Kettle Pot Cup Launched

I hereby declare my book about tea, Kettle Pot Cup, to be launched! Yay! OK, yay. As befits tea, it was quietly launched with the help of friends and their business (Dandelion Botanical) that added to its inspiration. On May 25, 2022 I recorded (and then was more ably recorded when one of them took over the camera work) a short video announcing the arrival of the first official copy and the unveiling of the web site where it can be purchased. Life is different, yet some things remain the same, just with a slightly different flavor.

Kettle Pot Cup is the result of casual comments from a few friends. They half-joked about me writing a book about tea because I drink so much of it. One even came up with a hashtag for Twitter, #TomTea, which I enjoy playing with and which I’m sure they thought was just a one time joke. Surprise! 

While it seems like the perfect pandemic story, a book written during lockdown, the book was originally scheduled to be published by October 2019; which means it was a pre-pandemic project. Several repackagings and replannings and restrategizings later, it is finally done.

This is not a serious book, but it is for a serious cause. Like many of the things we eat and drink, the people who make it happen don’t always make as much as the final retail price may suggest. Fortunately the Free Trade movement is working to make things more equitable, but there’s more than enough work to do. For the last few years my business has been – waiting for a recovery; which meant I didn’t have much to donate, sadly. But wait! I may not have money to give, but I could write a book. Give the appropriate charities the book proceeds and maybe I could contribute in more ways than I expected. Let’s find out.

As for being a serious book, well, as it says in the description of my first book reading;

“The old world has its tea rituals. The new book “Kettle Pot Cup,” by Tom Trimbath is about our modern informal accidental rituals that are held in everyday locations like coffeeshops, offices, deck chairs, etc. Come by for less-than-serious essays about the way we really drink tea.“

Kettle, Pot, Cup: Tales About Tea
Tuesday, June 21, 2022  6:30 PM – 8:00 PM
Langley Library (part of Sno-Isle Libraries)
https://sno-isle.bibliocommons.com/events/6275b6968382fa28009358e3

Or, as the video’s description describes;

“Kettle Pot Cup is a casual telling of everyday events, wrapped into a book, with book proceeds going to various charities that support the people who make it happen.

Ah, tea. Why read about it? Drink it! But first…

Most tea drinkers include tea as part of their daily lives. There are rituals in Japan and England. Culturally tea has been influential for centuries. In the modern world the rituals look completely different. Enjoy observations on everyday tea, from coffeeshops, offices, deck chairs, and even some cocktails some teatails.“

The world may need rituals, but someone who wants a cup of tea can have a ritual that is as simple as taking a bag of dead leaves, dunking it in hot water, waiting for the color to turn brown, and drinking it while they get back to work, or their drive, or while they visit with friends, or sit on the deck alone resting. That’s modern life, no bowing or raised pinkies required.

If it does well enough there could be a sequel. As most writers probably know, writing down one idea can create others. Kettle Pot Cup is thirty-ish short essays about tea in modern life, and as soon as they were declared done several more ideas already arrived. Stay tuned.

While the book was written with philanthropy in mind, it is also meant to be fun, or at least light. Consider it an excuse to read one chapter each day for a month. None are more than a few pages long. The book is hardback with color photos outside and inside. It is purposely produced this way to make it easier to give or even ship as gifts. There may be paperback or ebook editions; but for now, the book is available on Lulu.com. (Not Amazon – yet.)

I’ll be dropping snippets online. Check Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn for likely locations for lines I like. (Find me as Tom Trimbath or tetrimbath, usually. There are too many sites to keep track of all my usernames.) And, of course, find previous posts by searching for the hashtag #TomTea.

I’ll be dropping snippets online. Check Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn for likely locations for lines I like. (Find me as Tom Trimbath or tetrimbath, usually. There are too many sites to keep track of all my usernames.) And, of course, find previous posts by searching for the hashtag #TomTea.

I hope you enjoy it. I hope it does some good. I know I enjoyed writing it. And I suspect I’ll also enjoy doing readings and interviews. Contact me. Also, I encourage you to nominate tea-related charities. I can find some, but that doesn’t mean I’ll find the best.