In Chinese mythology, dragons ( long ) are the largest supernatural creatures, embodying strength and authority. It is said that Chinese dragons are comprised of the features of other creatures: head of an ox; eyes of a prawn; ears of the elephant; mouth of the donkey; horns of a deer; whiskers of man; body of the snake; skin of a fish; feet of the Phoenix bird.

Nine Dragons, Chen Rong, Chinese, first half of the 13thC, Southern Song dynasty, dated 1244, ink and color on paper. Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.

In the West the dragon is considered evil and dangerous, a malevolent being that must be slain. In the East the dragon is seen as a benevolent creature, and one that is revered as a magnificent and powerful protector of all beings.

Chinese dragons perform beneficial acts for mankind, such as generating clouds and rain which replenishes the earth and brings forth vegetables, grains…. and tea. But an angry dragon can bring on storms and water related disasters so it is best not to cross them.

The mysterious dragon can wish himself visible or not, large or small, slender or stocky. Dragon are usually depicted carrying a pearl in their mouth or under their chin, or with a pearl hovering just out of their reach. Scholars debate the meaning of the pearl, and some believe that it represents the wisdom imparted by the Sakyamuni Buddha to the Naga King (a serpentine, cobra-like creature with a human head), the first creature to receive Buddha’s teachings. When Buddhism became rooted in China, the Dragon replaced the Naga in texts and imagery.

Dragons are beloved symbols in China, and dragons images are depicted at all levels of high art such as jade carvings and scroll paintings. Chinese emperors chose to align themselves with the power of the dragon and chose the symbol of the dragon to imply their supreme authority.

In Chinese astrology, dragon years promise success, high achievement, good fortune and prosperity.

Nine Dragons, Chen Rong, Chinese, first half of the 13thC, Southern Song dynasty, dated 1244, ink and color on paper. Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.

JANUARY SALE ON OUR KOREAN TEA!

Our heat-sealed, foil packets of Sejak and Jungjak were packed in Korea and have been stored by us in a cool environment. They are in perfect condition and all are drinking well.

Our supply of these teas is dwindling. Don’t miss the opportunity to experience these delicious teas at very low prices – the next harvest of tea will not be available until late June 2012.

Please visit our website to view our selection or to place an order:

http://www.teatrekker.com/shop/green/other-regions/korea/

Due to the unique and complex combination of agroclimatic conditions (terroir) Darjeeling tea has a distinctive and naturally-occurring quality and flavor which is recognized by tea lovers around the world. The combination of factors give Darjeeling teas qualities that simply cannot be replicated elsewhere.

Essentially, and briefly, this protection, which will ease in over a period of five years, will, when fully in effect, once and finally protect Darjeeling tea producers and their tea from the labeling abuses of others. This is great news for all involved in the business of producing Darjeeling tea, and it is great news for consumers, too.

(In order to be absolutely certain about the origin of our Darjeeling teas, we purchase these teas directly from respected sources in Darjeeling. Our teas are air-shipped directly to our shop with no other parties involved in-between).

Abuses by unscrupulous companies marketing non- Darjeeling tea ( tea grown in other parts of India or in other tea producing countries )  as authentic Darjeeling, or touting tea blends containing a below-minimal percentage of Darjeeling tea in the mix as authentic Darjeeling tea are well-known.

These shady practices have gone on for years with little recourse by the Tea Board of India to stop it. But the Tea Board has been moving up the ladder, one step at a time, over the past dozen or so years, ticking off a list of the requirements and paperwork necessary to build their case for protected status for Darjeeling tea. While I am sure that the amount of time that it took for this achievement to be fulfilled must have been daunting, and at times produced moments of great uncertainty and near loss of faith, the triumphant result has made it all worthwhile.

This is what the group Property Rights Alliance said about the necessity of such legal protections:  “An adequate legal protection is necessary for the protection of legitimate right holders of Darjeeling tea from the dishonest  business practices of various commercial entities. For instance, tea produced in countries like Kenya, Sri Lanka or even Nepal has often been passed off around the world as ‘Darjeeling tea’.

