There will be no fireworks, no champagne party, no marching bands when the second edition of “The Romance of Tea” makes its debut June 13 at the World Tea Expo in Las Vegas.
It will be “just two long-time friends who still believe that tea has a history that needs to be re-told to new audiences again and again,” said one of those friends, Bruce Richardson.
Richardson is editor of the new edition of “The Romance of Tea”. He is co-owner of Elmwood Inn Fine Teas, Danville, Ky., and of Benjamin Press, which published the book.
The other long-time friend is James Norwood Pratt, who provided the introduction and annotations for the book. Pratt is the author of “James Norwood Pratt’s Tea Dictionary.” He was the recipient of the World Tea Expo’s 2015 John Harney Lifetime Achievement Award.
Pratt and Richardson have received three World Tea Expo Best Publication Awards and both have been speakers at the event since its inception in 2003. This year Pratt will lead a seminar on tea and wine and Richardson will give presentations on the “Social History of Tea,” “Turning your Passion into a Vocation” and “Crafting a Well-balanced Tea.”
The original “The Romance of Tea,” by William Ukers, the founding editor of the Tea & Coffee Trade Journal, was published in 1936.
“William Ukers’ tale of how humanity acquired its favorite habit first attracts us, then absorbs us and casts a spell over us and teaches us,” said Pratt. “He regales us, in his quaint way and measured tones, with a little known epic romance — how the whole world learned to love drinking tea.”
Richardson said, “The Romance of Tea” has been “required reading for every tea professional and tea aficionado since it first appeared. Ukers dedicated his life to illuminating tea’s colorful history and its enduring impact on international trade, politics and the arts.”
The 2017 edition of the book is dedicated to the memory of American tea pioneers, John Harney and Devan Shah.
Advance copies will be available at the ITI, Harney Tea and Benjamin Press booths.
Sources: Benjamin Press