The Book of Tea

In his landmark entrée to tea culture and history, Kakuzo Okakura celebrates the Way of Tea from its ancient origins in Chinese Taoism to its culmination in the Zen discipline known as the Japanese tea ceremony—an enchanting practice bringing together such arts as architecture, pottery, and flower arranging to create an experience that delights the senses, calms the mind, and refreshes the spirit. It also describes the rich aesthetics of Asian culture through the history, philosophy, and practice of brewing and drinking tea. 

Kakuzo Okakura:
Kakuzo Okakura (1863–1913)—renowned scholar, art critic, and curator of the Chinese and Japanese art collection at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts—devoted his life to the preservation and reawakening of traditional Japanese culture.

Praise:
"The Book of Tea is a classic. Nearly a hundred years after it was written, it remains the one English language masterpiece on the subject. . . . It has and will continue to be a classic in part because of its author’s insights into Confucianism, Taoism, and Zen." — from the introduction by Sam Hamill