Since I’m done with A Social History of Tea, I decided to move on with the next tea book: A Thirst for Empire. This is probably one of the ‘serious’ books about tea that I first read and it really sparked a thirst for more research into tea for me.

Today, I read Part 1: Anxious Relations – It starts in the 17th century, same as A Social History of Tea, with the arrival of tea to the West. From there, the book goes on to look at Temperance Tea Parties (could they be the real inspiration for the practice of Afternoon Tea instead of the Duchess?), the start of the tea industry in Assam, and the issue of food safety.

I found it interesting how some things seem to be repeated – in the food safety chapter, for instance, China was the target of accusations of adulteration, despite the fact that adulteration took place in China and in Britain. It reminded me a lot of the whole “counterfeit goods from China” stories in recent years, especially the milk powder scare.

The part about the development of tea in Assam was really sad too – it’s a case study of how colonialism brought suffering to other lands. Especially since many people still work in appalling conditions in Assam.

Tea of the Day

I had this tea from Lupicia, which describes itself as “deep roasted black soybean barley tea” (so mugicha with roasted soybeans). I really like the picture here – it’s of 名越の祓 (Nagoshi no Harae) or “summer passing purification ceremony”. It’s an event on June 30, when “people clean off mentally and physically accumulated evil from the first half of the year.” Sounds like a good time for a mid-year reset.

The tea wasn’t my favourite but I still drank two cups. It smelled of kinako when I opened it, but that lovely scent changed to one of bitter coffee when I brewed it. In terms of taste, the tea didn’t really have any barley notes, instead I tasted that same bitter note (I don’t drink coffee but I imagine that’s how it tastes from the smell?). But I ate this with a very rich chocolate cake so that’s how I ended up drinking two cups – it provided a good balance!