The Color of Tea
A Novel
After moving with her husband to the tiny, bustling island of Macau, Grace Miller finds herself a stranger in a foreign land—a lone redhead towering above the crowd on the busy Chinese streets. As she is forced to confront the devastating news of her infertility, Grace’s marriage is fraying and her dreams of family have been shattered. She resolves to do something bold, something her impetuous mother would do, and she turns to what she loves: baking and the pleasure of afternoon tea.
Grace opens a café where she serves tea, coffee, and macarons—the delectable, delicate French cookies colored like precious stones—to the women of Macau. There, among fellow expatriates and locals alike, Grace carves out a new definition of home and family. But when her marriage reaches a crisis, secrets Grace thought she had buried long ago rise to the surface. Grace realizes it’s now or never to lay old ghosts to rest and to begin to trust herself. With each mug of coffee brewed, each cup of tea steeped and macaron baked, Grace comes to learn that strength can be gleaned from the unlikeliest of places.
A delicious, melt-in-your-mouth novel featuring the sweet pleasures of French pastries and the exotic scents and sights of China, The Color of Tea is a scrumptious story of love, friendship and renewal.
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Book details:
- Scribner |
- 336 pages |
- ISBN 9781451682823 |
- June 2012
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Read an Excerpt
Prologue
We arrived in Macau at the end of the Year of the Golden Pig. Apparently a golden pig year comes around only once every sixty, and it brings good fortune. So when we came to make Macau our home, at the backside end of this golden pig year, there were fat, pink pigs dancing in bank ads, sparkly cartoon pigs wearing Chinese pajamas hanging in the local bakery, and tiny souvenir golden pigs for sale at the post office. All those pigs around me were comforting, with their full snouts and chubby grins. Welcome to Macau! they snorted. You’ll like it here. We do! I was willing to accept any good...
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- Book Cover Image (jpg): The Color of Tea
Trade Paperback 9781451682823(2.3 MB)
- Author Photo (jpg): Hannah Tunnicliffe
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Book Reviews
Reading Group Guide
Introduction
Lost among the bustling, foreign streets of Macau, expat Grace Miller is an outsider in a strange land. Devastated by the news of her infertility and retreating from her unraveling marriage, Grace finds solace in preparing foods from her childhood and from her time spent in Paris with her impetuous Mama. Inspired by the dazzling displays of light on the Chinese New Year, Grace makes a bold decision to open her own small café. Among the casinos, yum cha restaurants, and futuristic high-rise apartment complexes, Lillian’s becomes a sanctuary of macarons and tea where patrons come together, bridging cultural divides, to share in each other’s triumphs and pain. But Grace’s dedication to the café comes at a price—propelling her to a rediscovery of what it means to love and herself.
Topics & Questions for Discussion
1. Hannah Tunnicliffe writes beautiful, tactile descriptions of food and the ritual surrounding food. What was your favorite or the most memorable passage about food from The Color of see more

Experience the flavors of Macau, China with Hannah Tunnicliffe












