Good people make good tea, I have often said, and on these trips, I wanted to see if my tour group could get a sense of who the people were behind these great teas. I have known these farmers for so many years now, and their unassuming, warm, hospitable demeanors never fail to reinforce that viewpoint. It is always the caring, respectful artisans who coax the depths out of the leaves, and the teas will communicate to those who are worthy. The ones who break the tea leaf spines and cut, tear and curl them, do not deserve a drinkable cup. I don’t care who I offend. We are not in the business of contributing to more acrid, astringent, undrinkable dregs that you need to pour cream and sugar into. The spirits of the teas and their chosen artisan want their stories told.
Now, this blog entry is getting way out there! But I really am tired of that 99% of crap in the marketplace, after knowing such sublime levels of teas all my life. And so, I exercise my compassion by bringing you, my fellow consumers and aficionados of tea, that world of possibilities!

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Understanding the magic of tea takes years of legwork, but the journey always begins with the first step!

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One does not truly live unless one has curiosity for the world, it was said. And the tour group this year has a healthy dose. From killer bee liquor to collecting specimens and soil samples, to chasing after the various insects and animals that cohabitate at the tea farms, our tour group was proactively experiencing every detail. Why does simple food tastes so rich at the farms, which wild plants are edible….check out the size of those bamboo stalks, have a sip of this mountain stream water! I guess every experience is determined by who is experiencing it. It was highly gratifying for me to see the rich space that is tea, enjoyed with so much aplomb and enthusiasm. And with that kind of open hearted curiosity for other people’s way of life, connections were instantly made, and everyone buoyant by the collective energy.

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From 4 am to 6 am to 7am. Hong Kong will always be THE city to me, the city of all cities, that truly does not sleep at night, with an ever flowing traffic and on time trains by the minute, the most convenient city in the world, and inventor of the Octopus card, that remains the most useful single item a city needs to run smoothly. Or at least move the people along smoothly. Yet HK will never be what it once was, glamorous, cosmopolitan, a small big city of worldly small people. I say small, with affection. Hong Kongers live within limited ambitions of making a living, eating constantly and eating well, shopping for the latest name brands, and mahjong with their tight community of friends and family. No one has ambitions of saving the world or eliminating evil governments. They have little agendas, like, say, be allowed to speak Cantonese and English, have real history books instead of Communist revisions. Law and order, respect for public property, interpersonal civility. Really basic stuff. But with the onslaught of mainlanders and China rule, Kongers have gotten more aggressive, much more rude, if not downright cold. Where’s their future? They are on the road to obsolescence, if not downright slaughter. How can this vibrant, no nonsense, peaceful place of an international hub be preserved? It’s hard to fathom going from paradise to hell overnight when you haven’t done anything wrong.

Why should you care? Well, it is the only place in the world where ALL teas converge and all at the best quality yet.

Mandarin that, Beijing.

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