Appropriate legal protection of this GI can go a long way in preventing  such misuse. Without adequate GI protection both in the domestic and international arena it would be difficult to prevent the misuse of Darjeeling Tea’s reputation, wherein tea produced elsewhere would also be sold under the Darjeeling brand, causing damage to consumers and denying the premium price to Darjeeling tea industry. The industry is now waking up to the fact that unless Darjeeling Tea is properly marketed and branded, the survival of the industry may be at stake and GI protection along with stringent enforcement can go a long way in helping the industry to improve its financial situation.”

The European Commission (DG AGRI) has operated three registrations for  agricultural product and foodstuffs worldwide since 1992:

	Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) Open to products produced, processed and prepared within a specific geographical area, and with features and characteristics attributable to that area.
	Protected Geographical Indication (PGI or GI) Open to products produced or processed or prepared within a specific geographical area, and with features or qualities attributable to that area. The difference between PDO and PGI products is that the latter can receive that characterization as long as a certain stage of the production process takes place in the pre-determined region (whereas for PDO products, the entire production process must take place within the pre-determined region).
	Traditional Speciality Guaranteed (TSG) Open to products that are traditional or have customary names, and have features that distinguish them from other similar products. These features need not be attributable to the geographical area the product is produced in, nor entirely based on technical advances in the method of production.

Darjeeling has been granted a PGI or GI, which is wonderful news for these growers. In fact, it is good news for the future of all producers of authentic, unique, terroir-specfic, teas who will, I hope, feel empowered by this judgement and follow the long road and apply for protected status for their teas, too.

China’s prized Longjing tea is the only other tea to receive a Protected Origin Status, and they were granted a PDO. Protected status allows Longjing and Darjeeling teas products to carry the official seal of the European Union, and this visual mark benefits these products in three important ways.

• First:  it protects the identity of the authentic, original product by preventing others from using that name on products that are grown outside of the designated, protected region
• Second: it distinctly separates authentic products from products that are “made-in-the- style-of,” thereby protecting the livelihood of all those within the industry in the protected region
• Third: it protects consumers by guaranteeing that the product they are purchasing is the authentic original

Many well-known European products, such as Champagne and Roquefort cheese from France; Parma ham, Parmeggiano Reggiano cheese from Italy, have received Protected Status. In the marketplace, when a sparking wine is produced in somewhere in the world other than the Champagne region of France, it can only be called sparkling wine. Even if that same bottle of bubbly is processed by the same method as that followed in the Champagne houses in France, it can only be labeled sparkling wine méthode champenoise, which tells consumers that it is a Champagne-style bubbly and not the real thing.

Darjeeling tea is the first PGI status product for the entire country of India. Italy, on the other hand, has a combination of 42 PDO’s and PGI’s for cheese alone, with 6 more pending; they also have been granted 43 PDO’s and 1 PGI for extra virgin olive oil from different geographic regions, with 4 more pending.

Products grown outside of the borders of the European Union have only recently been  able to qualify for this protection, so tea is new to this scheme. But I believe that it is crucial that tea boards and government agencies take the threat of copy-cat tea and mis-labeling abuses seriously.

I hope that the tea industry will learn from the Darjeeling example, and realize that their is something that can be done to protect unique tea. Just imagine how wonderful it will be someday to see a listing of teas protected with PDO and PGI status, and to know as a consumer that you are purchasing the real deal and indeed  supporting the workers whose livelihood you think you are supporting.

2011 has been great 2011 for us at Tea Trekker, and it is all because of YOU, our dedicated and enthusiastic tea customers, readers and blog followers. Our customer base tripled in 2011 as has the numbers of readers following Tea Trekkers Blog. This is a statisticians dream, and it makes us giddy just thinking about it.

