I'm surprised no one's mentioned
The Tea Drinker's Handbook by Delmas, Minet, and Barbaste (
http://www.abbeville.com/bookpage.asp?i ... 0789209887). It's been in print for nearly a decade. Best book on tea I've encountered so far. I even ditched my Heiss handbook soon after receiving my copy; it's that good. Here's an expanded summary of the table of contents:
WHAT IS TEA?
1 The tea bush (anatomy and physiology, cultivars, wild vs ancient)
2 The ecology of tea (climate, temperature, rainfall, light, soil quality, altitude)
3 The cultivation of tea (history, propagation methods, pruning, supplementation, pest and disease prevention)
4 The pluck (harvesting calendar, types of plucks, manual vs mechanized, socioeconomics of tea industry)
5 The colors of tea (black/red, green, wu-long, yellow, white, pu-erh, scented, smoked, flavored)
TASTING
6 Chemistry of tea (polyphenols, alkaloids, amino acids, glucose, minerals, vitamins, aromatic compounds)
Brewing time, quality and temperature of water, leaf:water ratio, measurement)
7 Equipment and techniques for tasting (tasting methods, Western vs Eastern style of brewing, teapot material, storing tea)
8 The physiology of taste (Taste vs smell, physiology of olfaction, texture, appearance, freakin'
hearing)
9 How we express our sensations (classifying aromas, tea tasting vocabulary and terminology)
THE WORLD'S 50 BEST TEAS (overview of history, traditions, and notable cultivation areas of each country)
10 China
11 Taiwan
12 Japan
13 India
14 Nepal
15 Sri Lanka
APPENDICES
16 Tasting table
17 Tea chronology
18 Index
19 Bibliography
My only gripe is that the authors, in describing the physiology of taste, briefly cite the myth about the human tongue having designated 'taste zones' for sweetness, sour, etc. Fortunately, this aberration doesn't otherwise affect their extensive knowledge and contagious enthusiasm for tea. Especially recommended for those who'd prefer to keep their collection of books on tea to a minimum.