The Little Tea Book

THE LITTLE TEA BOOK
COMPILED BY ARTHUR GRAY
Compiler of Over the Black Coffee
ILLUSTRATED BY GEORGE W. HOOD
NEW YORK
THE BAKER & TAYLOR COMPANY 33-37 EAST 17TH ST., UNION SQ. NORTH
Published, October, 1903
The Crow Press, N.H.
Thou soft, thou sober, sage, and venerable liquid! Thou innocent pretence for bringing the wicked of both sexes together in the morning! Thou female tongue-running, smile-soothing, heart-opening, wink-tipping cordial to whose glorious insipidity I owe the happiest moments of my life. --COLLEY CIBBER.
INTRODUCING THE LITTLE TEA BOOK
After all, tea is the drink! Domestically and socially it is the beverage of the world. There may be those who will come forward with their figures to prove that other fruits of the soil--agriculturally and commercially--are more important. Perhaps they are right when quoting statistics. But what other product can compare with tea in the high regard in which it has always been held by writers whose standing in literature, and recognized good taste in other walks, cannot be questioned?
A glance through this book will show that the spirit of the tea beverage is one of peace, comfort, and refinement. As these qualities are all associated with the ways of women, it is to them, therefore--the real rulers of the world--that tea owes its prestige and vogue.