New Fortnum & Mason Book by Tom Parker Bowles – Time for Tea

Fortnum & Mason is releasing a new book – Time for Tea, an expert and entertaining guide to tea by Tom Parker BowlesThe entertaining and authoritative guide is filled with everything from recipes and pairings to history and hacks, all about the most widely consumed drink, after water, in the world.

 

Fortnum & Mason has nearly as much experience of selling tea as Britain has of drinking it – some three centuries’ worth, in fact, since the early eighteenth century. This fun and deeply authoritative guide whisks you through all the information you need to get the most out of your cup of tea, including delicious recipes to accompany your brew and tea inspired cocktails.  It instructs on how to make the perfect brew or infusion and helps identify a wide range of teas to try that will suit different tastes: whether for a single estate Darjeeling, a smoky or delicate tea from China or a regular builder’s tea. It also explores which teas are best for certain times, including those to kickstart the day, revive ones spirits or soothe at the evening’s end.

 

Today there are nearly 150 varieties in store at any one time: from single-estate rarities, famous blends and fruit infusions, tea cocktails, chocolates flavoured with Earl Grey and even salmon smoked with it. Teas are sourced from all over the tea-growing world, from India and Sri Lanka to Kenya and Mozambique. Hundreds of millions of cups have been sold in the Diamond Jubilee Tea Salon alone and during lockdown we sold more than ever before.

 

The result of extensive collaboration between a host of Fortnum’s esteemed experts, including tea buyers, chefs, tearistas, mixologists and its own archivist, this new guide is anchored by food writer and friend of the brand Tom Parker Bowles. The new book takes readers on a journey of discovery behind the history of Britain’s favourite drink, with an in-depth look into how to make the perfect brew and identify a wide range of teas to suit different tastes, occasions and times of day. And that is just the beginning. Along with perfect tea and biscuit pairings, readers will discover 50 sweet and savoury recipes curated by Roger Pizey the Executive Pastry Chef, each one paired with a different tea. Tea cocktail recipes have been provided by Mustafa Tumuri – Fortnum’s chief mixologist. Elsewhere, the book guides you through seasonality, terroir, grading, the benefits of drinking loose leaf and even a history timeline. In short, everything you could possibly want to know, eat or drink.

 

Featuring exclusive illustrations by BAFTA-nominated cartoonist Zebedee Helm and photography by the award-winning David Loftus, Time for Tea is more than a book. It is a pure distillation of Fortnum’s passion, knowledge and love of all things tea – and will be the ultimate gift for a tea lover for years to come.