I was recently in a chain bookstore and noticed the following comparatively new title:
Tea -- Addiction, Exploitation, & Empire
by Roy Moxham pub by Carroll & Graff, New York
ISBN 0 7867 1227 9
When the author was a young man with limited prospects, he audaciously talked his way into being hired as a resident assistant manager of an African tea plantation, which assignment he managed to survive while learning a lot about the practicalities of life. After some dozen years at it, he returned to England and became an art dealer, later a book conservator.
It's a fascinating account which encompasses the economics, politics, history, and agriculture of tea. Some of the book is the tea period of his personal biography. Historical and technical portions were researched with the assistance of various experts in the field.
I read about 20 pages at the store and decided it would probably be a fascinating read. It's a new hardcover at about $22 (U.S.) If you want to read it but not buy the new full-priced hardcover, there will probably be some used copies available on the net in about six months, or you could speak with your local library about either acquiring it or getting it for you on the inter-library loan system.