The Way to Tea is a colorful, elegant, whimsical invitation to be an honored guest at America"s own emerging tea culture at its epicenter -- the San Francisco Bay Area. In San Francisco, the love of art, food, community, ideas, and cultural diversity all come together to support a thriving tea culture unsurpassed in depth and diversity by any other. With more than 125 full color images, Author/Photographer Jennifer Sauer evokes the beauty, passion and joy imbued in a broad range of unique tea experiences. If you want to be awed and impressed by an austere Japanese tea ceremony, imbibe in the most elegant of British afternoon teas, compare teas and wits with a Chinese gong fu tea practitioner, or simply explore the nuances of tea and tea culture, this book will take you there. Sauer recounts her memorable experiences, profiles the exceptional "tea people" who helped provide them, and includes a tea glossary that shows readers how experts judge teas.