Grow Your Own Tea

Grow Your Own Tea by Christine Parks; Susan M. Walcott The Complete Guide to Cultivating, Harvesting, and Preparing
I was thrilled to find this book available to read and review! I LOVE tea and have made my own simple tea with my variety of mint plants, rose petals, and lemon verbena. In GROW YOUR OWN TEA, there is information on the origins and types of tea. Imagine my surprise when I read there is a tea grower in Fairhope, Alabama, not too far from where I live. One of the important chapters in this book is about deciding how much and what type of tea you want to grow. Since I plan to grow mine in large patio containers, the information about the soil is key! If I were younger, I would grow a variety of tea plants in a garden environment. I learned about rolling the tea leaves and the correct way to dry for storage. Thank you for the recipes and I really like the idea of making a tea infused jelly!
Publication Date: June 23, 2020
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Grow Your Own Tea by Christine Parks & Susan M. Walcott. This is a complete guide to cultivating, harvesting and preparing tea. There is a general history of tea as well as an overview of the types. Growing up in South Carolina, I already knew of the tea grown on Wadmalaw Island, just south of my hometown of Charleston. There are also details of tea being grown in Alabama, California, Hawaii, Mississippi, Oregon, and Virginia. The book covers the basics of the tea plant itself and common varieties, and then moves to extensively cover planting and care. Personally, I love the detail. The words are precise, and the pictures enhance the instructions. Charts like “season-by-season tasks” are extremely helpful. And the section detailing how to pick, process, and prepare the various forms of tea is an excellent resource. This book seems to cover every topic. The book concludes with an excellent summary of resources and references. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and have already order fve plants from Parks’ nursery.

A more detailed blog about this book can be found at https://patch405.com/2020/02/27/serendipity/

I received an advanced copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest opinion. All thoughts and opinions expressed here are my own.

This is a textbook of tea growing, with really comprehensive information on everything related to tea -- it's history, how to grow it, all the varieties grown around the world, how to process it, etc. It is not an option where I live and I honestly could never put in the amount of effort it would take to properly grow and process tea, but if you are wanting to really learn how to do it commercially, this will be a fantastic guide.

This only covers "real" tea, incidentally, not the plants we use for what we call tea like mint, elderflowers, raspberry leaf, red clover, nettles, etc. I actually do grow quite a lot of those (and forage them). They are much more my (sorry) cup of tea. :) This is a truly great guide for those who want to grow the traditional tea plants (camelias) and process the leaves for sale.

I read a temporary digital ARC of this book for the purpose of review.

Disclaimer: I was given a temporary eARC of this book by Timber Press via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Grow Your Own Tea: The Complete Guide to Cultivating, Harvesting, and Preparing by Christine Parks and Susan M. Walcott is an absolutely beautiful book! The photography is wonderful and the layout is beautiful. This is a textbook for the tea aficionado. Everything is put together in such a logical and easy to follow way that even though there is a lot of information on each page, it is easy to follow. Absolutely everything is done in a very clear step by step approach with corresponding pictures.

I would highly recommend this book for anyone that is interested in the history of tea and in growing their own!

Everything you wanted to know about how to grow, dry, and prepare your own tea--but didn't know to ask. This is a clear, thorough guide to home tea production, from selecting the right varieties to treating the leaves. There are also tea-infused recipes, such as tea-boiled eggs and white tea-infused jellies. Full-color photos throughout.

This is a very informative book with tons of helpful information. I don't read many books about gardening, so I was impressed by the level of detail. I'm still on the fence about whether I'll actually try to grow my own tea but the information still feels relevant as a consumer and tea purchaser.

Thanks for the ARC.

This book is a wonderful resource. I used to live down the road from the Charleston Tea Plantation and over many years of taking visitors there, had picked up a lot, but this book goes to a whole different level. It is thorough and gives alternative ways of doing almost everything. I'm planning on buying it in print, and then buying my own tea plants!

I'm grateful I picked up this book because of how much information is in it. From breakdowns of growing practices from seeds AND cuttings, to in-depth breakdowns of things that can effect the growing of each type of tea to even how to profit from your tea garden, this book truly covers all once needs to know to grow their own tea garden. Would recommend to both those who love tea and those who love to garden.

