- Paperback: 240 pages
- Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd; New edition edition (27 Feb 2003)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0141006781
- ISBN-13: 978-0141006789
- Product Dimensions: 19.2 x 12.8 x 1.8 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 189,827 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Description
Product Description
Jason Goodwin, inspired by his grandmothers who spent their lives in China and India observing the custom of afternoon tea, set off to explore the relics of this imperial age and its worldwide trade, delving into the extraordinary history of tea. Evoking a vanished world, he follows the origin of tea, its use, influence and importance, from the the Canton factories through the establishment of British India and the Opium Wars, all the way to that great tea metropolis, London.
About the Author
Jason Goodwin is a historian, journalist and travel writer. He is the author of ON FOOT TO THE GOLDEN HORN: A WALK TO ISTANBUL and LORDS OF THE HORIZON: A HISTORY OF THE OTTOMAN EMPIRE. GREENBACK, his history of the American dollar, is being published by Hamish Hamilton in February 2003.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
14 of 14 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
OK, so it's about tea. Perhaps you're already feeling that it's not your cup of Darjeeling? Please sit down and let me pour you a cup while I explain. I'll be Mother. Biccy? Ah sorry, I've only got Rich Tea.
Well it seems that the author had one grandmother from colonial China and the other from colonial India. He noticed that while they both observed near identical tea rituals, they used distinctly different teas. The book describes his journeys to China and India to root out the sources, processes and history of tea. Along the way he meets several interesting characters who he observes very acutely and describes them in a humourous, critical and sometimes rather moving way. The travellogue is also interspersed with history, observation, anecdotes, and even tea songs.
The Chinese kept tea sources and production methods shrouded in mystery for decades and there still seem to be secrets which they attempt to preserve. Tea first arrived in Britain about 10 years after coffee and played a dramatic role in the British Empire flavouring events in China, India, and even America. It provided employment for millions and wealth or bankruptcy for a few.
To be honest, the book is quite hard to read at first because of the unusual structure, but once you get stuck in, it's fascinating. I've only really warmed the pot here - there are many interesting angles to this subject. You finish the book feeling that you've been on an entertaining journey yourself, with an amusing and knowledgable guide.
OK time to drink up now, I'll do the washing up.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
5 reviews
11 of 11 people found the following review helpful
I'm surprised that this is out of print
29 Nov 1999
Format:Hardcover
I read this book when it first came out, and I really loved it. I still refer to the facts I learned within; just last week I was explaining Lapsang Souchong to an Irishman. I was left feeling that I knew Mr. Goodwin, and contemplated finding him and making him my husband, primarily so we could travel together.
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful
OUTSTANDING! Grab a teapot & BUY THIS BOOK!
28 Jan 1999
Format:Hardcover
This book is WONDERFUL! Be forewarned, however: you WILL begin to guzzle litre after litre of tea during the reading of this book. Mr. Goodwin gives an absolutely wonderful first-person account of his often hilarious travels investigating the tea trade, from its' beginnings in Canton to the present day. A MUST for anyone who loves tea - and I'd rate Mr. Goodwin's writing style on a par with Pico Iyer's. A good read, full of humour and information...
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
A Time for Tea
25 Feb 2003
Format:Hardcover
This book was also published in paperback in the United States under the title A Time for Tea: Travels Through China and India in Search of Tea (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1991). Informed and entertaining, the book is a combination travelogue-history; the author visits China, India, and a few other tea-related places (Boston, as in Tea Party), all the while telling us how tea is grown, processed, and drunk; how it was first discovered; and how it came to be exported to the West. I found it totally engrossing. Had it been written by an American, I would class it in the category of New-Yorker-style writing: intelligent, witty, light - yet informative. I suppose the book may now be out of print in the American version, but it's certainly worth tracking down. Highly recommended.
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