Can’t we all just get oolong? We are a nation of tea drinkers. 84% of Brits drink tea every day, and we get through 100 million cups daily. When a survey asked us what the country’s national emblem should be, the most resounding answer, with 32 per cent of the vote, was a cup of tea. And yet... most of us are doing it wrong. Enter tea-drinking expert and infusion connoisseur, Stephen Wildish. His complete guide to the fine art of tea includes: brewing guides for the proportionally challenged; simple to follow but desperately important rules (such as: the tea-bag and milk should never touch); cooling guides (charting the exact millisecond when the temperature of tea goes from hotter than the sun to stone cold); taxonomies of tea and much more. It is the perfect gift for every tea lover.
In the past few decades, many of us have become sophisticated about food, but we have not given the same attention to what we drink. In How to Drink, Victoria Moore aims to redress the balance, by showing how to drink well throughout the seasons and at all times of day. She explains how to make the most delicious coffee and juices; how to choose wine that complements your food; and how to make cocktails for every occasion--whether to serve a garden barbecue, as a cold weather aperitif, or just to unwind with at the end of the day. Here are recipes for mint juleps in the spring, sloe gin in the autumn, hot buttered rum in the winter, and year-round showstoppers including the world's best gin and tonic. Moore is also an impassioned advocate of unfairly maligned drinks such as sherry, Campari and saki, and gives fascinating historical background on different spirits as well as invaluable advice on creating your home bar. How to Drink is a hugely readable, browseable and authoritative handbook, whose aim is to inform, entertain and crucially, make sure you can find the right drink at the right time. "It doesn't need to be either difficult or expensive to drink as well as you eat, it just requires a little care..." "A splendid book. Victoria Moore is quite right--it's not how much you drink but how you drink." --Fergus Henderson, chef and co-owner, St. Johns Restaurant "I loved How to Drink. For the first time in years I have broken open a bottle of vodka for a Bloody Mary, remembered how much better mulled cider is than mulled wine, drawn a fresh kettle for tea..." --Joanna Weinberg, author of How to Feed Your Friends with Relish "Anyone who loves their food should heed this unmatchable tutorial in the art of enjoying drink; Victoria Moore succinctly puts every sip in lively context, banishing the guilt from the pleasure of it all." --Rose Prince, author of The New English Kitchen
A NEW YORK TIMES BOOK OF THE YEARHenrietta Lovell is best known as 'The Rare Tea Lady'. She is on a mission to revolutionise the way we drink tea by replacing industrially produced teabags with the highest quality tea leaves. Her quest has seen her travel to the Shire Highlands of Malawi, across the foothills of the Himalayas, and to hidden gardens in the Wuyi-Shan to source the world's most extraordinary teas.Infused invites us to discover these remarkable places, introducing us to the individual growers and household name chefs Lovell has met along the way - and reveals the true pleasures of tea. The result is a delicious infusion of travel writing, memoir, recipes, and glorious photography, all written with Lovell's unique charm and wit.
"This is not another etiquette book detailing the antiquated, excruciating, and frankly confusing minefield of rules lauded by traditionalists. Let's face it, many of us will never need to know which side a snail fork should be placed at the dinner table, nor are we likely to 'take tea' with the Queen. Yet we could all do with a little help in perfecting our manners, self-confidence, and social graces for everyday living. English Etiquette details everything the English know about why etiquette matters, in a modern, understandable, and unpretentious way -- while teaching you how to cultivate a traditional and charming countenance to rival any royal. Covering topics such as gallantry and grace, common decency, lifestyle choices, the quintessential English wardrobe, and behaviour in the home, you will learn how to shoehorn a little English gentility from this practical field guide into your daily life. So pull your socks up ladies and gentlemen, pour yourself a cup of tea, and join The Darling Academy as we return to a culture of good manners, civility, and chivalry the world is longing for. A proper, polite, and graceful way of living is making a comeback. Long may it prevail."--Page 4 of cover.
From one of Eater's 38 best restaurants in America—which has been hailed by the New York magazine, Michelin Guide, and more for serving the freshest dumplings in New York City—comes the ultimate Chinese cookbook with 60 dumping recipes and dim sum-like sides. New York Times critic Pete Wells calls Helen You "a kind of genius for creating miniature worlds of flavor" and, indeed her recipes redefine the dumpling: Lamb and Green Squash with Sichuan pepper; Spicy Shrimp and Celery; Wood Ear Mushroom and Cabbage; and desserts such as Sweet Pumpkin and Black Sesame Tang Yuan. With information on the elements of a great dumpling, stunning photography, and detailed instructions for folding and cooking dumplings, this cookbook is a jumping-off point for creating your own galaxy of flavors. “Flushing jiaozi master Helen You’s guide to what many consider the best shuijiao (or boiled Chinese dumplings) in town.”—New York magazine
From tea guru Sebastian Beckwith and New York Times bestsellers Caroline Paul and Wendy MacNaughton comes the essential guide to exploring and enjoying the vast world of tea. Tea, the most popular beverage in the world after water, has brought nations to war, defined cultures, bankrupted coffers, and toppled kings. And yet in many ways this fragrantly comforting and storied brew remains elusive, even to its devotees. As down-to-earth yet stylishly refined as the drink itself, A Little Tea Book submerges readers into tea, exploring its varieties, subtleties, and pleasures right down to the process of selecting and brewing the perfect cup. From orange pekoe to pu-erh, tea expert Sebastian Beckwith provides surprising tips, fun facts, and flavorful recipes to launch dabblers and connoisseurs alike on a journey of taste and appreciation. Along with writer and fellow tea-enthusiast Caroline Paul, Beckwith walks us through the cultural and political history of the elixir that has touched every corner of the world. Featuring featuring charming, colorful charts, graphs, and illustrations by bestselling illustrator Wendy MacNaughton and Beckwith's sumptuous photographs, A Little Tea Book is a friendly, handsome, and illuminating primer with a dash of sass and sophistication. Cheers!
Where does tea come from? With DK's The Tea Book, learn where in the world tea is cultivated and how to drink each variety at its best, with steeping notes and step-by-step recipes. Visit tea plantations from India to Kenya, recreate a Japanese tea ceremony, discover the benefits of green tea, or learn how to make the increasingly popular Chai tea. Exploring the spectrum of herbal, plant, and fruit infusions, as well as tea leaves, this is a comprehensive guide for all tea lovers.
Until its use declined in the nineteenth century, Indians of the southeastern United States were devoted to a caffeinated beverage commonly known as black drink. Brewed from the parched leaves of the yaupon holly (Ilex vomitoria), black drink was used socially and ceremonially. In certain ritual purification rites, Indians would regurgitate after drinking the tea. This study details botanical, clinical, spiritual, historical, and material aspects of black drink, including its importance not only to Native Americans, but also to many of their European-American contemporaries.
Tea drinking has changed dramatically since Samuel Pepys drank the first recorded cup of tea in 1660. Initially, tea was consumed by men in coffee houses and by women in the home following a strict code of conduct, and tea was so expensive that only the extremely wealthy could afford it. Today however, tea holds a unique position in British culture; it is hard to imagine the British without their afternoon cuppa. This lively and beautifully illustrated book tells the story of how tea has become Britain's national drink.
