a fascinating, detailed book, but. . .
Customer Rating: 
The author is a British chef who was the culinary advisor to the PBS Masterpiece Theater series "Upstairs, Downstairs" and "The Duchess of Duke Street." The first 80 pages contain information about tea -- its history, how to make it, how to serve it, the names and uses of every type of implement, and so on. The subsequent 174 pages consist of recipes, and are followed by 15 pages of index. The entire book is sprinkled with amusing anecdotes, some from his childhood.
I found the book fascinating, but I don't know that I'll ever try any of the recipes. These are authentic British recipes (this man has cookbooks dating from the 1700's, and he quotes from them!). The recipes have all been updated for the modern American kitchen and are easy to follow, but I'm not sure how many will appeal to American tastes. I know I'll never convince my family and friends to eat sandwiches containing minced tongue! I couldn't wait to check out the recipes on potted meat because I'd read about it so many times in novels, but discovered it's boiled, shredded meat turned into a paste via melted butter! And there are 8 different potted meat recipes!
If you are interested in history, authenticity, and details, this is the book for you. If, on the other hand, you just want to have a lovely party with foods that more Americans are familiar with, try "Tea with Friends" by Elizabeth Knight (for how to give a tea party), and "The Book of Afternoon Tea" by Lesley Mackley or "Totally Teatime Cookbook" by Helene Siegel (for recipes).
Good, but not all I was looking for
Customer Rating: Over all, I thought it was a good book. But if you are looking for ideas on how to throw your own tea parties, this probably isn't what you want (SEE "Tea with Friends," "Country Tea Parties," and "If Teacups Could Talk"). If you are looking for a history lesson on tea (first 81 pages) and a whole ton of recipes (next 178 pages) then this is your book. Or, if you are looking for a lot of tea recipes, it is well worth your money to buy this book (I would take it back if it didn't have all those recipes!) This book reads like a history book, and me having little interest in history, found this part of the book a little boring, but it is a wealth of knowledge on the subject and has tons of useful recipes.
