Tea Book Review

Years ago Victoria Magazine published The Charms of Tea with the top cover picture. It was republished recently with a new cover and some different photographs, but the same lovely content. You may see excerpts from the book here. The Charms of Tea is a delightful books full of the wonderful photographs that drew readers to Victoria Magazine. It is also filled with quotations and excerpts from literature related to tea, as well as containing a section of recipes and menu ideas. It is filled with quotes from Wordsworth to Oscar Wilde to Lucy Maud Montgomery. The Charms of Tea gives a lovely history of varies types of tea through history including The Victorian Tea and The Social Tea, as well as a Tea Glossary and various Tea Sources.

It's an enjoyable read as well as a fine tea cookbook. Its recipe section is divided into recipes for Teas, Savories, Breads, Spreads, Cookies, and Cakes. It contains quite a few recipes for drinks to serve at a tea besides simply hot tea.

One of my favorites is the Lavender and Lime recipe. It's so simple, but refreshing. One simply steeps a few teaspoons of lavender flowers in a cup of boiling water for ten minutes, strains out the flowers, and pours the resulting tea in a pitcher of limeade. I love to serve this at warm weather teas as a refreshing change from iced tea.

This is definitely a book to seek out. From start to finish it full of the wonderful treats one would expect for Victoria. Perfect for novice tea lovers with its directions on Brewing the Perfect Pot of Tea, to the veteran tea takers with new and delicious ideas, there is something for everyone in this delightful book.