Homegrown Tea

April 1, 2014
Tea is the new coffee. When such global shops as Starbucks drink up smaller tea concerns and when national drink me retailers appear in neighborhoods, then Londoner Liversidge (author of Pasta Sauce! Grow Your Own Ingredients, 2013) is right on trend. Her book acts as a reference tool primarily for those harvesting from seed or plant, although, obviously, anyone tea inclined will find it useful. She covers leaves, seeds, fruits, flowers, and roots43, in totalwith such information as reaping medicinal and nutritional benefits, growing, harvesting, and preparing the brew. Although the format is somewhat repetitious, and the photographs are not the sharpest, her wisdom is demonstrated on every page. For instance, sidebars called Teabag Friends and Tips respectively identify complementary tea tastes and alternative uses (as well as occasional caveats, like don't confuse African violets with violets). Both the book's introduction and its finale are well filled with facts, ranging from notes about teapots and water to advice on plant gardening and tea drying.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)