Really great if you are a gardener or one who just wants to grow specifically tea plants. It is helpful with areas of growth, from seed to plant to pests. Some recipes and images to get a visual. Basics, types of tea, regions and more to get an idea of how and where to grow.

Thank you to NetGalley and Timber Press for sending me a free ARC copy in exchange for an honest review.

Grow Your Own Tea is an in-depth informative guide about the Camellia plant and how to grow and harvest it for your own homemade tea. If you’re looking for a growing guide to turning your home garden into a tea garden with a variety of plants to make your own tea blends, this is not that book. Instead, this book is geared towards those who are unfamiliar with growing their own Camellia plants for tea harvest and would like to get started. I particularly enjoyed learning about Camellia plant ecology and contemporary tea growers in America.

However, I think the biggest issue I had with this book was its organization in the first section (A World of Tea). I think this section would be much more effective if it started out with who the authors are, how this book was researched and put together, and then about the Camellia plant before going into the history of tea and contemporary tea growing.

It seemed like the majority of this book was geared towards those who are unfamiliar with the entire tea process (such as that tea comes from the Camellia plant) and therefore would be unfamiliar with the authors themselves. So, more time spent on the authors’ combined expertise and how they are able to write this book would have been appreciated. However, there were several instances within the book where it felt like the authors were talking to their friends and the reader was entering halfway through the conversation. I don’t think these audiences are interchangeable and the authors need to stay consistent and pick one. As one example, during the first part of the book, the authors frequently refer to results of a survey they did without actually describing the survey itself.

Overall, this read like a coffee table book to me (rather than a reference/general nonfiction book) and while I can now definitely say Camellia plants are not in my immediate gardening future, I did enjoy learning about them. Thank you again to NetGalley and Timber Press for the privilege of reviewing an ARC.

This was a much more thorough book than I expected.

There's a brief history of tea, tables that tell you about different kinds of tea, and tons of information! From growing tea to best climate and soil to short and long term maintenance of plants, there's a lot to learn! There's also information on harvesting, processing, and tips to successfully cultivate tea plants.

There's pictures showing you when the best time to pick is and information on things like oxidation. Lots of details! I also didn't expect there to be recipes! It would never occur to me to boil an egg in tea, but there's all sorts of interesting ideas included.

This is a really informative read if you want to grow and pick your own tea!

I requested this book because I was like "Why shouldn't I start gardening, and why not plant tea?"

I liked reading about the history of tea, and found the book very interesting, but due to the books format I had to read it on my laptop. I don't know if it's me, but I couldn't really concentrate on reading it and instead just kind of skimmed the pages. I liked the layout and the pictures used, and there was really a lot of information on how to grow your own tea (obviously haha). I also liked that it had some recipes on what else you can use your homemade tea for. instead of just drinking it.

In the end very informative, but just not my cup of tea (pun intended).

But do recommend if you are an avid tea drinker with some gardening skills who really wants to grow your own tea. I think I do not love tea enough to go through that process myself, I must admit. But I did learn a lot about tea!

This is a great how-to book for the tea aficionado and an informative guide to tea for those who are just starting out on their tea journey. The writers explain the process of growing tea plants in a clear manner that makes the reader feel she could raise a tea plant or two herself.

I was unprepared for how in depth this book was going to be. The history section is very thorough. The growing and sourcing sections are incredibly well thought out and organized to make it as easy as possible. As a tea lover, I didn't think it would be possible to grow my own. I knew absolutely nothing about how tea was produced prior to this. The three keys to successfully growing tea plants are planning, patience, and persistence. This book will definitely help you source, select, and cultivate your own tea garden. If you know a tea lover who also loves to garden, this would make a great gift.

The art in this book is so pretty. I loved the list of teas, it included not only the origin but also what they tasted like. The author really knows their teas. They explained that the differences in types of tea often come from how it is processed not the plant itself. There is a ton of detail on everything you need to know about growing tea. If you are new to gardening it can be overwhelming, but if you are looking to plant tea this book is a must-have.

I received an advance reader copy of this book to read in exchange for an honest review via netgalley and the publishers.

This is a very informative book about not only growing Tea yourself but also the history of tea, the methods, types, equipment and way more! It made me realise just how much time and effort people put into growing and producing tea.

