Silver Spoons, Mad Baboons, and Other Tales of Tea

Filled to the brim with stories of adventure in search of two leaves and a bud, this book could only come from a man who's actually lived those events. Barry Cooper began his lifelong romance with tea at an early age, being raised amongst the tea fields of Kenya, East Africa. In this book, he chronicles his ensuing forty-year quest for the perfect cup of tea. Cooper shares lessons learned while being trained in England's most esteemed tea house. He lays bare truths of the tea industry, including the unreported struggles between tea growers, buyers, blenders, and merchants around the world. Cooper reveals the crazy adventures and hair-raising situations encountered in his determination to discover previously unknown sources of herbs. And finally, he tells the inside story of the gambles he took to develop his signature teas.