West Lake and Long Jing

To Hangzhou city and West Lake, famous for Long Jing green tea, also known as Dragon Well. It has a very recognisable flattened leaf, with a strong flavour, and is one of the most well known green teas in China. Spring Long Jing is revered by green tea connoisseurs all around the world.
I'm not sure what i expected, but it was a big disappointment. West Lake is a popular tourist destination, and the roads were lined with coaches bringing thousands of visitors to enjoy the scenery. A real contrast to being in the hills and mountains.

We made our way up from the lake to Wen Jian, where Long Jing is made in small batches in individual houses, from leaf picked in tea gardens in the hills above the village. But this is very unlike what I experienced in the more remote villages in the Phoenix mountains. It is a prosperous place, with fine houses and something of a mediterranean feel, presumably built on the high price of Long Jing tea over many years.

We saw some tea being made - pressed by hand against the sides of a hot wok. It was certainly a very skilled process, but it left me feeling rather flat. I'm not sure why the environment in which tea is made should make so much difference, but it does (to me at least). In Wen Jian it's perfectly possible to buy high quality tea from a good source, but it just lacks something. It turns out there are other options much further away and I will be pursuing those. I think it's important for Fortnum & Mason to have top quality tea, but also a point of difference.

We took a leisurely walk back down to the lake, discussing Chinese tea history, which is one of Jennifer's favourite subjects. I will need to get myself a decent book. Then to the National Tea Museum, which is superb. It covers every aspect of tea in an interesting and very accessible way - for tea geeks like us it's a good afternoon out!

Jennifer and Ken

I am travelling with Jennifer Jiang and her husband Ken. They have a small company called JKTeashop and I have been buying from them for almost a year. Jennifer got in touch after I posted a request in a web group for help in making contact with artisan producers in China.

We found that we had the same philosophy about identifying the best farmers and tea makers, and building close relationships with them over many years. She makes regular visits, particularly in spring, and she has arranged her schedule this year so that I can travel with her and see as many types of tea as possible.

Although we had chatted on skype and exchanged numerous emails, all I really knew about Jennifer before this trip was that she has a deep knowledge of tea, a fine appreciation of quality, and (shall we say) that 'she knows her own mind'. I received a few replies to questions last year that rather put me in my place, but I have no problem with that - there are some big gaps in my knowledge and I am keen to learn. And it was probably as much to do with her use of English as anything.

I now know that she is 29, charming, always wanting to learn more, and knows her own mind. She has built up her expertise over only six years,  which I think is due to her sheer love for tea, good advice from others,  empathy with tea producers and an insatiable appetite for knowledge.I have no doubt that she will go on to become one of China's great tea experts.

Ken is playing a supporting role on this trip, and focusing on photography, which is a big passion of his. He needs a rather large backpack just for his camera kit, but he really knows what he's doing and I am looking forward to seeing the results. Ken is fairly quiet but totally unflappable and makes everything happen. It was his idea to set up the business - they complement each other very well and I can see why it works.

They are easy to travel with and good company. One of the things I will remember from this trip is the abrupt announcement "let's go", coming suddenly and unexpectedly after meals and other breaks in the day. And I mean sudden - I have asked to be allowed to finish my tea on several occasions, and even had to stop writing notes mid-sentence. Oh, and Jennifer telling me to "take it easy" every time someone pours me a glass of beer. Fair enough.

Anji Baicha, just about perfect

Let me paint the picture. An upland valley surrounded by forests, planted with tea bushes, the scent of Wisteria in the air, large butterflies and a background of birdsong.

Given all this, I could make allowances for the tea, but I don't need to. Try to imagine small leaves so delicate that they are almost transparent, appearing the palest lime green as the sun catches them. This is Anji Baicha, or Anji 'White Tea'.

The name comes from the pale colour, and in fact the leaves are made into a very fine green tea. It has become a personal favourite, and was also a big success at Fortnum & Mason last season, selling out in a matter of weeks.

