Book Review - Liquid Jade

How many authors can successfully open a book chapter with, "The great Queen Elizabeth I had rotten teeth?" It takes someone with a dry wit and a unique writing style. Beatrice Hohenegger has both, along with a thirst for detail and a broad and comprehensive interest in the topic of tea.

Hohenegger's book, Liquid Jade: The Story of Tea from East to West (St. Martin's Press, January 2007) aims to explore the world of tea with its "tales of conflict and adventure, of treachery and greed, and sometimes of romance and humor." It had pretty high visibility upon its publication and has shown up on several tea "must read" lists.

The book's four sections: "From East...," "...To West," "Curiosities, Obscurities, Misnomers, and Facts," and "Tea Today: The People and the Earth," were populated by brief (3 - 10 page) chapters. Needless to say, Hohenegger covered a lot of territory in this title. The majority of the book is devoted to tea history, following the storied leaf from China and the rest of Asia to the world beyond. The remaining pages discuss everything from nomenclature to the use of milk and proper water in tea making to the organic and fair trade movements.

In many cases I would have said that the book's scope was too large, but Hohenegger's writing style largely made it work. I think she was most successful in the "...To West" section with particularly excellent chapters on women in the tea industry, the underground tea trade, and "tea spy" Robert Fortune. I found myself being thoroughly engaged even when she was covering topics I had read about previously. I think the "Curiosities" section suffered a bit from a lack of cohesiveness among the chapters. The brief "Tea Today" section was a fascinating take on many current issues, including efforts to increase sustainable tea production in Assam.

I would have to agree with other reviewers that Liquid Jade is a "must" for your tea library. It is a comprehensive introduction to many tea topics and nice piece of historical research as well.

Additional Note: The author, Beatrice Hohenegger, is currently working on a traveling museum exhibition on the history and culture of tea that will open at UCLA's Fowler Museum in 2009. More information to follow on the exhibit when it is made available.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press for providing this book
to The Tea Pages for review.

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