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What do you want the Americans to know most about your teas, I…

Rare Teas

What do you want the Americans to know most about your teas, I asked Mr. Zhang? He being easily one of the most uncompromising tea artisans I know, I prefaced by saying that Americans are trained on mass produced black teas with cream and sugar so don’t expect too much. Mr. Zhang replied that Wuyi teas have the strongest body and an intensity that will get better with age, as opposed to light fragrance oolongs-sissies, to them. Their long 6 month charcoal roasting process is extremely demanding xtreme-tea-making, and no other tea in the world requires this much knowledge and expertise in its processing. Appreciate its depth, its thickness, its mouthfeel, palate fragrance, the 20 steepings. I think the most expensive tea we carry are now Mr. Zhang’s Wuyi oolongs. For me, it’s the last frontier and contribution to our mission at Teance of introducing the world’s best teas. Mr. Zhang does not need more demand for his teas though. Selling out just to the local connoisseurs are a matter of course. Taking years to introduce the tea to Americans, traveling 10,000 miles at a time- people do wonder about me a little. Here I pause and wonder why I bother, but tomorrow, I’ll head out to another farm again regardless. Sometimes there’s really no reason for doing something worthwhile.

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Even being at the paradise of tea farms, my tea buying adventures…

Tea Adventures

Even being at the paradise of tea farms, my tea buying adventures are still very strenuous. Today, I have been mosquito food for maybe the entire village of mosquitoes already. I am also fighting the desire to suddenly pass out into sleep, whilst drinking some of the strongest tea known to mankind. Mr. Zhang and various villagers drop in to find out about some real information they are curious about but can’t get, such as how much cars cost in the U.S. An average automobile that costs $35,000 USD can cost $75,000 easily in China. The middlemen make a killing. Yet their income tax is something like 3%. What about that election next year, they want to know? As long as it’s not a Bush again, they mused. Why hasn’t the U.S. attacked North Korea if they are so against Communist governments? Simple, I replied, without any basis for my opinion. No oil there, and it’s a monarchy, not a Communist country. It’s impoverished as hell and it will implode anyway, the tea villagers reasoned. The conversation turned once again to Xi Jin Ping’s crackdown on the corruption. Government offices can no longer buy 1000 RMB a Jin teas for office consumption( about $180 a lb). The offices I know in the U.S. serve Lipton teabags at 10 cents each…. Well, the cultural exchanges at every farm are always very interesting. According to the villagers, no foreigners ever come there to buy these authentic, but expensive, highly prestigious Wuyi teas. They buy fake stuff from import companies. No one even goes there from Hong Kong, or Beijing, for that matter. I might as well be Alien Visitation. I am teaching myself to master the final hurdle, I told them – the strongest tea in the universe, Rougui tea. For that reason alone, I just travelled some 10,000 miles, fighting mosquitoes and possible purse snatchers along the way. Why not? What would I be doing in the Bay Area today otherwise? Go get tomatoes at the farmer’s market?

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Mr. Zhang decided to make the ultimate Dahongpao, the Dahongpao…

Tea Adventures

Mr. Zhang decided to make the ultimate Dahongpao, the Dahongpao Blend with the ingredients of Shuixian, Rougui, and Golden Mudan (a new Wuyi varietal), to make a superb confluence of fragrance, body, and intensity. Body and intensity are both characteristics of Wuyi teas that imitations can not approach. He would make the ulimate Dahongpao. But there you have noticed- there is no Dahongpao in it! Purposefully of course. Mr. Zhang laments the lack of knowledge of his region, the Bordeaux of tea. Everything is called Dahongpao by the outsiders, so unscrupulous merchants would blend stuff together or outrightly use raw material from other regions. Hardly anyone knows what Dahongpao tastes like anyway- and no wonder. The 2nd generation single varietal Dahongpao amount is so little to be had, no one would actually blend it with other teas. Or sell it to a nobody. And we are all nobodies when compared to the leaders of the Communist government. Dahongpao is inherently Leader Grade tea. So folks, whatever else is just stages of blends. As for Mr. Zhang’s version- it is superb. He could call it Dahongpao or Cow Dung tea. Using the best varietals he grows, this was an unforgettable tea. We will get to taste this side by side with a 2nd Generation Single Varietal Dahongpao. As well as his competition entrant Shuixian, which will quadruple the price if he wins…..

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The strongest tea in the universe, the 12,000 RMB (about $1950…

Tea Adventures

The strongest tea in the universe, the 12,000 RMB (about $1950 USD per lb), Rougui oolong from the Cow Fence Enclave. Yes, that’s the name of the most sought after micro-terroir of the Main Cliff 正岩 of Wuyi region. There was a little enclave in one of the vertical cliff areas, a farmer discovered that he could force his cows up there but they can’t come down and run off easily, a natural cow fence. So per serving is what, about $30? What a steal! Lasts about 20 infusions, so my per sip cost just went down to 45 cents! Well, math geniusness aside, I have the Communist government crackdown on corruption to thank. This leader grade stuff was never before accessible to commoners. Strong, aggressive, thick viscosity like broth, and stamina through all 20 infusions- this is the boxing champ of teas.

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Still seething from the plagiarism of my story on the Phoenix Ya…

Tea Adventures

Still seething from the plagiarism of my story on the Phoenix Ya Sai on this blog, I asked Mr. Zhang about the massive amounts of fake Dahongpao out there. Why, there is cheating at every level! Sometimes the tea pluckers will harvest your top mountain raw leaves but will turn in low mountain stuff. They look the same as raw leaves but once they are roasted, huge differences are obvious but too late. Outside producers will come in and open a production factory, registering with local authorities and even pass inspection. But the tea they make as Dahongpao? Not even close to being from this region. And what about the real tea from this region generically called Dahongpao? Blends of generic Wuyi low mountain stuff. No clear discernible taste of a single varietal. Blending is a cuss word here in Wuyishan, conjuring up wicked mercenary merchants. Telling a real story and selling fake tea is what the Chinese called ‘hang a sheep’s head but selling dog meat’, referring to bait and switching. That is clearly the folks mentioned in the Forbes article. I forget the name of that tea company. Real story, fake stuff. Happens everywhere, starting from the source! Mr. Zhang and I, zealous tea people, won’t let that stop us. What are you doing with those Tea University interns? Still turning them down for internship there? ‘Of course, ’ he said. ‘’Wage war on paper’, is another favorite Chinese saying. They are not fit to make tea, but they sure can talk about it with all that academic book learning. They can go sell tea in one of those chain tea companies’ -said Mr. Zhang, eccentric, long visioned, superb tea artisan.

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