I don't think I could ever grow tea where I live but it would be an amazing experience to do so.

This would be a great gift for any tea fanatic and would make a fantastic retirement project too.

As an avid gardener and tea drinker, I enjoyed the descriptive nature of this book. The author gave good tips on the care and harvesting of plants. I would recommend this book to anyone who has an interest in homegrown food or who would just really enjoy having their own personal tea garden.

Everything you could think of to put in a book about tea is in this book. I was really intrigued by the history and how much tea influenced geopolitics. Would be interested to know more about that, but the amount of information included in this book is the perfect amount. Cultivation to chemistry, this is a great resource, and I will absolutely buy it.

Thank you, Net Galley and Timber Press!

Very thorough book on growing tea from planting to processing. It goes into detail how and when to plant and harvest tea plants. If I ever decide to grow tea plants myself this is the book I will use as my guide.

So enjoyed reading this book. Well rounded with how our delicious tea comes into our tea cups. The photographs are beautiful. I recommend this book.

Do you love tea?  Do you love to garden?  Have you ever wanted to learn more about tea and its history?  Have you ever wondered if you could grow your own tea?  Well, this is the book for you.

Tea growing is not going to happen in my climate?  Wait, you can grow a tea plant in a pot!  And, get this, some varieties of tea tolerate cold-climate - even places where it snows!

So, bring your dreams to life and try growing your own tea!

Literally a textbook method to growing, harvesting, and making your own tea from the leaf. Anyone looking to really grow their own tea crop would be remiss in not grabbing this eccentric guide. From the history of tea to actually putting it in your cup.

What did I like? I love a great garden and I think I should have a plant of tea or two in my garden. Although after reading this, I realize it may actually be harder than it looks. I live in the south and I think I should give it a try but this book makes planting tea look tricky. Obviously these people are experts, and I don’t drink much tea but I don’t think a plant or two will devastate me.

Would I recommend or buy? I’m not that big into tea but I still took a look to see how hard it would be. Over two hundred pages worth I realized, these people love tea. I still think I will enjoy trying, I’m a novice but if it works well I’ll try next year to grow more. This book is all about tea plants, so grab and enjoy if that’s your thing!

I received a copy to read and offer an opinion. Four stars!

Grow Your Own Tea: The Complete Guide to Cultivating, Harvesting, and Preparing by Christine Parks; Susan M. Walcott is currently scheduled for release on September 1 2020. Consumer interest in tea has grown rapidly in recent years and continues to climb. Worldwide there are 25,000 cups of tea consumed every second—more than billion cups per day. For tea drinkers interested in the freshest flavor, growing the leaves at home is the ideal solution. Lucky for them, tea is not an exotic, hard-to-grow crop—it can be successfully grown anywhere that camellias can be grown. In Grow Your Own Tea, readers will learn how to cultivate, harvest, and process this venerable crop. Parks and Wolcott share details on how to get started; describe cultivation, long-term maintenance, and harvesting; show how to grow tea plants in containers; and describe how to process and store harvested tea leaves. This book includes information on how to produce white, green, oolong, and black teas.

Grow Your Own Tea caught my eye as soon as I saw it on Netgalley. I am an avid tea drinker and an avid gardener, so this book was right up my alley. I already grow many of my own herbs and have used my own mints and other herbs to flavor loose tea, but was interested to learn more about the cultivation and drying process. I had read about the different types of tea before, but I leaned even more about the history and diversity of tea in this book. I thought I was too far north to grow tea, but was thrilled to discover that there is a variety of tea I just might be able to cultivate and use. I found the information to be very well organized, accessible, and interesting. Everything a tea grower might need is covered, from how to plant, to how to harvest and make use of the results, and everything in between. I cannot wait to put my newfound knowledge into action, and to share the results with the other tea drinkers in my life. The resources and information at the end of the book was helpful as well.

Grow Your Own Tea is an informative and valuable resource for tea lovers. I am planning on buying a physical copy of this book for my own reference library.

This was a beautiful book with great descriptions and explanations. I really want to grow my own tea now!

A self-avowed tea lover, this book was a real treat. The book contains everything about tea from the supposed origins of the drink to how to grow the plant in various areas to specialty drinks. The book spurred a desire for a "cuppa" and some travels! Highly recommended for anyone who loves tea.

