The Book of Green Tea

I think this book is great. It has wonderful information, details a great variety of teas, and is smart in its discussion of history, lore, utensils, brewing vessels. The reason I'm not giving it 5 stars is that she doesn't discuss the techniques of pouring water into and onto tea, which are so important to proper brewing. If using a gaiwan, you are supposed to pour the water along the sides so that it doesn't directly hit (and potentially overheat) the leaves. If using a small teapot you are supposed to pour the water into the cups you will be using, to cool it down, and from the cup into the kyusu or teapot. If using a modern glass infuser teapot, especially larger sizes, you are supposed to fill the pot half full of water, immerse the infuser with leaves into the water, then pour the rest of the water down the side of the infuser and into the pot. This will guarantee the leaves aren't overbrewed and that the brew will be even. Other than that I found the book a real delight, even if you know a lot about green tea.

Ms. Rosen does an excellent job of enticing the uninitiated with her descriptions of the varied pleasures of tea; there was just so much I was unaware of. This book is chock full of information, lore, recipes and health benefits of the many, many different teas. Being a new devotee, I especially found the resources section of immeasurable value.

From that table you can see the theme of the book. To add to this the back cover mentions: How to blend, brew, and appreciate more than 120 varieties of green tea. Up-to date information on the health benefits of drinking green tea. Recipes for cooking with green tea and making green tea body care products. Rich green tea history, poetry, lore, and tradition from around the world the book has pictures along with descriptions of green teas that look almost identical but are different. There are pictures of tea paraphernalia and locations of tea origins. You see tea bags tea glasses and even the chemical formula for tea. After you get past that there are many practical recipes involving green tea; any one of which makes is worth the price of the book.

I found this book very useful while doing research for my online tea shop. I found a great deal of useful information and it is presented clearly and elegantly. I highly recommend this book to anyone wanting to know more about green tea.

I picked up this book because I was looking for a source of "recipes" for soaps and other bad items using green tea, and was pleasantly surprised to find it's a veritable encyclopedia of information on green tea. I was already fairly well-versed in the various "cultures" of green tea in China and Japan, and the author does a nice job of summarizing this for the reader, including not just various ways to prepare it, but also giving a quick primer on the needed utensils. Finally, the green tea ice cream recipe is a keeper (though I cut the number of egg yolks from 3 to 5, and leave out the lemon rind, nutmeg, and half the vanilla which overpower the delicate green tea flavor). Great all-around book on a product that's as healthy as it is enjoyable.