The first Ottoman book on tea

Çayci İzzet Efendi Matbaasi. Çay risalesi (A treatise on tea). Istanbul: İzzet Efendi Matbaasi, 1295 [1878].  

8vo.; 82 pp.; decorative black-and-white chapter headings and borders; red cloth, gilt and blind stamped boards, with light wear to gilt; spine lightly sunned. Printed in Turkish, Ottoman script.  

First edition.  

The extremely rare first and only edition of this important, comprehensive study on tea, written by the Ottoman “Master Tea Maker,” İzzet Efendi. The work was so influential that after its publication, tea prices in the Empire soon reached the same price as coffee, and the beverage became popular among all social classes (Chris Fitch, Globalography: Our Interconnected World Revealed in 50 Maps, 2018, p. 28). Included is information on the birth of tea, growing locations, health benefits, different tea varieties, drinking etiquette, and various brewing methods. Our İzzet Efendi should not be confused with Mehmed İzzet Efendi (1841–1903), who, although a contemporary of the “Master Tea Maker,” was instead a famous calligrapher.  

In fine condition, bound in a handsome gilt-stamped publisher’s binding, with lovely decorative borders and illustrated headings. OCLC: one location outside of the United States only.