Yes I am scowling. Finding out a lot of tea industry shenanigans all in one afternoon is stressful even if I have nothing to do with it. There is the long discussion on Jin Zhun Mei, that ridiculously expensive Golden Eyebrows tea from ‘Wuyi’, that is hack tasting and about $1,000 more than its actual worth. They let me in on a little secret- there is no such tea from Tong Mu village and all made in Jiangxi or surrounding regions and not even Wuyi. It’s all marketing inflation. I never liked that tea and had no respect for it, and if I said anything before, it would just piss off a lot of fellow tea industry folks. But truth about tea is what we should care about, and if one doesn’t care, why bother to be dealing in tea. Making a mistake or just plain not knowing is one thing. Once I find out, it just gets more irritating. Now, if I report it, I will be hurting other fellow tea merchants who carry such teas, and it’s not my intention. Just like the fake White Peony from Guangxi, or the Ya Bao. And even worse, some producers are putting sugar into black teas and burning it to look shiny, and sweet, masking any astringency. They figured that Westerners are going to add sugar anyway, and the Chinese black teas don’t look as glossy as Indian teas, so what’s the harm?
One thing for sure, once they figured out I was able to discern, their respect changes and then they spill all the beans- on others, and on themselves. But what do I do with that information, other than to scowl?
Which of these White Peony white teas were made for export to the West, at low prices (roughly 1/3), and from Guangxi? Can’t tell? At very close look, I can tell, but the taste gives it away. The palate is the ultimate judge, above any claims from anyone. But that means one has to have a frame of reference for what is true white tea (or true any other tea). Mr. Lin says few local professional tea buyers would ever be fooled, and at the prices that the Western importers demand, they can only get a version from Guangxi. They do disclose that fact if asked. I bet no one does. There is even white tea from Vietnam in the West. But some of us live and die by specificity of terroir and maker, and the truth is always paramount above business dealings. Mr. Lin was highly amused with the faces I was making today- he intentionally trotted out a bunch of fakes to test my reaction. Not knowing it was pop quiz time, I didn’t want to offend, but every face said- WTF…. Mr. Lin smirked and was very entertained. I must have passed with flying colors, because at the end, he brought out the small batch of sublime Bailin Gongfu. And Guangxi, folks, is very far away from Fuding, Fujian, home of white tea. But not as far as Vietnam.
March 28-April 3. The Fujian green tea lots have been combined already before I could get my hands on a specific day’s crop. Made from the Bai Mao varietal, the mango fragrance, sweet and mellow palate is impossible to mess up, making this the ultimate green tea- forgiving, accessible, complex, long lasting. The entry level friendly green tea that will last through your tea professorship. The Fujian producers continually study, innovate, create more and more amazing teas with everyone in mind, unlike many regions concerned with tea as bribery or artificial inflation of prices. This will be the second year in the existence of the under-glamorous Fujian green tea, and also the second year for Teance to carry it. Substance over glamour!
March 28-April 3. The Fujian green tea lots have been combined already. Made from the Bai Mao varietal, the mango fragrance, sweet and mellow palate is impossible to mess up, making this the ultimate green tea- forgiving, accessible, complex, long lasting. The entry level friendly green tea that will last through your tea professorship. The Fujian producers continually study, innovate, create more and more amazing teas with everyone in mind, unlike many regions concerned with tea as bribery or artificial inflation of prices. This will be the second year in the existence of the under-glamorous Fujian green tea, and also the second year for Teance to carry it. Substance over glamour!
The mystery of the Ya Bao tea, solved. They are the unopened bud of a tea like plant that is not Camellia Sinensis. The locals have no idea what this plant is, but they would take the seeds and press its oil for cooking. Is it tea? No way, said the farmers. I knew that, but just wanted to be sure. A city slicker is never really that knowledgeable, when faced with such other country life items, like the rice paddies next to the tea bushes, the wild tea plants next to the bamboo, the chickens running amok, and what to do with any of it. To say that a mere tea buyer would know more than the local tea farmer or producer would definitely be arrogance. Myself, I enjoy learning, and sharing, that’s all. Bringing back some great teas to share though is a matter of course. I have put in enough time legwork to make tea PhD, but in every trip, I still feel like a middle schooler. Tea is special, deep, and wide. A bit of humility helps. A lot of things get lost in translation, and I know people even call stuff like ginger tea, ‘tea’. As for Ya Bao, all one has to do is look and taste, without having to actually see the plants in the ground. But don’t take my word for it, I am always highly skeptical due to over 15 years of buying tea from farms. Think about it: If Ya Bao is tea, does it taste like Silver Needle/yinzhen? Does it look like any other Camellia Sinensis leaf buds? No? And no? ….. Neither does mint ‘tea’.
Luckily for me, I am not easily moved, having clocked in probably an actual million cups of tea and tasted through hundreds, perhaps thousands, of different teas. As far as tea curatorship goes, discerning what is special about a tea when it is a wildly special tea (and then figuring out whether I could actually sell this tea, much later), vs whether the price to value parity is acceptable based on… taste, not appearance, nor name brand, seems to be my forte. So folks, you are drinking my value system.
Though I am not easily moved, today’s highlight of Bailin Gongfu almost made me shed tears. You have to taste it, words, or pictures, or any descriptions from me, will never do it justice. Black teas of the world, get off the stage!