The Story of Tea

by Mary Lou Heiss

  In a relaxing local teahouse, an experienced tea server shares a brewing of his specially scented jasmine tea (Sichuan Province, China).

  In each of these provinces both regional teas and locally produced and renowned “famous teas” dominate the selections on teahouse menus, in restaurants, and in teashops. In Beijing, Shanghai, and other populous cities, however, recent advances in transit and rising personal incomes have now made it possible for teashops to specialize in handcrafted teas from all regions of China. This concept did not exist even ten years ago. These shops now provide locals as well as visitors with the opportunity to sample and purchase many styles of tea that were formerly unavailable to them or that were once reserved for export.

  A wholesale tea market (Shanghai, China).

  China is a changing country on the move, but as stated earlier many aspects of tea production remain the same. With a great emphasis on handmade tea and traditional styles of leaf manufacture, Mr. Di Yung-zu, a retired tea merchant from Taipei, sums it up as such: “Styles of clothes may change, but the traditional tea doesn’t change.”

  TEA EXPERT MADAME WEI

  As we progress along the path of our tea education, we treasure the relationships we have with our tea mentors who have been eager to teach us the proper understanding of “tea” in all aspects of its meaning. One of our favorite Chinese colleagues is Madame Wei Cui Lan, one of China’s many highly degreed and respected female tea experts. She always meets us at a designated rendezvous point early on in our trip with her boundless enthusiasm, lots of tea samples, and bags of unfamiliar Chinese candies and snacks.

  Despite the fact that we do not share a common language, we do share a love and respect for green tea that allows us to comfortably communicate likes and dislikes with exaggerated facial expressions and hand gestures. She has been known to gently slap a person’s hand if she sees him or her reaching for a second sip of a cup of tea that she finds inferior. Madame Wei has taught us to always taste the tea before making a judgment about its quality, and not to judge from the appearance of the leaf alone. Many young Chinese tea processors today are very skillful, and they can turn less-than-desirable leaf into nicely finished tea that will fool the eye.

  EVALUATING CHINESE GREEN TEAS

  Because Chinese green teas come in a visually dizzying array of shapes and styles, our Chinese colleague Madame Wei has taught us to be savvy Chinese tea tasters and to evaluate tea the way she does. We look at the dry tea leaf before brewing and also the wet tea leaf after brewing. Although all tea should be tasted before judgment is passed, this is especially true with Chinese green teas.

  In China tea is purchased based on the region it is from, the method of manufacturer, the flush, the uniformity of leaf, and the taste. After taking into account place and leaf style, we look for the following when tasting green teas: se (color), xiang (aroma), wei (taste), and xing (shape). When evaluating samples, we then ask these questions: Does the leaf and the liquor have the color it should? Does it have the aroma it should? Does it taste as it should? Does it look the way it should? These “shoulds” are important with Chinese teas because each tea has a standard that it should aspire to conform to, against which all tea of that type is compared.

  The appearance of high-quality, well-made tea is not happenstance but intentional. It accomplishes three things: First, the shape and style of the leaves tell the purchaser what to expect from that tea. For example, tiny Bi Lo Chun tea leaves tell the drinker that these leaves were picked in the early spring, whereas the larger, rolled pellets of Gunpowder tea impart the wisdom that this tea was made from an older, large leaf that the tea maker needed to use in order to have enough length to achieve the roll. Longjing is a flat-leaf tea whose appearance implies that the tea was flattened and pressed by hand against the tea-firing pan. Second, tea leaves flaunt the skill of the tea maker. Although each style of tea needs to fulfill the expectation of how it should look, the skills of an expert tea maker are essential to coax the best appearance from the leaves. Third, a well-made green tea will, after brewing, return to the way it looked as a freshly picked leaf, before firing and shaping process changed it. This full-circle approach reminds the tea drinker of the ephemeral nature and simplicity of green tea, and that the vital seasonal energy or chi of the tea bush has been assimilated through the liquid tea.

  This well-worn, tumbler-style, wall-mounted dryer (known as an “oven”) removes moisture efficiently and is often used for the finish-firing of green tea (Fujian Province, China).