We wish to THANK YOU all for your business, but most importantly for….. your trust. We love that you send us earnest questions via email and share with us how much you enjoy the tea and teapots that you purchase. And come into our store excited to be there. We hope we never let you down and that our tea always exceeds your expectations and excites your palate.

2012 is shaping up very nicely. Our first new tea of the season is a sampler of a trio of delicious, high-fragrance Baozhongs plucked from the same tea garden last spring. Keep your eyes open for a stellar selection of winter gao shan from Taiwan’s famous mountains later in this month.  Three new 2011 autumnal dan congs have just arrived and a pair of unusual and interesting yan cha, too. All of these teas will have the educational component of ‘comparative tasting’, and all will post up to the website in the next few weeks.

Our tea travels will most likely take us to India, Nepal and China throughout this year, and possibly Taiwan, too. Japan is on the docket for 2013, and hopefully, Korea as well.

It’s the quiet time of year in the majority of tea gardens around the world. Dormant plants are resting, gathering vigor from the earth into their roots. This energy will begin to circulate throughout the plants as bud-break stimulated leaf growth in the spring.

So, until then, we too rest, and drink tea.

We have been admirers of hand-crafted Japanese Tokoname teapots for years. In fact, we featured a stylish black Tokoname teapot on the cover of our book, The Story of Tea. We had so many queries about that teapot after our book came out that we contacted the tea maker and ordered a quantity of these gorgeous vessels to sell.

Now, four years later, that teapot is no longer being made. So we  re-kindled contacts we made in Tokoname during a brief visit there a few years back and placed an order for a special selection of stunning hand-made teapots. We asked to be sent photographs of works by master Tokoname potters and boy, did our man in Japan deliver! It was difficult for us to decide on which teapots to purchase, but we settled on a selection of stunning choices.

All of these teapots are unique, beautiful and desireable. Each vessel represents the vison of the clay artist, and we decided to mix it up in our selection of color, shape, texture and technique. We are thrilled to offer these functional works of art to our tea enthusiast customers and teawares collectors.

Tokoname has been a center of ceramic production since the 12th century and is, along with the kilns at Seto, Shigaraki, Echizen, Tanba,and Bizen, one of the oldest pottery production sites in Japan. Fortunately for those of us who are clay collectors, many pottery artisans in Tokoname have been honing their skills from a young age, and are now the clay masters. Their teapots are sought after worldwide for many desirable features, such as balance in pouring; skillfully tailored, pleasing shapes; thin-walled sides; highly polished, fine, smooth surfaces or lightly textured, matte finishes; elegant aesthetics, and complete, precise functionality.

Tokoname teapots are made in a variety of shapes and utilize many techniques that are the result of both hand skills and tool work. These teapots are categorized as yakishime – high-fired unglazed stoneware. Tokoname teapots are made from an iron-rich clay, and are very fine in texture. The clay allows the teapot and the tea to interact in a positive way. Many tea connoisseurs believe that unglazed clay sweetens the tea or adds a little minerality or backbone to the flavor of the tea – and those who use these teapots (and Yixing teapots for Chinese oolongs and Pu-erh, and hand-crafted Korean teapots, too ) know what I mean.

In Japan, these stylish teapots are used to steep Japanese green teas, which are long in length and have characteristic thin, needle-like leaves. Japanese green teas are quite different in size and appearance from Chinese green teas, and the best ones are steeped and drunk in small quantities. Accordingly, these teapots may be smaller than what many black tea drinkers may be accustomed to, but they are perfectly sized for steeping Japanese ( or Chinese or Korean ) green teas.

Most Tokoname teapots are kyusu-style teapots, which means that they are constructed with one handle on the side of the teapot. Occasionally western-style handles are placed on these teapots, and these are referred to as ushirode-kyusu-style. If the handle is placed so that it arcs above the opening of the teapot then that is a dobin-style teapot.

