Life in the village, the busy and the leisurely….Anxi mountain, Xiping, Che Shi Village, original home of Tieguanyin.
A beautiful chilly morning in Anxi. A newly paved road goes to Da…
A beautiful chilly morning in Anxi. A newly paved road goes to Da Bao Shan, Treasure Mountain, the highest point here. Some of the wild teas are being harvested now, can’t wait to try wild Tieguanyin! But boy, my body is not moving this morning. The late night crazy drive in the fog and numerous tastings of teas and some home made rice wine (part of the customary ritual of this culture here) is the midnight Shao Ye( burning the night away) meal. Last night it was chicken feet and some other kinds of fatty meats. So my default polite thing to do was to drink the rice wine. Now, I defy anyone else to top my sacrifices on behalf of tea! For Chinese alcohol, especially the homemade ones, in my most humble opinion, is in direct polar opposite in excellence to their tea…..I think I have alcohol poisoning already from just a tiny shot glass amount.
Anxi, a typical rural small city that serves the great Anxi…
Anxi, a typical rural small city that serves the great Anxi mountain range, home of many Oolongs, particularly, the legendary Tieguanyin. Arrived into a misty, very cold night. This year, as it happens every 30 years or so, is the phenomenon of the winter spring. Some winter days roared back into the middle of the spring, killing quite a few tea sprouts. This was reported so far in Fuding, Phoenix,Hangzhou, here in Anxi, and also in Yunnan. Well, it also happened in the Bay Area so it must have been global.
Arrived into a night of blinding white fog. Let’s see if I make it up the steep, blind turns up the tea mountain.
If I do, will be up all night tonight tasting through hundreds of teas since flight delays set me back almost a half day.
Location, location, location. Grown on narrow ledges, Mr. Lin’s…
Location, location, location. Grown on narrow ledges, Mr. Lin’s farm on the mountain top is pristinely full of organic matter, like bamboo husks, weeds to be hand pulled, wild flowers. The wind put through is quite strong, a little known locational advantage against bugs. Mountain streams trickle down. Iron rich soil is another natural environmental factor for his superior crops. Still too young for harvest, the leaflets will need to grow another 2 weeks.
Shang Dong peak, Mr. Lin’s bio organic farm growing Golden…
Shang Dong peak, Mr. Lin’s bio organic farm growing Golden Guanyin and other varietals
Late night at the farm. Suddenly, everyone realized that what I…
Late night at the farm. Suddenly, everyone realized that what I said was true- you don’t actually get to buy property in China, it’s called ‘leasing’ in the rest of the world. However, one is told by the Communist government that one is purchasing, so down payment, mortgage, renovations etc are all yours to pay. Then the government gets to repossess it by year 50/60/70. So how is that ownership?
The more everyone thought about it, the worst the mood. Out came the Mal Tai, the rice wine, the domestic red table wine, and the snake soup. A round of cigarettes later and everyone is less depressed about being Chinese.