The World in Your Teacup

Spending time on Facebook can be rewarding! Some might consider it wasting time, but in this instance, I became the winner of a copy of this wonderful book The World in Your Teacup by Lisa Boalt Richardson, certified tea specialist. In this book, Lisa celebrates tea traditions, near and far.  She delves into the tea culture in China, England, Kenya, Russia, Iran, France, Morocco, and the United States.  Lisa provides a peek into the history of tea drinking in each of these countries and then discuses the present day importance of tea as it relates to each county.  She also includes the method of preparing tea, and of course some recipes that would be appropriate to serve.   Cultural tips are scattered throughout the book, and a resource guide is provided to help the reader find unusual items such as barberries or ethnic dinnerware.  The photography by Lauren Rubinstein is outstanding, the bold colors and food styling complement the recipes provided. 
How fortuitous it was that I happened to be perusing Facebook one day when Lisa posted a photograph of a location in London where she had enjoyed tea and queried whether anyone knew where she was.  My correct guess landed a copy of Lisa's book in my mailbox.  Lucky me!  Thank you Lisa!