Tea: a Nerd's Eye View

This book—revised and expanded October 2020—is for all of you who love tea and want understand more about your go-to beverage: more about how and why green, yellow, white, oolong, black, and pu-erh tea all come from the same plant, Camellia sinensis. In it you’ll discover how tea grower, tea maker, and the leaf itself all work together to develop your favorite tea’s flavors. You’ll find out why some of the best teas are grown on hillsides; why most (but not all!) of the highest quality teas are made from downy buds—and what downy buds really are; why water, brewing time and temperature, and even the cup you choose matter to the flavors of your tea. On the way, you'll learn how your nose, mouth, and brain experience tea’s flavors, how the plant’s evolutionary history made it the flavor factory we enjoy today, and even why we call it “tea.”Virginia Utermohlen Lovelace MD is a physician-scientist and avowed tea nerd. As a reviewer noted of her first book, “Three Basic Teas & How to Enjoy Them:” “There are plenty of wonderful books on tea, it’s terroir, origin, rituals and preparation, but, so far, this is the only book on the sensory enjoyment of tea AND the science behind it…If you have a love of sensory experiences and want to understand a bit more of the wonders of flavor, this book is for you. You don’t need a vast background in tea or science to enjoy this book. Your tastebuds and your brain will thank you.”“Tea: a Nerd’s Eye View” expands the range of “Three Basic Teas & How to Enjoy Them” to include all five types of tea—going beyond lists of teas and tasting notes to bring you the tools you need to choose and brew teas with the flavors you enjoy. Read more