Tea of the Sages: The Art of Sencha Book

For as many fine wines as there are in the world, there are as many fine teas. The knowledge of how tea grows in different countries, how it is picked, how the tea leaves look, how it is processed, and tastes, is imparted to the reader by Barry Cooper, an international tea master.

Barry grew up in Kenya, where even as a young child, he became fascinated with the tea bushes he would encounter. As a young adult, Barry moved to London and worked for Lipton Tea for years, starting as a master tea taster. Lipton sent Barry all over the world to observe how tea was picked and processed, and he would taste them, making his recommendations to Lipton. Barry brilliantly describes the landscapes and political tensions in the countries he visits. In Mozambique, because of the political strife, he had to jump a fence and board a private airplane to escape the country in 1974!

Throughout this book, Barry displays beautiful maps of the places he has traveled along with colored pictures of people and places. Barry also includes "information bars" in his book to explain fascinating facts about countries' local lore and tea tales.

At one time Barry bought a company called Simpson and Vail. He worked hard to make a tea catalogue to promote the wonderful tea products, but he did not have the money to continue to make all of the changes he wanted to make. He sold the company, and Simpson and Vail is prospering. I looked at the site to buy some tea from all over the world that Barry recommends: www.svtea.com/

Barry continued to work for Lipton. Today he owns his own company called the Cooper Tea Company:
www.coopertea.com/ The website is fascinating, reflecting its owner, Barry Cooper!

I would give this book ten stars! It reads like a novel. I learned so much information about the animals in Africa, countries around the world, people, tea blends, business workings, and the makings of an entrepreneur extraordinaire who loves his job with all of his heart.