Unlike lifeless factory made teapots, these little hand-made teapots are works of art with personality. Each teapot reflects the vision of the artist who made it, and each is as functional as it is beautiful. Any one of these teapots will enhance your tea steeping and tea drinking pleasure.

We requested that all of our teapots have a clay infuser ( not stainless steel or mesh ) built into the spout of the teapot to catch the tea leaves before they exit the teapot. These infusers come in two styles: a flattish sasame strainer or ball-strainer, depending on the preference of the potter.

Please visit our website: www.teatrekker.com for more teapots and more details about these fantastic Tokoname teapots.

The most amazing packaging of all time !

All of our teapots arrived in perfect condition. The person who packed our order did a meticulous job and was  extraordinary careful. As we unpacked the boxes, we discovered that custom-fit cardboard ‘chests’ had been constructed for each grouping of 4-6 teapots. Each ‘chest’ was custom-sized and also lined with bubble wrap. All in all, the outer boxes contained 6 of these ‘chests.’  And each teapot was packed in a cardboard box of paulowina wood box. (This is in direct opposition to  shipments of Chinese ceramics, in which each piece is wrapped in bubble wrap and all are tossed into a previously used box.  I am sure a dose of ‘hope for the best’ goes in there, too!).

I so appreciate it when special items are carefully wrapped, and when the person packing and handling them treats them with the respect that they deserve.

But ask a shopper at a city wet market such as in Shanghai or Hong Kong about the seasonal Hairy Crab and they are likely to point to baskets of fresh crabs that have  begun arriving at the market.  The season  for this  seafood delicacy – Eriocher sinensis or mitten crab, known as ‘ Duaza ha’ in the local Shanghai dialect – has just begun, and availability continues until early February. Fall is when the crabs are fattest and the meat is sweetest. Unlike the Hairy crab oolong which is produced in one specific region of small villages, most of these namesake crabs are the product of freshwater aquaculture ( as are many frogs, turtles and eels in China ) in several locations along the Yangtze river in eastern China. Cooking preparations vary, but many believe that simply steaming the crabs and dipping the meat in ginger, vinegar and soy sauce is the best way to enjoy the sweet white flesh. Hairy Crabs are expensive – as much as $26.00 per crab, depending on where they were raised, so tasting the goodness of the crab meat is of paramount importance.

I can only make and educated guess as to why the tea and the crabs share a common name. Pictorially – and in a highly- imaginative kind of way, these army- grey-green, wrinkly little crabs with their oddly constructed bodies, pointy angles and jutting out arms and legs – do bear conceptional similarity to the irregular shape and color of the Hairy Crab tea leaves.

Do you see the similarity in these pictures?

Hairy Crabs wrapped for sale in the market. Photo by Steve Tauschke

Hairy Crab oolong

As expected, the fall season is filling the markets with a new infusion of both tea and crabs. Our Hairy Crab oolong is from the 2011 spring season, and is fantastically  aromatic and rich in the cup. The fall version of this tea is more full-bodied and less sweet tasting, perhaps a more well-balanced counterpoint to the taste of the cooked crab. Coincidentally, both of these Chinese specialties carry the word ‘sinensis’ ( meaning from China or of China ) in their taxonomic name.

For many tea drinkers the arrival of a new season means a change in daily tea drinking preferences. As fall advances, seasonal changes bring a moody metamorphosis to our New England weather – it can be sunny and golden one minute, then grey and slightly sinister in feeling the next. Bright fall colors are beginning to give way to more somber tomes of light and dark  grey, and a walk in the woodlands revel exposed rock walls, tree roots and fairy houses where summer foliage once thrived.

As the earth turns away from the sun seasonal changes affect all living things – plants, animals and humans, too. As creatures of our environment we respond to the shortened hours of daylight and increasingly cold days by craving different foods and beverages. If we listen to the wisdom of bodies and our inner self, we will find the right balance of sustenance and nurture to keep us in good health and in good spirits during the dark days ahead.

