I've read other books on tea, but I think A History of Tea: the Life and Times of the World's Favorite Beverage, by Laura C. Martin, might be my favorite. Lots of fun stuff here! Tea was once traded for horses. It was once made into bricks, which stored well and traveled easily. The samurai contributed to the spread of tea houses and the tea ceremony. Considered a medicine, it was first found in apothecaries. The first tea bag was introduced in 1904, by Thomas Sullivan of New York. Oh ... and here's something that was news to me: Peter Stuyvesant brought tea to New Amsterdam (later to become NYC) in 1647. Ten years before it was introduced in London!

For a fun look back at some of the foods that we ate, were popular, or made their first appearance, check out The Century in Food: America's Fads and Favorites, by Beverly Bundy. There's a nice time line for each decade, and some great pictures, but sadly, somewhere along the line the decision was made to put white type, in a small font, on a pastel background so some sections were hard to read. (Although younger eyes might not have the same problem). ;-)

Reading Hermit With Dog