 It is almost the perfect green tea - beautiful to look at, easy to prepare and with a subtle and lingering flavour. It is also very expensive, as the top grade is picked on only a single day each year. Teas picked on subsequent days are also very fine, and eagerly awaited in the local teashops. This means it is quite difficult for outsiders to get hold of early teas, and why good local relationships are so important.

Our tea comes from Qian Qunyin, a renowned expert who also has a very fine tea centre in Anji town. She is an impressive lady, with real presence. She is also recognised for producing the finest quality Baicha.

I came away loaded with sample packs, and will be happy to share the experience with anyone who is interested in how good a green tea can be.

Purple Leaf Bamboo Shoot Tea

To Guzhu Mountain near Changxing, the home of Purple Lead Bamboo Shoot Tea (Zhishun Cha).

Cards on the table here. I don't think the look if the tea lives up to its name, and in that respect it was something of a disappointment.

A small number of the young buds are purple, but they are not picked separately and the final product is little different in colour from other green teas. Similarly, I'm not convinced that the tea shoots resemble bamboo shoots. The original plants grew in a bamboo forest, and the bamboo shoots themselves are purple, so maybe that's a factor. (That's me with a real bamboo shoot in the picture below).

Having said all that, the tea made from these leaves has a lovely flavour and is keenly sought after. I think it's partly a case of preserving and celebrating something important from local tea history, which I completely understand. It must make much more sense locally than it does to me as an ignorant outsider. This has been picked up on by specialist buyers in Japan and elsewhere, so maybe I am missing the point. It might appear in Fortnum & Mason yet. 

After trip reflection
I got this a bit wrong. I should have focused on the quality of the tea and its historical importance, and not got hung up on the name. I have tasted it again and recognise it as a fine tea. It will be on the Fortnum & Mason list.


As far as the local history is concerned, Purple Leaf Bamboo Shoot tea was a favourite of Emperor Daizong during the Tang Dynasty, and Guzhu is now something of a tea tourist centre. It has  an enormous new tea museum dedicated to Lu Yu (733-804), venerated as "The Tea Sage", and writer of The Tea Classic, the first monograph on tea in the world.
There is such a rich tea history in China, and it underpins the reverence which is still shown to tea, particularly in ancient tea areas such as Yunnan. This is one of the things that makes visiting China so special for me.

Bi Luo Chun

From Shanghai to the city of Suzhou and Tai Lake, the third largest in China. Across three bridges to West Island, the home of Bi Luo Chun. One of the most famous green teas in China, it has very distinctive soft curled leaves, dark greenish-grey in colour with silver buds. It is very light and almost fluffy to the touch:

The bushes are grown on a wooded hillside above the village, and are all the original Bi Luo Chun variety.

Only the shoots and smallest leaves are picked.

This is a completely handmade tea, simply using a wok to heat the leaves as they are repeatedly pressed and rolled by an expert tea maker.

The process takes 40 minutes and when the tea leaves the wok it only needs to cool, there is no more processing of any kind.

It is an amazing piece of skill and great to watch.

 

 

The fresh tea has a very sweet fragrance.

Seeing all that is involved in producing perhaps 500g of tea in this way helps me to understand why the best Chinese teas are so highly valued.

Versions of Bi Luo Chun are now produced in other parts of China, often using machines, but they are really not the same. If you see a very even twisted leaf it is not a handmade tea.

The flavour is soft and delicate with a sweet aftertaste. As with all green teas, the best method of preparation in in a tall straight glass - about an inch of water at 85C first, add a dessert spoonful of leaves, then top up with water. Allow the leaves to open, then taste. It will have no colour but a good aroma and flavour. You will be able to repeat this process with the same leaves 2 or 3 times if the tea is of high quality.

Jennifer checking samples from various batches to assess their quality

It all starts on Tomb Sweeping Day

The tea season is very short in China. In most other countries picking lasts for nine to twelve months, but in China the traditional season is only ten days. It starts at Ming Xian, Tomb Sweeping Day, which usually falls on April 5th, and continues for until the lunar festival of Gu Yu, when the rains are expected to start.

In practice the start of the season is determined by the weather, as the shoots and young leaves must be picked when they are exactly the right size. This year has been warm, so the season started early and is already coming to a close.