For me, the fresh-tasting, buttery or minerally-crisp green and white teas which gave me so much pleasure during the summer months appeal to me only for morning tea now. In the afternoon and evening, I crave bolder flavors and teas with richer mouth-feel, stronger flavors and more substance in the cup. So I reach for green-style oolongs in the early afternoon and dark oolongs later, when the afternoon light begins to fade and the winds bring a brisk chill to the air. The charcoal-roasted taste of traditional dark oolongs is so satisfying then; it provides a wonderful boost to sagging energy levels. When fall slips into winter, I will leave behind the green-style oolongs behind and settle-in for a rotation of dark oolongs and add some of my favorite Pu-erhs for evening drinking.

The pace of life seems to quicken as the days bring us deeper into fall, and I like to imagine that everyone is, like the squirrels, busy ‘gathering their nuts’ for the shortened days and long nights ahead. Certainly our store has become quite active as regular tea customers are joined by seasonal tea drinkers ready to replenish their cupboards with fresh tea and new tastes.

Fall is the perfect time for tea enthusiasts to replenish supplies of oolongs, or to consider a purchase of oolong this these remain uncharted territory for you. Our shipments of green-style oolongs,  yan cha and dang congs have all arrived in the last 10 days weeks, so our inventory is plentiful in choice and quantity. New selections of Pu-erh will be arriving in early November.

Click on the pictoral links below to view all of the delicious teas that we have for you!

Read her article bellow:

Tea Trekker

by Stacey Cox

For most of us, tea is something that sits on a cupboard shelf. It’s there year-round. Tea may be iced in the summer and hot in the winter, but other than that it doesn’t change much with the seasons.

Robert and Mary Lou Heiss, the duo the New York Times called “The Professors of Tea” are committed to changing all that by bringing seasonal teas to America.

The Heisses , co-authors of The Story of Tea: A Cultural History and Drinking Guide ( Ten Speed Press, 2007 ) and The Tea Enthusiasts Handbook: A Guide to Enjoying the World’s Best Teas ( Ten Speed Press, 2010 ), frequently travel to China, Japan, Korea and Taiwan to source premium, seasonal, artisan-made teas for their shop Tea Trekker

Teas of this distinction are prized by tea aficionados, and should be thought of in the same manner as fine wines, aged cognacs, hand-rolled cigars, and craft cheeses. As with wine, tea is influenced by terroir and weather. The weather patterns of each season contribute flavor and aroma characteristics to the tea that cannot be duplicated other times of the year.

Seasonality in tea refers not just to the particulars of the four seasons, but to a more precise timeframe of days and weeks within each season.  In essence, all tea has a time at which its flavor and aroma is best, and many of the most distinctive teas are made just once a year.

Premium, seasonal, artisan-made teas such as those selected by Tea Trekker are highly anticipated by tea connoisseurs worldwide for the tea drinking pleasure they provide. Thanks to the Heisses, tea enthusiasts here in the United States can now enjoy tea of the same high quality that tea connoisseurs in Berlin, Hong Kong, Kyoto, Paris, and Singapore are drinking.

High-quality teas such as these provide an important, viable economic resource for the experienced tea artisans who produce them, while supplying a delicious, culturally-rich beverage of modest cost for the consumer. On a cup-by-cup basis, premium tea can be enjoyed for less than 75 cents per cup.

Here is a listing of some of the seasonal teas you will find offered at Tea Trekker:

Summer Tea – not the season for premium tea!

Fall Tea:

China: Autumnal Oolong and Yunnan Black Teas

• Oolong plucking begins anew, with fall crops that deliver teas with breathtaking and complex floral aromas: Fenghuang Dan Cong; Tieguanyin; Wu Yi Shan Rock Oolongs ( yan cha )
• Buttery smooth Yunnan black teas (Golden Needles, Golden Tips) that deliver stunning flavor and aroma.

