Prologue: Tea : leaf of awareness
A botanical excursion : the rivals of tea
The heartstrings of national pride : Southeast Asia and the origins of tea
A slave of yoghurt : tea in the 1st to 6th centuries
Go have some tea! : the Tang dynasty
Cloudy feet in a hare's fur cup : the Song dynasty
Buying peace with the celestial beverage : the tea and horse trade
The taste of zen is tea : Japan in the 12th to 15th centuries
Sen Rikyū the tea master : the perfection of the Japanese tea ceremony
Han Xin counts the soldiers : tea in the Ming and Qing
How the Dalai Lama got his name : brick tea in Tibet and Mongolia
We invented the samovar! : the Russian caravan tea trade
Conquering new lands : the Islamic world of tea
Approved by physicians : the advent of tea in Europe
The progress of this famous plant : tea and the opium wars
A master teapot maker's midnight ride : tea in America
Finest tippy golden flowery orange pekoe : India and Ceylon in the 19th century
The heyday of the clipper ships : British tea
Vignettes from the global village : tea in our time
Appendix A: The autobiography of instructor Lu
Appendix B: A debate between tea and beer
Appendix C: A genealogy of words for tea.