I chose Darjeeling: The Colorful History and Precarious Fate of the World's Greatest Tea because as we all know, I love learning about all things Indian. Also, they drink this tea on Downton Abbey and I was curious about how an Indian tea came to be popular in England – if the characters on that show drink it, it must be good tea!

The history of the tea is fascinating. It arrived in India in a dramatic fashion – being stolen from China. Today the tea is grown in tea gardens, which are really huge plantations. The relationship of the tea garden workers to the owners is a totally different arrangement from anything I’ve ever heard of before. This book also touches on the state of Darjeeling tea today. The regulation process needs some work – there is a lot of fake Darjeeling tea out there.

Koehler goes into a lot of detail about the physical properties of the tea and how it’s grown and harvested. This part didn’t interest me nearly as much as the history aspect of the book but that’s probably because I’m not much of a tea drinker myself. Incidentally, I tried some Darjeeling tea for the first time after finishing this book and I thought it was really good. I don’t care much for regular black tea so I think there must truly be something special about it.

I listened to the audiobook version of this book. The narrator had a mellow voice with just a touch of an Indian accent that made it a pleasure to listen too. The only thing I didn’t like was that he used a full-on Indian accent when reading a quote from an Indian person. It seemed odd to do that for a non-fiction book.

I really enjoyed learning about a tiny subset of Indian culture that I knew nothing about before. I think tea drinkers of all sorts will enjoy it as well.

Solid journalistic examination of the tea, the region, its history, the people, and the daunting challenges it faces for its future.

Finished reading this book IN Darjeeling. What an amazing history, told beautifully. This is such a complex tea and region, but somehow Jeff Koehler tells the story clearly and beautifully. It made me appreciate the tea and region much more.

I don't drink much Darjeeling tea. I don't get the hype, and for me Chinese tea will always be better than Indian. However, that didn't stop me enjoying this read. This is a thorough history of tea, and of tea's place in the history of India and British colonialism. It also explains what tea is and why Darjeeling tea is unique, how it was developed and popularized, and how it is grown, processed and prepared. Told through anecdotes and quotations, this non-fiction is informative without reading like a textbook.

What a great mix of history, current events, and the making of tea.

There was something about that cover and the blurb on the back that made me impulsively buy this book on a cold, snowy day last winter. And I definitely got my money's worth. The book has a little bit of everything in it - History, of how tea travelled to India from China thanks to the British, how the British rule developed the tree gardens as well as the plantation culture, Geography - of the Eastern states of India and especially Darjeeling and its development into the present day city, Sociology - of the lives of the people, their culture and the political conflict in their demand for statehood, Agriculture - of tea cultivation, the soil, the weather, the wildlife and the switch towards organic farming. Like I said, a little bit of everything and some more. And what delightful, poetic writing - describing the magic of tea and the hills. And wraps up with some very handy recipes that I can't wait to try.
This book had me brewing more cups of tea than my usual quota (even though I am more of an Assam tea person!) and I know I HAVE to visit beautiful Darjeeling as soon as I can. It also had me knowingly slow down my reading pace, like slowly savouring a fine cup of chai. A truly fantastic read.