Page - 67 - in JRFM - Journal Religion Film Media, Volume 03/02

Review: Tausend Tassen Tee | 67www.jrfm.eu 2017, 3/2, 67–69 DOI: 10.25364/05.3:2017.2.5 Bärbel Beinhauer-Köhler Book review: Jürgen Wasim Frembgen, Tausend Tassen Tee Darmstadt: Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft 2014, 143 pages, ISBn 978-3-650-40022-2 exploring media means following cultures and ways of communicating that ma- terialise in many forms. Tausend Tassen Tee by Jürgen Wasim frembgen deals with the culture of tea drinking in the islamic world: dishes, preparation, loca- tions, social settings and imaginary. the author seems predestined to write about his subject as he is an expert in the material culture of Sufism and through his ethnographic fieldwork has long personal familiarity with the regions of Pa- kistan and india. To present his results, Frembgen chose a medium that at first glance might seem a typical “coffee-table book”, with its rich illustrations and its cover por- traying an expressive and colourful calendar sheet from india in the 1950s that depicts a woman with a cup of tea. a closer look reveals a detailed documenta- tion of tea drinking in the Near and Middle East in the form of a reflective com- bination of text and more than 60 “speaking” illustrations, mostly photographs taken by the author. In the first part of the book, Frembgen presents general information: botani- cal issues concerning camellia or thea sinensis, forms of trade and medicinal as- pects as well as cultures of preparing and serving tea. tea drinking is described in its social aspects, hinting at the main section of the text. this introductory part is followed by a “thick description”. this contextu- alized examination of tea drinking provides almost intimate insight into tea- houses gained by the ethnographer during years of travelling – in Morocco, in cities such as Cairo, damascus or istanbul and at pilgrimage sites in Pakistan and india. these some hundred pages are particularly valuable because of their illustrations, which show mainly contemporary but also some historic interiors of kitchens and guest rooms and therefore present a whole imaginary of such semi-public spaces. additionally, the ethnographer not only presents his obser- vations from a bird’s eye view, but also tells of his encounters with ordinary people like taxi drivers, who drink and explain tea, and with connoisseurs and professionals, both men and women, who prepare tea. In these parts we find