 

Winter Tea:

Taiwan: High Mountain Oolong (gao shan )

• These are the teas of primary significance during this season in East Asia. Tea gardens that produce gao shan oolongs are located at altitudes of 6,000 feet or higher, and produce just two tea harvests each year: one in the winter (the most prized) and one in the spring. Gao shan is very difficult to obtain outside of Taiwan.
• The cold, thin air of this high-altitude environment produces teas that are chewy, juicy and that are a delicious combination of sweetness and slight astringency. Gao shan oolongs are intensely floral and mouth-filling, yet they have an austere, slightly ‘chilled’ aspect to their flavor.

Spring Tea:

• India: 1st flush Darjeeling Teas
• These teas are from the first spring plucking, the most anticipated ( but smallest ) harvest of the year.
• 1st flush Darjeeling is highly prized for its clarity in the cup, outstanding crisp flavor, and distinctive spicy aromas.
• China:  1st Spring Teas
  • Mid-March ( Pre-Qing Ming): the arrival of early spring weather in mid-March begins the plucking season for several premium green, white, and yellow teas such as Longjing, Tianmu Shan Snow Sprouts,  Mengding Mt. Huang Ya, and Yin Zhen.
• China: 2nd Spring Tea
  • Early to Mid- April to Mid-May ( Before the Rains tea): green tea production continues for teas such as Lu Shan andTai Ping Hou Kui; black teas such as Bai Lin, Golden Monkey, Keemun Congou, and Yunnan Curly Golden Buds.  This is the season for distinctive Puerh tea, as well as oolong tea ( the single malt scotches of the tea world ) that are celebrated for having the finest flavors: Fenghuang Dan Cong, Tieguanyin, and Wu Yi Shan Rock teas.
• Japan: Shincha
  • Shincha is plucked in May and is the first tea of the new tea season in Japan.  Shincha is vivid green in color, intensely vegetal in aroma, and pleasantly balanced between sweetness and astringency in taste. The Shincha plucking season is short, approximately 10 days, so tea lovers who await the production of this tea each spring must act quickly!

Tea Trekker was the first tea vendor in the US in 2011 to announce the arrival of Indian and Chinese spring teas. In some instances these teas were only several weeks old when they arrived at the Tea Trekker tea shop.

About Mary Lou Heiss and Robert J. Heiss:

Mary Lou Heiss and Robert J. Heiss are adventurous tea trekkers, tea educators and retailers of premium artisan tea.  They are the co-authors of: The Tea Enthusiast Handbook: A Guide to the World’s Best Teas ( 2010, Ten Speed Press); The Story of Tea: A Cultural History and Drinking Guide ( 2007, Ten Speed Press ) which was nominated for a 2008 James Beard Foundation Book Award and a 2008 IACP Cookbook Award; and HOT DRINKS ( 2007, Ten Speed Press).  When they are not traveling the world sourcing tea, Mary Lou and Bob are often found teaching tea classes in various locations, or at work in their premium tea shop Tea Trekker in Northampton, MA.

For more information, visit Tea Trekker (www.teatrekker.com)

For more in-depth information on Tea Trekker’s blog about seasonal teas, please click here. 

TEA HORSE ROAD: China’s Ancient Trade Route to Tibet

by Selena Ahmed and Michael Freeman, River Books Press (2011)

340 pages, 276 photographs,

“The Tea Horse Road is a narrative of politics, economy, culture and health. It is about ascending empire, a desire for the exotic and a more humble quest for energy, well-being and livelihood.”

So begins the tale of this book. As the title of this book suggests the topic is about an extensive network of physical pathways and small local routes that came to be collectively known as the Tea Horse Road. For centuries, this road carried tea out of the forests of Yunnan Province, China to the faraway lands of Tibet, Nepal, India and Burma.

