Tea, which soothes…and strengthens the reason…

This phrase, used by Antoine Furetière in his Universal Dictionary of 1690, reminds us that tea was initially considered in Europe to be a beneficial remedy with a thousand virtues. He further specifies that the golden beverage "gives new strength for drinking." It represents an eminently literary drink that has stimulated the imagination of many authors. Thus, we can read in the Goncourt Journal that "it would be interesting if an intelligent writer were to write several books of imagination: one while on a coffee regimen, another on a tea regimen, and another on a regimen of wine and spirits, and to study the influence of these stimulants on his writing and share his findings with the public… As for me, if I ever write my obscene study, I will write it while drinking tea."
But tea, which is "rooted" in an ancestral tradition, has many other facets: Chinese legends liken it to the fortuitous discovery of a fabulous emperor with the head of an ox; the British East India Company financed it for a time through the opium trade; the Japanese made it the subject of a refined ceremony; the North American independence fighters, a casus belli… And if you are unfamiliar with chanoyu, bandège, or calin – without a circumflex accent – ​​consult the index of this work.
The history of tea is told through words… Not forgetting the numerous illustrations.

Number of pages: 141 pages
Publisher: Honoré Champion
Publication date: 15/10/2015
Weight: 0.116 kg
Dimensions: 10.6cm × 17.5cm × 0.9cm