choice, I am also a lazy tea drinker and use tea bags ... you know, the ones filled with tea dust rather than leaves!

A Little Book of English Teas, by Rosa Mashiter, illustrated by Milanda Lopez answers that puzzling question of what to serve with afternoon tea! Included are recipes for summer and winter afternoons as well as suggestions of the best tea for each season. There's a brief history of tea at the beginning, a subject that will come up in another book (see below). And, for those of you who read my blog and are aware that I don't cook, not to worry, I've still not done so, but this is a nice read nevertheless. ;-)

It was found in just one place (at least the good stuff was). How it was grown, harvested, graded, etc. was a carefully guarded secret. This is the true story of mystery, intrigue, adventure, and espionage about the theft of tea. Britain once got all tea from China, where it was a carefully controlled commodity. Finally the 'powers that be' decided they no longer wanted to be dependent on another country for their favorite beverage. For All the Tea in China: How England Stole the World's Favorite Drink and Changed History, by Sarah Rose is the story of this grand adventure.

My mom used to say ' I wouldn't (whatever) for all the tea in China' and this memory sent me in search of I Hear American Talking: an Illustrated History of American Words and Phrases, by Stuart Berg Flexner as I thought it might be included there. It was full of descriptions, explanations and origins of just such phrases and was a wonderful reference book. I gave it once, as a gift, and now it is out of print so I'm left with just the memory, but if any of you can find it, please, read it, it was fun! (And check to see if 'for all the tea in China' is included).

There's the one that is taught in our history classes. There's one that may (or may not) have actually happened, but in any case has the biggest re-enactment every year. There's one that was the first public protest by women in U.S. history where they not only published their support of the boycott on tea in the local papers, but then gathered on the town green and burned what they had in the cupboards. Ten Tea Parties: Patriotic Protests That History Forgot, by Joseph Cummins tells of these and more. I found this book both interesting and frustrating. There is at least one glaring error (well, to me, anyway). There are no footnotes or endnotes to see where this information came from, and the bibliography is small. Still, the 'interesting' was stronger than the 'frustrating' and overall I enjoyed the book.

Do you knit? (I don't.) Looking for your next fun project? Take a look at really wild tea cosies (yes, all in lower case), by Loani Prior. Really crazy cosies with good pictures and (I can only assume) the necessary instructions.

And, if you are more in the mood for a cozy mystery with your tea, try the Laura Childs Tea Shop Mysteries. Set in the south, with good characters, each mystery has an interesting twist: historical, an environmental issue, a local celebration, and so on. Start with Death by Darjeeling.

I actually found enough books for two entries on tea, so expect another post at a later date! (And who knows, maybe I'll find even more)!

Reading Hermit With Dog