Astonishing in its feat and staggering in its abundance of perils and danger, the importance of the Tea Horse Road was so great that a former trade route–the Southwest Silk Road (Xi’nan Sichouzhilu)-connecting China with neighboring countries (and carrying such goods as silk, jade, wool, furs, tobacco, salt, and silver from east to west and back again) was renamed the Tea Horse Road (Chama Dao) after tea became the most sought after commodity traveling along the route.

Beginning in the 7^th C the Tea Horse Road transported tea up over the Himalaya by caravans of men and mules. This road served this essential duty until the mid-20th C when paved, motorized highways made the transport of tea faster and easier and rendered the perilous old routes obsolete.

This book is imposing in size (340 pages) and considerably heavy. At first glance it appears as though it might be just another pretty coffee table picture book. Indeed, wonderful black and white photographs appear throughout and offer stark contrast to vivid color images of the rugged landscape and hearty people who live in this area of China and Tibet.

But readers who sit and linger with this book will find that it contains riches. Well-written, concise text effectively introduces us to this colorful part of the world and the importance that both the Tea Horse Road and the tea have to the people who have populated this region for generations.

Yunnan Province has a wealth of natural resources, a grand history, unique cultures, and one of China’s most treasured teas. For me, what sets this book apart from other books that I have read on the topic of The Tea Horse Road is the author’s use of the present to help us understand the past. In the spirit of the meandering local side paths of the Tea Horse Road that brought traders and tea to small pockets of local populations, the author, too, brings us along divergent paths and into the lives and cultures of people in Yunnan, Sichuan, Tibet, Burma and India who were and still are affected by the Tea Horse Road.

I like the layout of the book and the chapter designations. The story moves from place to place, adding this and that bit of relevant information, rather than just following a historical timeline. And I am especially pleased to see the full-sized map positioned in the early pages of the book that clearly illustrates the routes of the Tea Horse Road. I think that maps are essential, and I like editors and publishers who understand how helpful maps are to readers.

Selena Ahmed, co-author with photographer Michael Freeman, is an ethnobotonist (someone who studies human-environment interactions and how plants are managed and used in different cultures ) who has conducted research in Yunnan for years. Her particular interest is in the villages of Yunnan and the tea production systems in place there.

As such, she understands that the Tea Horse Road did not exist in isolation from its surroundings and that it’s location was not happenstance, but that it developed because of many factors particular to Yunnan. By taking a long and wide look at the history and culture of this place, she breathes life into her narrative by discussing much more than just the history of the tea road itself.

For instance, we learn about the tea that traveled over the Tea Horse Road –what we call pu-erh today. Since earliest recorded time, tea has been made in Southwest China with leaf plucked from large leaf varieties of tea trees. From those early days until now, tea has evolved from a crude, simple food to a medicine, to a tonic, and ultimately to a pleasurable beverage. How the tea was back then and how the tea is today is a story too long for this review ( please read the book! ). But let me suffice to say that the tea underwent profound changes brought about by dramatic weather as the tea moved along its journey over the Tea Horse Road, and those changes most certainly influenced how the tea was processed after that fact became known.

Readers learn the story of pu-erh, and why its importance to the people of this region continues today. The best pu-erh is still made using traditional processes and by following certain criteria in leaf plucking and tea manufacture, and storage of the tea after production.

Yunnan’s teas (yes, there are green and black teas, too, in addition to pu-erh) are unique because of many variables: terroir (place) of the region: climate, geography, soil conditions, humidity and rain patterns, etc , and also because the Mekong River has played a pivotal role in keeping this area vital. Over time, many cultural groups have navigated along this waterway mingling tea seeds and tea culture with them as they traveled from the old homelands to new ones in both upland and lowland areas.