  BRINGING TEA TO MARKET IN CHINA

  Tea comes to market in several ways in China, although the traditional means of commerce is changing rapidly. Tea that is picked by individual farmers is usually brought to the village tea factory or collected and brought to a regional tea factory. That fresh leaf is then turned into finished tea, often in true cooperative fashion. State-run tea factories purchase tea from local tea farmers and sometimes oversee production from their own tea gardens as well. Unlike in India, Japan, or Sri Lanka, there is little private ownership of tea in China: farmers do not own their farms and consequently tea has always been sold to the government, which has historically controlled tea production.

  In other major tea-producing countries, a majority of tea is sold to buyers through auctions, but there are no buyers’ auctions in China. Rather, the provincial tea boards in each tea-producing region are responsible for contributing the annual output of tea from their province to the collective whole. The mood of the Chinese government is changing, however, and today independent tea agents sell Chinese tea abroad directly without government intervention. This change is responsible for bringing some interesting and distinctive regional teas to market. Many tea processors in China feel renewed by the opportunity to have their work recognized and desired by new and larger audiences of appreciative tea drinkers both in China and abroad.

  CHINA’S DELICATE AND ELEGANT GREEN TEAS

  China’s green teas are famous for their finesse, elegance, clean fresh flavors, and artistically shaped leaves, the finest of which are processed by hand with nimble fingers and a series of repeating hand motions. The Ming dynasty (1368–1644) first uncovered the secrets of producing whole-leaf green tea. As the added seasonings that tea lovers once mixed with cake tea began to lose their appeal, tea drinkers began to pay attention to the fine differences in flavor to be savored from the tea leaves themselves. By trial and error, the Ming tea workers established many tea-production methods that became a template for tea workers in the Qing dynasty (1644–1911) to adjust and refine the major classifications of leaf style. In succession, the creation of magnificent flower-scented teas followed the process for green tea manufacture, which in turn led to the discovery of how to fashion the superb aromas of oolong tea. Lastly, and most importantly, Qing dynasty China perfected the process of black tea manufacture, which was instrumental in ensuring that tea traveling across the ocean to the West arrived in sound condition. Both of these dynasties are responsible for creating the fundamental changes in tea production that resulted in today’s modern leaf teas.

  The main green tea–growing regions of Anhui, Jiangxi, and Zhejiang Provinces are located west of Shanghai, where steep mountains elevate the tea gardens into the zone of cooling clouds and quenching mist. China has a dormant season in the winter when the tea bushes rest. Each year Chinese citizens eagerly await spring green teas as a harbinger of the arrival of the new season and the beginning of the tea harvest. In the first days of spring, just after bud break, tender and delicate newly emerging leaves produce fresh teas known as “before the rain” teas. Picking begins in late March, just before the Qing Ming Festival, which is celebrated around April 5. Tea picked after this date, but before April 20, is called gu yu. Tea picked from April 20 through May 6 is called li xia. After this time the tea bushes flush rapidly, and the quality of the tea loses nuance every week as the leaf grows larger.

  A monastery on sacred Jiu Hua Shan offers an excellent mao jian green tea,
known locally as Buddha’s Tea (Anhui Province, China).

  The arrival of the rains in mid-to-late May gives both people and plants a time to recharge. After the rains come to an end in late June, the main tea harvest gets underway, yielding the balance of China’s ordinary green teas. Thus, even in the best of seasons, the time for picking tender spring green tea is a race against nature, yielding only small amounts of precious leaf. The seasonal yield for spring green teas is only 10 to 12 percent of the entire harvest for all Chinese green tea. Spring green teas are identified by poetic names that evoke the serenity and classical nature of China’s tea culture while also specifying which mountain or region the tea is from. Some of our favorite names are Bubbling Spring, Clouds and Mist, Curled Dragon Silver Tip, Dragon Whiskers, Esteemed Treasure, Gold-Flecked Emerald Tips, Jade in the Clouds, Nine Dragons, Purple Bamboo, Rainflower, Snow Dragon, Snow on Jade Mountain, Snow on Monkey’s Tail, Spring Pine Buds, and White Monkey Paw. China’s spring green teas are celebrated for their simple deliciousness and unmistakable goodness and flavor. These delicate teas brew pale green colors tinged with gold and have sweet, mild, slightly grassy, herbaceous flavors and striking vegetable aromas.

