This is as advertised, an encyclopedic guide to cultivating, harvesting, and preparing tea. It's laid out logically, and the language is accessible, the instructions achievable (given some determination and favorable climate considerations). The authors are experienced tea farmers and have provided a good groundwork for the curious home gardener to succeed with tea growing.
The introductory chapters cover the history of tea, contemporary tea culture in the USA, and the agriculturally relevant info on the tea plant. Worth noting, this book is concerned with the culture and processing of Camellia sinensis, and not the other plants we often use for infusing drinks and tisanes such as mint, chamomile, nettle, lavender, lemon verbena, etc.
The bulk of the content is devoted to a detailed tutorial for choosing, siting, sourcing, planting, and caring for tea plants. The troubleshooting and diagnostic guides in these chapters are very well done and worthwhile for related plants in the Camellia genus as well. The pictures are very clear and useful. Whilst the bulk of the book seems aimed to a somewhat larger scale gardener blessed with good climate, soil, and other favorable conditions, the authors do include a very interesting subchapter on container growing. I'm definitely going to get a couple of plants and try cool greenhouse cultivation. If I managed to grow peaches and nectarines in Norway, I am hopeful for a positive outcome for tea also.
This is an interesting and comprehensive well written guide to growing and processing tea. This would be a nice selection for tea lovers, serious gardeners, or those who like a horticultural challenge. There aren't many layman-accessible specific guides for cultivating and processing tea (the vast majority are focused on herbal teas or foraged plants), so this is a standout selection in a very small pool of choices. Five stars.
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes
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