Koehler to talk expressly about Darjeeling tonight at GU

Jeff Koehler describes himself fairly succinctly: "writer, photographer, cook, traveler."

And just to prove that he's not overstating the case, Koehler — a 1991 graduate of Gonzaga University — will present his latest book, "Darjeeling: The Colorful History and Precarious Fate of the World’s Greatest Tea," at 7:30 tonight at GU's Cataldo Hall Globe Room.

The book, the intent of which is summed up pretty well in its title, is receiving not only awards but also rave reviews. It won the International Association of Culinary Professionals award for Literary Food Writing. And the Chicago Tribune reviewer had this to say:

"When he writes about the tea itself … how the pickers skillfully pluck the leaves and toss them into a basket, how the tea smells as it's being dried, the daily taste tests at each estate — his prose is both sensory and balletic."

Here's an example of that prose (describing an expert's tea-tasting process): "He loudly slurps a generous mouthful of liquid off the spoon. Holding it for a moment, he takes two or three quick and sharp aerating sucks that flood the (tea) around the palate and send it up into the olfactory organ in the nose in the manner of an animated wine taster. The tip of the tongue gauges sweetnesses and saltiness, the middle tartness, the back bitterness, and the back edges sourness. But he is also feeling the tea: the inside of the gums, cheeks, and the back of the tongue catch the astringency or pungency by sensation rather than taste."

Here's a link to another good review in The Guardian.

Koehler's appearance is part of Gonzaga's 2016-2017 Visiting Writers Series. The event is free and open to the public.