Tea Sommelier Hardcover – February 3, 2015

Today's tea is not one you drink with your mouth, but one you drink with your mind. Ok, you can drink your tea book if you really want to, but as much as I love the smell of paper, I do not think it tastes the best. The other day when I posted on Twitter that I was thinking about reviewing the tea books I own (and ones I can get at my library) I asked if anyone had any requests...and the response was 'my favorite' which is a challenge in itself! Tea Sommelier by Gabriella Lombardi and Fabio Petroni just might fill that bill. When I first saw this book last Christmas while browsing at Barnes and Noble I knew I had to add it to my collection, I flipped through it every time I visited the bookstore (which is a lot, Ben and my favorite dates always end up with us at a bookstore...we have a thing for books) and waiting till the price on Amazon dropped to something I could afford. I just procured this book for my collection last week, and I am pleased as punch, because it is a beauty!Looks alone do not make a book, unless it is a book that is specifically about visuals, which this one is not. Even though it has the look and incredible photography of a coffee table book, it is loaded with useful information. Tea Sommelier approaches the art of sipping tea very much so like it is an art and from a professional taster's perspective. Borrowing much of the jargon from the Wine Sommelier world and shaping it to fit the world of tea.The book is divided into a typical brief introduction on the history of tea, the tea plant itself, various methods of preparing tea, a decent sized section on professional tea tasting (including ISO cupping standards) a whopping 135 pages devoted to different kinds of tea, and lastly a colorful selection of gourmet recipes.There are some things about this book that I absolutely love. It is beautiful, a work of art showcasing fantastic teas, tea gear, and photography. The history of tea mentioning all three of the myths concerning the creation of tea was especially amusing, too many books skip over Bodhidharma (Daruma) tearing off his eyelids in a fit of rage after falling asleep and said eyelids growing into tea trees. It is a weird myth but everything concerning Daruma is a little quirky. I love how it pairs each tea with foods that it tastes good with, as the person who is always in charge of matching tea to whatever foods and people's tastes at family events...it is very nice to have a handy guide to turn to.There are, however, some things that make me go 'eh' as well, nothing is ever perfect and I tend to be picky with books. For all that the photos in this book are fantastic works of art, I really get annoyed with lightbox photography. Some of the colors of the tea just seem wrong, either too dark or too vibrantly green, I have never seen some of the delicate Chinese green teas in that shade of green either in my own sipping experience or online, it is really a minor gripe, it just weirds me out a bit. My big gripe is the whole language and approach to tea in this book seems, well, unapproachable, similar to the way gourmet cuisine and wine tasting can seem very unapproachable to someone not already in the know. This is not necessarily a bad thing, especially for someone who is already well into tea world, but if you are new to the tea world it might seem a but imposing. I suppose this is part of a greater rant that certain aspects of the tea world (lovingly and not so lovingly at times call tea snobbery) tend to come off as unwelcoming to newcomers, which is something I am strongly against. I am very much so in the 'oh hey, want to try tea, let me shower you with yummies until you find your favorite' mindset.One thing about this book that has sent me into a near tizzy researching is the approach to the tea Huang Shan Huo Ya. Everywhere on the internet and every book I have read has called it a Yellow Tea, Tea Sommlier calls it a green tea that commonly gets labeled as a yellow tea due to poor translation. Since I was unable to find any other factual inconsistencies anywhere else in the book I really find myself wanting to know. So far, no luck.So, why is this book still my favorite? Because it is beautiful, because it treats tea as an art, because I still dream of one day being a Tea Sommelier. Do I recommend it? Heck yes! If you are a newbie to tea just approach with caution...the tea world is not all fancy teas, elegant teapots, and lofty concepts...we are also lovers of quirky blends, teabags, herbal teas, and re-purposed coffee mugs. Don't feel intimidated by tasting terms and Grand Cru teas. If you are a well seasoned sipper (or a well seasoned Yixing Teapot that has gained sentience) then this book is a great reference tool. Either way, the overwhelming prettiness of this book is certainly a plus!This can also be found on my blog: http://ramblingbutterflythoughts.blogspot.com/2014/08/tea-sommelier-tea-book-review.html

The most beautiful tea book that I own. I have a good size collection of tea books, of many types, but, by far, this is the most beautiful one. It is a perfect coffee table book that will be enjoyed by those who are not just tea connoisseurs. The photography is beautiful and there is also useful information. It is a must have book.

Very informative and beautifully illustrated. One of the useful features of this book is the list of 50 of the best known teas grouped according to the five color classifications. Each tea profile features a brief description of the provenance, appearance, color, smell and taste along with specific brewing instructions. Unlike similar books, this author provides the recommended brewing practices for both Western and Gongfu styles and alerts the reader to cases in which the Gongfu is prefered. The more technical terminology describing tastes, colors, and characteristics etc. used throughout the book are defined in a handy glossary at the end of the book.

I'm really into tea. I was looking forward to an encyclopedia of varieties to help me learn a bit more about teas I already love and to identify some to try. This is far from an exhaustive or even approaching exhaustive list of tea types and most of the information provided is just the information you would find on the website for the really high-end tea sellers. There are a couple of nice recipes and it is a pretty book, but it doesn't quite provide me with the new information I was looking for. If you are just getting into high-end teas (and by high-end, I mean those you won't find in any chain retail store), this could be a good resource. If you're already using steepster regularly, this book isn't going to add to your knowledge.

Such a beautiful coffee table book. I purchased this as a gift for my tea loving boyfriend and even with his extensive background in tea- he loved this book. The photographs are absolutely stunning and calming. He did find a couple of typos in the book but other than that- it was a great read and he learned tons. Love the hardcover and the effort put into exploring the wonderful world of tea.

Beautiful photographs throughout book with informative information about many teas. Great reference book that even a non tea drinker would enjoy.

This is the best tea book available as of now. Everything someone truly interested in tea could want. Beautiful, informative and enjoyable.

So I am about 30 pages in, and I'm in love. The book cover alone sold me, and the photographs incorporated by Fabio Petroni are unmatchable. The information is solid, and covers so many topics and teas. This is my second tea book, and at the price you pay, it is well worth the knowledge. It's a little bigger than expected (about the size of about clipboard) but that's not a bad thing! Only reason I only gave 4 stars is because I've yet to finish it so I can't give a complete review.

Bought as a gift. Comprehensive, beautifully photographed. A perfect 'coffee table' book. Highly recommended.

The book impressed me for its size, quality of paper, and demonstrated pictures. The book mainly covers famous tea from different categories. However, the context of the book contradicts with its appearance. The book basically fails to professionally describe tea as a tea sommelier. For example, the section "Dry" of the "Tasting Notes" explains how each type of tea physically looks like instead of the distinctive scent of that particular tea (dry leaves). Also, the book offers a very basis knowledge of tea sommelier, which can be found easily on the Internet (from authentic tea merchants' websites such as Tea Trekker, Camellia-Sinensis, etc.) Next, the Pu'er section presents few information to this tea category, which contains tremendous characteristics. Lastly, there are a wrong demonstrated picture of Long Jing tea on page 72 and a typo on page 236 that remind me of the author's seriousness. In conclusion, the book is NOT a reliable source for tea lovers who are seriously looking for improving their tea experience, and definitely not for tea sommeliers. My bottom line to you: don't waste your money on this book.

The most helpful book for any tea lover that wants to broaden their knowledge.