Aimed at home gardeners this is an excellent introduction to growing tea in North America and Europe (mostly UK & Ireland). Grow Your Own Tea covers picking the right cultivars for your climate, whether to grow from seed or buy plants, grow in the ground or in pots, how to look after the plants, prune, harvest and prepare the tea, finishing up with some recipes (both edible and not) for things to do with the finished products.

This was an incredibly detailed and intensive look at tea making. The authors have a passion for tea and it's clear in their knowledge and obvious love of the process.
It's was a clear and concise primer for anyone with a large garden and the time to dedicate to cultivating their crops.

For me, a condo dweller in a cool climate with a small container garden, this just wasn't my cup of tea, pardon the pun, I am certain however that this would be a fantastic book in the library of a seasoned gardener.

Love Tea? Grow Your Own!

Did you know that the tea plant is actually a variety of camellia? Even though I have been a lifelong tea lover, I didn't know that little fact until I read this book. This book offers so much cool and interesting information if you love tea. Prior to this book, I had only thought of tea as coming from parts of Asia. Even my favorite Oregon teamaker proudly touts that he sources his leaves from all over (mostly) Asia. But, apparently, quietly, there has been a resurgence of interest in growing small-batch or homegrown tea in the United States and Great Britain. This book enthusiastically embraces the idea that you can cultivate and process tea in your own garden for your personal enjoyment and gives you the information you need to make that happen. The first thing that struck me about this book was how richly and beautifully photographed it is. If you think of tea as just being hardened black bits in either a tea bag or tea strainer, this book will introduce you to all the different colors and shadings of tea. The book goes into a little of tea’s history and the different types before moving into how to actually grow tea plants—providing such detailed information like growing from seedlings and pruning at various stages—and then process the leaves. At the end of the book are even recipes using tea. The authors also looked at places in the United States and Great Britain that are doing interesting things with tea. In fact, if you are a true aficionado, you could create a “tea tour” for yourself with the places mentioned. A couple of them are close to me, so I will have to check them out once we can travel and all places are open again. If you are a tea person like me, you will most likely enjoy this book just for its information alone. But if you're also a gardener who loves tea, this book may very well inspire you to want to grow your own tea. I know I'm thinking about it after reading the book.

What a fantastic book! As a devoted tea drinker i really loved this book and now have a shopping list of things to try out. Everything was laid out perfectly and i truly recommend this book to tea enthusiasts!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an E-ARC of this book.

Fills a definite need, since there aren't any other books out here like it. It is a solid, comprehensive guide. The photographs are absolutely lovely, and I really enjoyed the cultural history of tea. Ultimately, I learned that growing my own tea is just too intensive a process to be compatible with my life, but heck -- I hadn't known that before! All in all, I really enjoyed this book, an I recommend that tea lovers and gardeners alike pick it up.

I won't be recommending this for my library to purchase because of the highly specific nature of my library. But I will be recommending that other libraries buy it, including the two public libraries in my area, and a membership library that I belong to.

While I did not download the eARC of this book, I was gifted a copy from a friend.

I have really enjoyed going through this book. While I have tried my hand at tea in the past with little success, reading this book has given me a new path forward on how to tackle tea in my garden. The soil in potters is the biggest help I could receive.

I also appreciated the history and other information on tea. This book is a wealth of helpful information and deserves a place on your gardening shelves.

I received an eARC from Timber Press through NetGalley. All opinions are 100% my own.

A very comprehensive guide to tea growing. Easy to follow. It gave me a good project to keep me busy during quarantine.

Grow Your Own Tea by Christine Parks and Susan M. Walcott is a delightful book that sets out to answer the question that nags any tea enthusiast who is also a home-gardener. Can you grow tea at home? Turns out the answer is not so straightforward. With beautiful pictures and insights drawn from their years of experience, the authors break down the prospects of growing tea at home and the highs and lows of it. From picking the right plant to setting up an ideal growth environment, the book offers a wealth of information for tea enthusiasts. Even if one decides not to follow the not-so complex processes involved in growing tea at home, the book offers multiple recipes so there's a takeaway for everyone even remotely interested in tea.