  Today there is a new call from Beijing for the exclusive purchase of many rare, small production teas. The Chinese government is using these teas for diplomatic gifts. When we visited the tea factory in Jingangshan in Jiangzi Province, the manager showed us packages of tea that had been prepared for Beijing. Their preferred tea consists of a select plucking of one leaf and the bud, and it is packed in elegant red and gold tins. The estimated cost of this tea is just under $250 per pound.

  TRIBUTE TEAS AND FAMOUS TEAS

  At the top of the list of desirability are China’s “famous teas,” the modern-day name for the former Imperial Tribute Teas. As these teas were of such remarkable and ethereal quality, they were claimed as the exclusive provenance of the emperors of China’s last four dynasties: Tang, Song, Ming, and Qing. Each emperor had his favorite, and delivery of the tea was recorded as a tax payment owed to the throne. Tribute tea that did not suit the emperor’s taste would be given to court officials, who could drink the tea for their own enjoyment or secretly sell it at a premium price.

  When the days of imperial China ended in 1912, the famous tribute teas became available for mere mortals to enjoy. Each of these teas is distinctive and unique, and justifiably the pride and joy of the regions that produce them. Famous teas are instantly recognizable by their characteristic leaf shape, appearance, and flavor. They are named after the mountains from which they come (Huang Shan, Lu Shan, or Tianmu Shan) and are often given poetic descriptive names such as Da Hong Pao, Lu’an Guapian, or Tianmu Clouds and Mist.

  FAMOUS TEAS AND THEIR PROVINCES

  Bai Hao Yin Zhen (Fujian)

  Da Hong Pao, Wuyi Cliff (Fujian)

  Dong Ting Bi Lo Chun (Jiangsu)

  Duyun Mao Jian (Guizhou)

  Fenghuang Dan Cong (Guangdong)

  Huang Shan Mao Feng (Anhui)

  Huo Shan Huang Ya, or Yellow Sprouting (Anhui)

  Jingangshan (Jiangxi)

  Jun Shan Yin Zhen, or Silver Needle (Hunan)

  Keemun, or Qimen (Anhui)

  Longjing, or Dragon Well (Zhejiang)

  Lu Shan Yun Wu (Jiangxi)

  Lu’an Guapian, or Lu’an Melon Seeds (Anhui)

  Mengding Mountain Snow Buds (Sichuan)

  Tai Ping Hou Kui (Anhui)

  Tianmu Shan Clouds and Mist (Zhejiang)

  Tieguanyin (Fujian)

  Xin Yang Mao Jian, or Fur Tip (Henan)

  Zhuyeqing, or Bamboo Tips (Sichuan)

  CHINA’S GOLDEN TRIANGLE OF TEA: ANHUI, ZHEJIANG, AND JIANGXI PROVINCES AND JIANGSU PROVINCE

  The greatest number of famous teas comes from the region in China known as the Golden Triangle. Historically close to the seat of the emperor, this region was a source for many of the imperial tribute teas. On our first tea-buying trip to China in April of 2000 we visited the eastern provinces of Anhui, Jiangsu, Jiangxi, and Zhejiang. The topography of these four provinces is stunning and features steep, rugged mountains claiming much of the land. We were awed by the sight of famous tea mountains—Huang Shan, Mogan Shan, Qi Shan, and Tianmu Shan—which rise to impressive heights of over six thousand feet.

  These famous Chinese clouds-and-mist-covered mountains are heavily forested and accentuated with elegant bamboo groves, waterfalls, and stands of pines. Because these mountains still resemble the familiar landscapes depicted in classical Chinese paintings, being in these mountains feels like walking through a page of Song dynasty (960–1279) history. The modern world has not yet invaded these remote places, and the bamboo forests still hide tea-drinking pavilions in their greenery. Rugged foothills lay at the feet of the mountains, forming a densely compacted landscape that reveals only fleeting glimpses of tea bushes. Terraced gardens cover every inch of the land, soothing the eye with rhythmic patterns that drape the landscape in a soft green mantle. Small rivers, which provide essential water, tumble through the fields. We watched in fascination as solitary farmers maneuvered their massive water buffalos through the muddy churnings of rice paddies as they prepared the fields for planting rice or vegetables.

