Hi.
A friend of mine has long been wanting a book on tea, that is not only
informative, but also looks good, if you know what I mean. Now he will
be celebrating his 40th birthday, and together with some friends I
thought we'd bunse up for a hard-cover, well reputated,
close-to-collecable book, costing from $100 and down. Are there any
"classics" around that will fullfil our wish?

rgds,
ole k

Sorry, but this is not a good answer to your question. I would simply
like to recommend NOT buying the Mariage Freres' "The Little Bookof
Tea" as it has some inaccuracies and possibly misleading information.
"Genmaicha... makes for a pleasant snack." I like it when they discuss
the "Tonkugawa clan", especially. I shouldn't be so picky about typos,
but the book has too many holes. It may, however, be a good first
introduction.

Rufus T. Firefly

Rufus T. Firefly wrote:
> Sorry, but this is not a good answer to your question. I would simply
> like to recommend NOT buying the Mariage Freres' "The Little Bookof
> Tea" as it has some inaccuracies and possibly misleading information.
> "Genmaicha... makes for a pleasant snack." I like it when they discuss
> the "Tonkugawa clan", especially. I shouldn't be so picky about typos,
> but the book has too many holes. It may, however, be a good first
> introduction.
>
> Rufus T. Firefly
>

I appreciate any warning as much as any recommendations. Thanks a lot.

ole k

Ole Kvaal > wrote in news:Q20oe.11471$ai7.278690
@news2.e.nsc.no:

> Rufus T. Firefly wrote:
>> Sorry, but this is not a good answer to your question. I would simply
>> like to recommend NOT buying the Mariage Freres' "The Little Bookof
>> Tea" as it has some inaccuracies and possibly misleading information.
>> "Genmaicha... makes for a pleasant snack." I like it when they discuss
>> the "Tonkugawa clan", especially. I shouldn't be so picky about typos,
>> but the book has too many holes. It may, however, be a good first
>> introduction.
>>
>> Rufus T. Firefly
>>
>
> I appreciate any warning as much as any recommendations. Thanks a lot.
>
> ole k


I found two at Imperial Tea:


All the Tea in China (1990), by Kit Chow & Ione Kramer.
Softcover (7.5x8.25"), 187 pages with b&w illustrations.
$14.95

New Tea Lover's Treasury (1999), by James Norwood Pratt
Hardcover (6x9"), 210 pages with color photos. Includes index.
$24.95 this book is also available from Samovar Tea.

http://www.imperialtea.com/AB1002000...Category_ID=43


Don't know if they are any good,maybe someone in the group could
give you a review of the contents of each book.

Teance has a CD called The Renaissance of Tea for $24.95
The following is an explanation of the CD.

The Renaissance of Tea, is designed for tea lovers who want to learn the
Chinese art of tea and gain insights into how these teas are crafted. The
DVD includes expert demonstration of the traditional preperation of white,
green, oolong, and pu-erh teas using traditional teawares. Includes rarely
seen footage of oolong tea gardens in Fujian, China, with interviews of tea
masters and farmers during the harvest.

Also featuring an interview with bestselling author of the New Tea Lover's
Treasury, James Norwood Pratt, and calligraphy demonstration by art master,
Chitfu Yu.

Total running time: 49 minutes.

http://store.yahoo.com/celadonteas/reoftea.html

Sound like a cool gift to me for the tea lover.
Hope that helps you out.

JP

JP wrote:
> I found two at Imperial Tea:
>
> All the Tea in China (1990), by Kit Chow & Ione Kramer.
> Softcover (7.5x8.25"), 187 pages with b&w illustrations.
> $14.95
>

My friend has just read this one. Being married to a Taiwanese woman, he
soon found out that Taiwan - in spite of their famous oolong - was
mentioned just once in this book. The writers seem to have taken the
term "China" too literally.
Your other advices seemed very promising, though, and like you, I'm
looking forward to see if anyone in this group has read it. I'll start
browsing for it right away.
Thanks a lot for your help.

rgds,
ole k

--
Walls are doors