In the fourteenth episode, I speak to Sarah Besky, cultural anthropologist at Cornell University on her recent book Tasting Qualities: The Past and Future of Tea published by the U of C Press in 2020. The book asks what the role of quality is in contemporary capitalism and how a product like a bag of tea is understood and judged for its quality. These questions are answered by zooming into different spaces where mass market black tea is made and processed in Eastern India. The conversation begins by talking about Besky’s previous book, also on tea, The Darjeeling Distinction, and how that led to the genesis of this project. Next, we cover how Besky thought about quality and the conditions that shape and produce it before unpacking how notions of quality result in the perpetuation of plantations over time. The conversation then moves to understand the spaces between plantations and consumers - comprising of intermediaries who influence how tea gets from the farm to the cup. Technologies are also shaping these spaces and processes that determine tea quality. Besky covers how digital auctions are changing our ideas of what quality is when it comes to tea. Finally, the conversation explores how notions of quality intersect with masculinity, affecting the gendered dynamics of tea production before finishing by covering what Besky's current work is about. Links https://www.ucpress.edu/book/9780520303256/tasting-qualities https://www.ucpress.edu/book/9780520277397/the-darjeeling-distinction