Don’t Consider Yourself a Lifelong Learner? Get into Tea
How Tea Inspires Curiosity
My signed copy of “Tea: History, Terroir, Varieties.” January 2024
The year was 2024. It was a cold, blustery day, but I was content with the warmth of having just passed my Tea Sommelier exam.
I sat in a packed meeting room at the Toronto Tea Festival, listening to a presenter talk about his company’s project focused on socio-economic development and artisanal tea-making in India’s Nilgiri Hills. Just the type of stuff to feed my social justice warrior spirit.
I introduced myself to him afterwards and learned he was Kevin Gascoyne of the Camellia Sinsensis Tea House in Montreal, and co-author of the book Tea: History, Terroirs, Varieties, which was declared the “world’s best tea book” by the 2014 World Tea Awards. Of course, I purchased the book and had him sign it.
I was steadily realizing that what had been a fun hobby for the past year - traveling to Toronto to take tea sommelier classes with the Tea and Herbal Association of Canada (TAC) - could actually turn into a lifelong pursuit. There was just so much to learn about tea!
Studies show that lifelong learning - about anything really - benefits your mind, career, mental health, and social life. All it requires is a little curiosity. A desire to understand something or someone a little bit better, simply because that understanding kindles the inner fire inside us all. Some of our fires have turned into embers, and just need to be reignited.
Do you know what else you can do with fire? Make tea.
I feed my insatiable curiosity about tea with a plethora of books, like Kevin Gascoyne’s Tea: History, Terroirs, Varieties. If you have ever doubted the power of a tea plant’s terroir - the geographic and environmental factors that give tea its distinctive character - this book will make you a believer. Its deep dive into the regional specialties of tea goes beyond soil, climate, and sunlight, extending into the realm of industry trends and discussions on how cultural and political factors influence a tea’s fate.
“For we must not forget that just like wine, tea represents one of humanity’s most fabulous achievements…”
The books features interviews with tea professionals across the major tea-producing regions: a national tea taster in China, growers in Japan and Taiwan, a broker in Kolkata, and estate owner in Malawi.
What conclusion can we draw?
The tea supply chain is fraught with volatility. Every time this beloved beverage makes it from the tea bush to our cups, we should take a moment to appreciate it.
When deciding to purchase this book at the Toronto Tea Festival a few years ago, I didn’t know what I would do with my new little certificate telling me I was officially a certified TAC Tea Sommelier®. I did know, however, that my tea journey would be filled with life-long learning. This book has been a nice travel companion.
If you’re interested in a few other reference tea books, here are some others from my personal stash:
Authors: Kevin Gascoyne, Francois Marchand, Jasmin Desharnais, and Hugo Americi
Best for: Enthusiasts, practitioners, culture lovers
Declared the “world’s best tea book” by the 2014 World Tea Awards, this book caters to those with intermediate knowledge of tea who are seeking to understand what makes their favorite grand crus so remarkable.
Authors: Linda Gaylard
Best for: Tea beginners and cultural explorers
This was my very first tea reference book! My tea sommelier instructor brought it to class one day, and I loved its simplicity and presentation. It turns out, the author is a well-known tea sommelier certified by the same Toronto-based program as me.
Authors: François-Xavier Delmas, Mathias Minet, Lauriane Tiberghien (Illustrator)
Best for: Enthusiasts and practitioners
The illustrations and graphics in this book are incredible! I often reference this book when studying the intricacies of the olfactory system and how to enhance sensory skills when evaluating tea.
Tiny Book of Tea
Authors: Rebecca Du Pontet (Edited by)
Best for: Tea beginners and enthusiasts
Let’s be honest. Sometimes our attention spans can only handle so much. Thus, I love me a pocket size book. This one is very minimal and mostly focused on the potential health benefits of teas and herbal tisanes. However, it has some great tea quotes and factoids that you can pull out whenever you want to sound like a guru.
Authors: Candace Rose Rardon
Best for: Tea beginners, enthusiasts, and cultural explorers
This is another pocket size book, but let me tell you, it packs a punch. As its name suggests, it provides all the basic information that tea enthusiasts would want to know. I most enjoyed its description of tea traditions around the world, which it paired with notable destinations a tea lover should visit if they ever travel to that region. Globetrotters, this is a particularly nice touch!
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