This is something I am still trying to come to terms with. Most of my tea experience has been in India and Africa, where the idea of just picking the bushes once and then leaving them alone for 11 months would be seen as absurd. The bushes are very different, but so is the philosophy. Remember that some tea trees in China are hundreds of years old and still being picked every year. As mentioned previously, these teas are very highly prized.

It's just a different way of looking at things. India produces some very fine teas, with a style and character all their own. How can you compare a prime First Flush Darjeeling to a High Mountain Dancong Oolong? Both would be in my Top Ten.

'Technical Fault'

I apologise for the limited output and particularly for the lack of pictures and video. I have loads to upload but no Internet other than on my phone. A big thankyou to my daughter Hannah for uploading stuff on my behalf, but this is limited by my lack of dexterity and patience (small phone, big hands). I'll catch up properly when I get back.

The Phoenix Mountains

The Phoenix Mountains are famous for Dancong Oolong teas. Dancong means 'single taste', and teas from specific strains of tea tree are picked and processed separately to highlight their individual flavour characteristics. In all there are ten different types, the most famous being Honey Orchid and Yellow Sprig (Gardenia). It has been fascinating to see the intricacy of these teas and to learn about the subtle flavour differences.

The picking season only lasts for ten days each year and I am here at exactly the right time. Everywhere we go we see tea leaves laid out at the side of the road drying in the sun:

We are staying in Fenghuang town (Fenghuang means Phoenix), travelling with Mr Wu, using his sister's house a base and eating all our meals there with the family. As with most families here they pick and process their own tea, which is done in part of the house. It's a very different experience for me having leaves laid out on the floor to wither and being roasted while we eat and drink a few feet away. I was allowed to do some of the hand-rolling of the leaves this morning before breakfast.

During the days we have travelled into the Wudong and Jin mountains to see the tea trees and taste along the way - stopping at houses Mr Wu knows and tasting what they have just made. It's all informal and very hospitable but also quite serious - business is done as we go.

(above: me with Lan Xiu Yu, Dancong tea farmer)

I have always enjoyed tasting teas at source and meeting with producers, and this has taken it to a whole new level - real artisan tea making. I hope I will be able to buy small quantities from some of the people I met and drank tea with today.

The higher up the mountain the better, and the older the tree the better, as far as quality is concerned. This is defined as CHAQI, taste that is not instant but rises from deep inside, coats your palate and lingers. It is a passionate expression here, with real emotion, and there really isn't an adequate English equivalent. Teas with good chaqi cost serious money.


Highlight of the day? Hard to choose,  but I think one stands out, and partly because it can never be seen outside China. This was the 'Ice Dancong', freshly rolled and fermented leaves that are frozen without being dried (see image below). The tea is brewed from frozen and is all aroma. It has become very popular locally but doesn't travel well!

Flying to Shanghai tomorrow and then on to Suzhou for Tai Lake and Bi Luo Chun green tea.

The Programme....

Welcome to my China blog.
I'm a tea specialist and enthusiast, sourcing rare teas on behalf of Fortnum & Mason in London. They are the most famous food shop in the UK, and pride themselves on stocking a range of the world's finest teas. My job is to select the range, comprising classic varieties and much rarer types that are uniquely available in the F&M store.
I'm leaving for China tomorrow, and the programme is still a bit "temporary". I know where I'm going, but not exactly in what order or what form of transport. It all adds to the sense of discovery.
During the trip I'm expecting to see Dancong Oolongs, Long Jing, Pi Lo Chun, Keemun, Huo Shan Huang Ya, Liu An Gua Pian, and Anji Baicha. If some of the names are unfamiliar all will become clearer during the next two weeks. Anji Baicha is of particular interest because it is only picked on a single day each year, depending on the weather. Last year it was April 11th, so I might be lucky.
One of the key objectives of the trip is to find some especially interesting and unusual signature teas for F&M. Last year I found them a very rare 2002 Purple Leaf Puer cake, which they have just sold for £3000. It shows that people attach great value to rarity and quality, which is very motivating for me.