Dear readers, you all know that I love books, especially fantasy books. Long-time readers will also have picked up that I am a knitter. I don’t know if I’ve been as clear about my love for tea. However, on my annual vacation, I often go to a book lover’s tea where people share book recommendations and history of tea classes where I also end up sharing tea-related book recommendations. I’ve been meaning to put this list together for a while, but was finally spurred to action when my computer told me that today is officially tea lovers’ day. I hope you enjoy! And, if you have any recommendations to add, please let me know! I’d be especially interested in African- or Latine-inspired books – my coworker and I both have fond memories of cinnamon tea at a local Ethiopian recipe.

• Ancillary Justice by Ann Leckie. First of a trilogy, with a 2026 standalone in the world. In the far-flung empoire of the Imperial Radch, tea is an essential part of culture.
• Can’t Spell Treason Without Tea by Rebecca Thorne. First of a quartet. The most powerful mage in the world and a not very nice queen’s very competent bodyguard just want to escape and run a book- and tea-shop together.
• The Crescent Moon Tearoom by Stacy Sivinski – First of two so far. Three orphaned sisters struggle with running a magical tearoom, figuring out the mysterious advice their mother gave them, and matters of the heart.
• A Marriage of Undead Inconvenience by Stephanie Burgis Book one of two now out, with more on the way. A British lady scholar and an ancient vampire find themselves married against their will. Lady Margaret is horrified to discover that the vampire, Lord Riven, does not have any decent tea in his manor.
• A Psalm for the Wild-built by Becky Chambers. First of a duology. A nonbinary tea monk travels around the world listening to problems and serving tea – but even they are surprised when a wild robot wants to talk.
• Soulless by Gail Carriger – first of many. The book that made steampunk a popular genre. Very smart women, hot werewolves, sneaky vampires in Victorian England, with iintrigue and dirigibles. You’d better believe there will be tea, and plenty of it.
• The Tea Dragon Society by K. O’Neill – First of a trilogy. The first volume is light on plot (the later ones have more) but has all the vibes, with small, sweet dragons who grow tea on their heads, kept as pets by people in a multi-racial, queer-normative world. It is for children, and a work of art that every tea-lover should read.
• The Tea Master and the Detective by Aliette de Bodard – available on Libby as part of Tea and Murder – the spirit of a sentient ship has taken to making powerful custom tea blends, but gets in over their head when a detective hires them to help investigate a murder. This is just one of many books set in de Bodard’s sprawling Vitenamese-inspired space series.
• Tea and Sympathetic Magic by Tansy Rayner Roberts. First of 6-book series. These are cozy romantic mystery books, set in the Regency-inspired world of the Teacup Isles, filled with witty dialogue and so much tea.
• A Tempest of Tea by Hafzah Faizal – first of a duology. Teahouse by day, illegal bloodhouse by night. Proprietess and refugee Arthie has kept it going so far, but powerful forces are lining up against her. She might even have to trust someone else for her and her teahouse to survive.
• Under the Whispering Door by TJ Klune – A contemporary fantasy in which a very unpleasant soul, Wallace, is led to the tea shop in the woods where the owner, Hugo, promises to help him cross over. But Wallace, as contrary in death as in life, doesn’t want to cross over – espeically when he starts figuring out that he never really lived in the first place. Thought-provoking, with a gentle gay romance and serious care put into the tea.

Two more that I’ve heard about and want to read are A Magic Steeped in Poison by Judy I. Lin and Memory of Water by Emmi Itäranta.