The Agony of the Leaves: The Ecstasy of My Life with Tea

I was afraid this was going to be another restaurant-puffery book, but I was so pleasantly surprised! The engaging stories and accompanying recipes were charming. In fact, I borrowed this book from the library and then ran out and bought three copies to give away as gifts and one copy for myself!

This morning I finished reading a lovely book, _The Agony of the Leaves_ by Helen Gustafson, who is the tea buyer for Chez Panisse in Berkeley. The title refers to a description of what happens to tea leaves when boiling water is poured over them; they contort and twist, releasing their flavor.The book is subtititled "The Ecstasy of My Life in Tea," and it's a charming chatty thing about tea cultivation and technology and history, woven in with reminiscences of tea parties from childhood to middle age. I've been reading it a few minutes at a time, while my tea brews in the morning.

This lady's knowledge and talents are utterly wasted at Chez Panisse. She really needs her own creative space where people who would prefer to give Chez Panisse a pass could congregate to enjoy tea in all of its varieties. I would love to enjoy a pot of white tea some afternoon, but the clientele and snobbery of that establishment would ruin it.

My daughter gave me this book for Christmas two years ago. It was my favorite gift. I would read it every night and jokingly refer to Helen as "my friend." When the night arrived that I read the final page, I truly felt that Helen was my friend. It made me sad that the stories ended and left me wanting to hear more of her wonderful tales of tea. Tea is an important part of my life and I was grateful to find another human being who shares that love and enthusiasm. I would recommend this book to all lovers of tea.

To meet her in person, one can't help but be struck with how Helen energizes the space around her as she moves through life. She is a presence. In her writing, she has a delightful and unintrusive way of inviting the reader along on a shared adventure, and some of her zest-for-life is bound to rub off on even the most introspective reader. For me, the "Agony of the Leaves" recalled the pleasing sense of discovery I had on first reading Brendan Gill's New Yorker Talk of the Town columns. It's a wonderful little book