#25 - The Book of Tea

Kakuzo Okakura's classic work, The Book of Tea, was the first book I ever picked up upon getting into tea many years back. To be honest, I had no idea that it was a classic work and was less about tea and brewing tea as it was about "Chadao" or "The Way of Tea." The history, and ceremony, and spirituality of tea. I flipped through it and put it away at the time. A few years later, as my interest and knowledge grew, I picked it back up again and still had trouble enjoying or appreciating it, but understood more. As my interest in Taoism and Japanese tea blossomed, I then revisited the book and enjoyed every moment of it. I found a free digital copy for my ebook reader before a recent trip, and re-reading it I realized just how much more I pulled from it. Few books grow with you, and when they do that is a sure sign that there is a very deep amount of knowledge and wisdom contained within. This is one of those books, and one that I hope to continue to grow with. Not for everyone, but Highly Recommended!