I just died and went to tea heaven. I am sure there is such a place just for me in the afterlife, where I drink this 100% handmade Dragonwell whenever I want. The luxury of it having taken 4 hours to make not withstanding, it is the sweetest, most infinitely expanding bouquet on the palate. The leaves dance quickly to the bottom, said the tea master, because the fact is hand making makes…
Early morning on Westlake, Hangzhou. The nicest day I can pray…
Early morning on Westlake, Hangzhou. The nicest day I can pray for as far as being Chinese: misty rain, cool, mosquito free. Poetic and lyrical, scenes of swaying boats and gentle willow trees. Whale size koi fishes happily hopping up the water. Tourists not too loud yet.
The worst day in terms of tea: tea master probably sleeping in. With this unusual rainfall, there should be no harvesting today.
The Dragonwell on the left and the right have minuscule…
The Dragonwell on the left and the right have minuscule differences, so I was put to task to judge and discern the difference. The left has better fragrance and sophisticated entry and aftertaste while the right glass has more perfect looking leaves. The right is probably the first picking and the left is maybe a couple ones into it, both being first flushes, Pre-Ming, and from Lion’s Peak. The right is slightly lower elevation than the left, I hazarded…..
Both were probably harvested around end of March within a day or so of each other.
All correct, said tea master. The right is about 100 meters lower than the left, but it is the first picking, while the left sprouted a little earlier and has been picked for 2 days more. Harvest date: March 27 to the right and 29 on the left.
Not being particularly a Dragonwell specialist, I am not sure how I managed to parse through such small differences.
Why purchase so early, he asked, as every early firing goes to high roller corporations to gift to government officials? They want the earliest of the early, and only really sophisticated customer palates can discern the difference anyway? Why compete with the high rollers? April 2 harvest is still Pre-Ming after all, and slightly less expensive!
It matters to my customers, I said, that they get the best, the earliest, even if they are not Communist officials!
Tomorrow: on the ground and ready to report! This year, the temps were really uneven, cold one day and hot another, causing yields to vary a lot day to day.
The sign in Chinese says ‘Railroad News Group’, or something to…
The sign in Chinese says ‘Railroad News Group’, or something to that effect. The Chinglish says ‘treasure thoughts Movement of Life Love you for entire Life’ The picture is a red rose.
You guessed it! One has nothing to do with the other! My theory for most of the signs in China were that they used Google translate, which intentionally translated all Chinese as far out jokes, and the Chinese don’t care as they figured no one could tell the difference anyway. Less still do they care that bilingual people like me would blog about it. Chinglish is a subject of worldwide study now I heard.
My favorite bizarre Chinglish signage of all time is still at Huangshan:
‘Don’t Flirt with the Monkeys’
Promise I won’t….
A pleasant, slightly chilly crisp air with hints of impending humidity greeted my arrival into Shanghai. It’s about as good a temp as I could hope for. The thing about traveling in China as a tea buyer is not to plan too much. Plans have to pretty much…
Vowing to never set foot into China again last year- here I go….
Vowing to never set foot into China again last year- here I go. Next week, everyday, I will again try to cover as many farms for the Spring Harvest, and all within China, at breakneck pace. First, Hangzhou, then Fuding, Wuyi, Phoenix, Guangzhou, and then Anxi. The Spring Harvest has both started earlier as well as running longer, stretching into two months now, and probably involving two trips. These trips are more for the specialty lots now, and about face timing with producers who gave us teas not quite at the level I wanted. Let’s hope I survive another grueling China trip!