‘Vertically challenged’ takes on a whole new meaning as I fought to remain standing vertically, not having slept properly for about 36 hours at this point, the sweet scent of mountain trees and tea bushes, the sound of melodic warbler birds echoing across the valley, tea pickers chatting happily, lulling me rapidly to sleep. In the meantime, Mr. Dai challenged me to distinguish between leaf buds from the original seeded bushes vs the ‘improved’ Dragonwell #43. It’s easy to differentiate between the round clumps of the thousand year old root stock of the original seed grown bushes, from the hedge like modern varietals. But on a leaf bud level, one has to pay careful attention. Mr. Wei says many tea masters have gotten confused and fired the wrong picking, the harvesters sometimes even make the mistake, and some devious producers make that mistake intentionally to blend the two together. But a discerning palate will be able to tell the much smoother mouthfeel and substantial complexity from the seed grown stock. The ‘improved’ version, very often, is not. I learned that the new # 43 was designed to flush earlier and create crops for the greedier patrons. Mother Nature has a way of applying some humility. This year, the sudden snow killed a lot of the early flush buds, leaving the seed grown plants to peacefully take its time.

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