Book Review: All the Tea in Chicago

Book Review: All the Tea in Chicago
By: Susan Blumberg-Kason

I love tea. Chai tea, green tea, you name it, and name it tea, I’ll probably drink it. Yet, I’ve always resisted going for high tea. Or afternoon tea, British-style. I’m not sure why. I suppose it is the idea of paying approximately twenty dollars for tea and a few crustless sandwiches. I did have ‘proper’ tea in England at least a decade ago, but day-old scones with jam somehow didn’t do it for me. However, after reading some of the descriptions in Blumberg-Kason’s book, I am ready to jump on a plane, fly to Chicago and sit down and cough up twenty dollars for tea, chicken salad on walnut bread, crepes with peanut sauce, chocolate canele and more. Much, much more. (She mentions which places gracefully and willing to serve seconds and thirds.) If that isn’t enough to sell you on going for tea, how about the idea of slipping into a seat at a place called Infini-tea or Serenitea?

If you aren’t up for the whole tea and meal deal, there is a section that lists and describes restaurants, shops and tea houses. The guide mentions which places are child friendly (some places even have special tea for children), have wifi, and are wheelchair accessible.) It also contains tea facts and quotes, a list of tea websites, and a glossary. Just reading the guide (thousands of miles from Chicago) I learned that green tea in Japan is often made from a powder (crushed leaves) and that tea fights harmful bacteria and viruses. As well, loose tea is better than bags and there is this crazy new-fangled tea called bubble tea that has tapioca in it. Yum!

There are tea people in this world. Are you one? If so, you’ll enjoy this book, even if you never set foot in Chicago.

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