Reviews

The True History of Tea by Victor H. Mair, Erling Hoh

ellysreads's review

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3.0

Some interesting chapters and a few fun facts that made me smile.

eamcmahon3's review

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2.0

A little dry for me. I never really got into it

annie_nonnymouse's review

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5.0

I thoroughly enjoyed this journey through history, viewed through the lens of tea. And not just a history lesson, but biology, sociology, economics, psychology, addiction, politics, and religion as well. The authors demonstrate that tea is much more than just a prissy beverage. What other plant wields such power in human affairs? I'll be reading this one again, with a cup of my favorite blend at hand!

abarrera's review

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4.0

I enjoyed this book. It's thoroughly researched, sometimes to a ridiculous extent. It puts into perspective many things about tea and how it spread and influence the world. Maybe, the most fascinating aspect of the book is how different cultures use and accept tea as part of their daily habits. It gives powerful insights into how consumer behavior shifts and the impact of geopolitics in any commodity.

geneticginger's review

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3.0

A very thorough, satisfying history of tea!

constancemn's review

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4.0

The upstarts west of the Atlantic dump a bunch of lovely tea into the sea. I mean really!

Seriously, great book that is factual and scholarly in tone but manages to be interesting and tell the history of the tea plant in an orderly and entertaining way (organized by region, roughly chronologically as the popularity of tea spread). As a bonus, I now know a lot more about ancient Chinese history.

tansybradshaw's review against another edition

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Far to in detail for what I was after

beslayed's review

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3.0

Decent history of tea. Some problematic bits in the etymology section though.

ora_fern's review

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2.0

Yeah, not as interesting as I'd hoped. It's really about the history, so more about the people and movements and spread of tea, and less about... well, tea than I'd hoped. Managed to read slightly more than half of it. On to something else.

oliainchina's review against another edition

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5.0

Finished The True History of Tea, and would definitely recommend it to a tea buff.
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