Books: Mariëlla Erkens’ Tea: Wine’s Sober Sibling
Books
Tea and Wine, Two of a Kind
Tea: Wine’s Sober Sibling by Mariëlla Erkens, 149 pages, e-book, self-published and available at major sellers of e-books, US$17.99 (2021).
Navigating specialty tea is like traveling to a foreign country: unless you have a guidebook of some sort, the experience can be overwhelming. The same can be said for viniculture. I spent over 15 years in one arena and very little in the other, save for a few trysts with Sangiovese. Mariëlla Erkens’ Tea: Wine’s Sober Sibling attempts to find reconciliation with both worlds, but with wine enthusiasts more in mind.
In this book, originally published in 2019 for a Dutch audience, Erkens, an accomplished sommelier, outlines the similarities and contrasts between the tea and wine worlds while not currying favor for one or the other. She breaks down tea basics, like the six categories of tea — black/red, green, white, yellow, oolong, dark — and the processes that make them distinct. For instance, yellow tea is distinct from green due to the latter’s added “wrapping” step that makes the flavor less grassy. Similarities between wine and tea appreciation are also touched upon, specifically in regard to terroir; and the science behind the taste, texture, and flavor, and what makes them distinct, play key roles throughout the book.
Interspersed are nifty charts and diagrams of how to describe sensations, how to brew, and how to pair food and drink. One of the most interesting sections outlines which teas pair best with chocolate and why. I wouldn’t have thought Peruvian 70 percent dark chocolate with Ruby 18 (a Taiwanese black tea), but Erkens lays out how their taste notes complement. She notes that the tea is made sweeter by the richness of the chocolate, and both possess fruity notes that harmonize. Another hefty portion of the book provides recipes where tea can play a role. I’ll confess I skimmed through most of these, since I have the culinary prowess of an unbaked potato, but Erkens’ notes seemed thorough and thought-out.
I gravitated to the discussion of the importance of water quality in tea brewing. Coming from a city and state with exemplary water, I rarely explored why tea tastes better in some regions than in others. Erkens breaks it all down scientifically and backs up her findings with examples, such as the differences in brewing with “soft” water as opposed to “hard,” and how that affects the overall tea experience. Ironically, the harder the water, the flatter the tea tastes. Softer water allows for more vibrancy in subtler teas. She even provides examples of how to improve water quality by installing specific filter systems. I’ll confess I’d never even heard of a reverse osmosis filter until this book.
Sometimes writing authoritative books on tea can be problematic, especially when many “tea facts” aren’t exactly set in stone. Breaking tea types down into definable categories is very Western. Erkens eschews this by homing in on what makes the regions similar as well as unique, such as with Japanese green teas (which are mostly steamed) and Chinese greens (which are mostly wok-fired). Some inconsistencies show up, for instance when puerh is sometimes listed as its own category, other times as a subcategory of heicha (post-fermented tea).
Another aspect of the book that is readily apparent is that it originated in a foreign language. Usually that is not a problem, but some turns of phrase simply don’t translate well to English, and some place names are listed in Dutch as opposed to English (“Kenia” instead of “Kenya”). A few mechanical errors here and there signal that another editorial read-through was probably needed.
One can tell this self-published book was meant for print (the edition in Dutch was printed), but apparently the cost became exorbitant. The layout is gorgeous, and the beautiful tea photography adds to the “coffee table” experience. Narrative sections are laid out with precision. The problem is that this doesn’t exactly translate well to an e-book format. The author seems aware of this, even going so far as to provide a disclaimer about zooming in on the text to read. I tried to read this on my phone at one point — with reading glasses! — and it was near-impossible.
All that said, when I was approached to read this book, I had no idea if I would find anything I could use. I don’t cook, I don’t drink alcohol anymore, and I’m already deep in the tea leaves. Unlike a lot of other supposed “tea education” books I’ve read, I found myself not only learning new things about tea but enjoying the experience — from pairing a roasted Dong Ding oolong with Italian mozzarella cheese to expertly mixing tea cocktails using a Da Hong Pao as a base to a guide to using a high-quality tea for bulk restaurant service use. This is not a dry read by any stretch; Erkens is a buoyant and exuberant storyteller. Her enthusiasm for both wine and tea show up on the page, and it’s intoxicating. ●
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