Tea is a unique crop and, incidentally, a very interesting and
attractive one. The tea bush, its cultivation and harvesting do not fit
into any typical cropping pattern. Moreover, its processing and
marketing are specific to tea. Thus the Tea Industry stands apart and
constitutes a self contained entity. This is reflected in the title
given to this book, Tea: Cultivation to consumption, and its treatment
of the subject. The book is logically planned - starting with the plant
itself and finishing with the traditional'cuppa'. Every aspect of tea
production is covered, inevitably some in greater detail than others.
However, it gives an authentic and comprehensive picture of the tea
industry. The text deals in detail with cultural practices and research,
where desirable, on a regional basis. The technology of tea cultivation
and processing has been developed within the industry, aided by applied
research which was largely financed by the tea companies themselves.
This contributed to a technically competent industry but tended to
bypass the more academic and fundamental investigations which might
bring future rewards. The sponsorship of research has now widened and
the range and depth of tea research has increased accordingly. The
editors and authors of this book have played their part in these recent
developments which are well reported in the book.