Tag: chinese tea

Book: The Teahouse Under Socialism

02/07/2025 / / 0 Comments

For those that don’t follow my posts too closely, this is the second book of a duo that deals with Chengdu’s public life from the end of the Qing Dynasty, all the way up to (mostly) modern day.

This volume picks up just where the other leaves off, in October of 1949. Events can be broadly divided into the  Maoist and Post-Maoist eras, with the former seeing major reforms to businesses, and placing heavy restrictions on social life. The latter lifts much of this following the Cultural Revolution, leading to a ‘return to form’ for teahouses, and with the introduction of new technology and modern convenience further transforming the place of the humble teahouse in public life. Continue reading

Book: The Chinese Art of Tea

16/04/2025 / / 0 Comments

This has been considered a favourite and a recommended read of many English-speaking tea-drinkers for many years, which meant it was low on my own priority list, as I tend to push past the more well-known reads and reach for the most obscure, out–of–print, niche-topic publications I can get my hands on.

Since this book has remained popular, I knew I wouldn’t have to look hard for it, so I just waited patiently for a good-condition edition to pop up at my usual used bookstore haunts.

I knew I’d likely be comparing this to similar books, like Chinese Tea Culture by Wang Ling, Chinese Tea by Liu Tong, The Spirit of Tea by Frank Hadley Murphy, and others when I finally did get around to reading it. Continue reading

Book: Green With Milk and Sugar

30/07/2022 / / 0 Comments

I’ll usually swing back around to this blog with a pretty dire opinion of my activity, but if I can manage four posts a year (in both 2021 and 2020!), then I’m pretty happy with myself. (Even if I did read months back)

Of the 2021 releases I talked about previously, this’ the only one I’ve gotten around to reading so far. This was the book I was most interested in (so the only one I put on pre-order–it was my birthday present to myself, but with turbulent pandemic delays, it didn’t actually get to me until the end of November), and I don’t think there’s really any other books out there that cover this specific topic to this extent and dedication.

Green with Milk & Sugar is about the growth and decline of Japanese tea in America, interweaving the cultural climates of America, Britain, China and Japan from the 1800s all the way up to the 1940s. It follows how these relationships and ideals shaped America’s tea tastes over the years, made them distinct from Britain’s, and how those tastes eventually declined during the twilight years of WWII.

Continue reading