Many of these ethnic groups (Akha, Dai, Hani, Jinuo, and others ) trace their roots to ancestors who have lived in these forests over centuries. The 12 Tea Producing Mountains (a reference to the most famous tea growing mountains where many of these ethnic groups live) still maintain old-growth tea tree forests (multi-generational descendants of long-ago wild-growing, indigenous tea trees). This is in contract to the large tea factories and cultivated tea gardens (once operated by the Chinese government in the 20th century but are now privately owned) that are located low down the mountains near the cities.

photograph by Selena Ahmed

For some of these people and their villages, the old tea trees are their patrimony and their children’s inheritance. These trees are a link to their ancestors who took care of the tea trees and made distinctive tea of their own cultural preference from these large-sized tea leaves. This region claims the oldest association between man and the Camellia sinensis tea bush–ancestors of these ethnic groups grew and nurtured ancient tea trees, and consumed tea before China existed as a unified state.

The biodiversity in Yunnan’s tea forests stands in opposition to the intensive mono-cultural practices of modern tea farming. The message here is that much can be learned from the tea farmers in the old growth tea forests, and that intensive tea growing practices, in its haste to bring more product to market faster, can lead to the destruction of land, genetically diverse plants and in some cases, cultural practices.

The authors introduce us to some of the mountain and hill-dwelling ethnic people that populate this region; compelling photographs bring us into their lives and we feel that we are experiencing a small measure of their culture and the hardships they face living in these stunning but remote places. These are the faces of many of the people who make these incredible teas by following traditional, learned practices.

In addition to the story of the tea, the Tea Horse Road is the story of the men (muleteers) and their mules that traveled long and perilous journeys from Yunnan and Sichuan over dangerous roads in hostile weather conditions with their precious cargoes of tea bound for  Tibet, Nepal, and later, India and Burma. It took many months for the caravans to make a round-trip journey, laden with goods for Tibet one way and goods bounds for China on the return journey.

As the author writes: “the task was strenuous and the terrain unforgiving.”  The stories of these perilous journeys defy belief, yet some of these men are still alive to tell their stories. Michael Freedman’s photographs of some of the few men still alive from those days and the terrain over which that they traveled give proof to wary disbelievers.

By the end of this book, we have been treated to a story with many intertwined and nuanced layers, and that has elements worthy of an epic novel: an astonishing commodity, stunning and dramatic geographic locations, rugged people and traditional ways of life and cultures that survive today.

I have traveled in Yunnan Province learning about tea, and I am still in awe of everything about this province. From the link between the tea and the tea plants; the plants to the environment and the environment to the ways of the people; and the people to their culture, religions and their tea drinking habits, I can honestly say that there is no other tea place in China quite like it. Reading this book and luxuriating in the photographs brought me back to tea producing villages in Yunnan Province that I have visited. I am re-inspired to return, and to learn even more about this epic chapter of tea culture.

Ethnobotanist Selena Ahmed studied tea and culture in the mountains of Yunnan for 4 years for her doctoral study at The New York Botanical Garden and City University of New York. Selena is currently a National Institutes of Health TEACRS (Training in Education and Critical Research Skills) post-doctoral fellow at the Antioxidants Research Lab at the Jean Meyer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University. Her research seeks to understand the role of phytochemicals from plant foods in promoting health and reducing risk of chronic disease.

Award-winning photographer and author Michael Freeman has made a specialty of documentary reportage on Asia over the last 3 decades, for the Smithsonian Magazine, Time-Life, the Sunday Times Magazine, and GEO, among many others. He has produced more than 30 books on Asian subjects as diverse as the ancient Cambodian temple complex at Angkor Wat, other sacred places, contemporary Chinese design, and ethnic minorities. He lives in London.

A friend sent me this link to one of those strange, World of the Weird-type news bites that is funny, stupid and pathetic all at once. This one is about tea and it appeared on London’s Daily Mail Online.com.

I pass  along a link to the Daily Mail  in  the spirit of all things ridiculous and shameless. And no, Tea Trekker will not be selling this this tea so don’t even ask !

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1378870/PG-Lips-Chinese-tea-plantation-seeks-virgins-pick-leaves-MOUTHS.html