  We began this journey in sprawling, congested, and heavily polluted Shanghai but arrived in tea country by the end of a long day. Along the way it seemed as if construction crews were at work around every bend in the road, digging or sorting rocks and gravel. Fortunately, the badly pockmarked roads had little else in the way of vehicular traffic. As we approached the mountains, the roads turned to dirt and became increasingly bumpy and dusty. We passed through strings of lively villages awash with children, chickens, bicycles, pushcarts, ducks, farmers, small restaurants, and quick-moving farmers carrying bamboo slings holding baskets filled with fruits and vegetables. When we began to encounter groups of farmers trading tea from large sacks lined up on the road sides, we knew we had arrived in the foothills of our first destination: the Huo Mountains of Anhui Province.

  Anhui Province. Anhui is the home of the strange and magnificent Huang Shan, one of China’s most awe-inspiring and classic topographical regions. These scenic mountains have steep, rocky peaks as well as graceful, ancient pine trees and cold, clear mountain springs. The moist environment produces a natural phenomenon of swirling mist known as “sea of clouds.” Huang Shan Mao Feng tea grows in the protection of these revered pinnacles and benefits from its unique microclimate.

  Anhui also produces Lu’an Guapian and the rare Tai Ping Hou Kui, two spectacular teas. Unlike most spring-plucked teas, both of these are made from the specific picking of one large single leaf located on a particular spot on the tea branch. Tai Ping tea pickers head out into the tea gardens to pluck from just dawn to mid-morning to capture the leaves before the hot sun changes the balance of moisture within each leaf. The most famous location for prized Tai Ping tea comes from an area outside of Tai Ping called Monkey Ditch. The village is situated at the end of a long and tranquil isolated lake. We journeyed there by boat, catching only a few glimpses of tiny villages beyond the banks of the lake. A few solitary fishermen with long bamboo fishing poles and wide-rimmed bamboo hats dotted the edge of the water. Along the way our skipper carefully skirted around delicate, arching bamboo floats that had been secured in the middle of the lake by local fisherman.

  Jiangxi, Zhejiang, and Jiangsu Provinces. Jiangxi contributes Ming Mei, the treasured, slender, “eyebrow” tea gathered from remote villages located on Da Zhang Mountain. Zhejiang Province lays claim to China’s most revered famous tea, Longjing, the Dragonwell tea of Hangzhou. Bi Lo Chun or Green Snail Spring is the delicate little curled specialty of Jiangsu Province. These teas differ one from another in specific ways. First, each requires that the fresh leaf be of a certain size and configuration, such as two leaves and the bud, or one leaf and the bud, or a pair of leaves and no bud. Second, the drying and shaping technique used to process the leaf must give each tea its characterist
ic appearance.

  Timing is critical in this early harvest. Every day the leaves on the bush are different than they were the day before, so the picking and processing must constantly be adjusted. Each day will thus produce a slightly different batch of tea. The smaller leaf teas come first in the season. The choicest leaf picking (mao feng), consists of two equal-length leaves and a bud; next comes one slightly larger leaf and a bud (mao jian). Mao feng teas have a broad, flat shape and a sword-like curve from tip to end, while mao jian teas are thin and delicate, with a wiry twist to the leaf.

  CHINA’S VARIATIONS IN LEAF STYLES

  China produces the world’s largest quantity of green tea and the greatest number of variations in leaf styles. China’s ability to turn fresh leaf into an amazing array of fanciful twists, rolls, curls, and slender needles is unmatched by any other country. Because of the staggering number of teas that the country produces, China has the most complicated terminology and categorization of any tea-producing country. It is rumored that there are more than eight thousand distinctions in the Chinese system of labeling and grading teas. Most of these classifications are for green teas, but a smaller number includes black and oolong teas as well.