It is probably a copout to just copy and paste the publisher’s description of The Amazing Leaf in the Cup: A Tale of Tea Retold in English and Chinese by Yiping Wei. However, I’ll summarize it “a man, named Ding Xian, has qualified for the imperial examinations. In his travels, he passes through Wuyi Mountain, where he meets a monk that helps him by giving him a drink that restores his energy. It is just hot water and leaves, but makes an impact on the young man. He continues his journey, passes the exam, and wishes to thank the monk. However, the monk will not take riches or gifts, instead he gives Ding Xian one more gift, the knowledge of the tea tree. This leads Xian on a journey of self-discovery and modern tea ceremonies come from this.”
The story is a mixture of fact and legend and reads as a fiction story. It can be long and drawn out at times, therefore it is not for the casual listener/reader, or for a young and/or active listener. However, it is a lovely, soft story that shows us the people, the time and location. The illustrations of the author/illustrator are amazing. The details are full, and yes, sometimes a bit much, but that just adds to things as well. They are also simple as they are there to move the story forward. That’s a contradiction I know, however, it adds to the emotion of things. 
The book is emotional, yet not in the usual sense of feeling anger or sadness or joy. You know, the “big ones.” I am assuming the desired result was to calm you, to allow you to feel what Ding Xian and the monk experience when learning, making and drinking the tea. Perhaps the overall feeling is romantic, but not “sappy” or “too sugary.” It is both cozy and exciting. I was wondering what would happen next, even though I knew that there were not “big battle scenes” coming, it still was interesting to see where things would lead. There are a lot of goodies packed inside, and in many ways, I think adults would appreciate it as much or even more than kids. Read via an online reader copy, this book is available.