On Apr 22, 10:43 pm, magicleaf > wrote:
> l visited the anxi mountains a few days a go and observed the entire
> process of how the tie guan yin teas are made, really interesting
> stuff. There are so many small familes processing this tea and then
> they rush it off to the market. I noticed that there are guys all over
> the fields spraying chemicals on the bushes to kill the bugs, which
> was quite an eye opener and as you drive a long there are tea leaves
> being withered on top of concrete buildings and people sitting around
> tables sorting the leaves and guys on motorbikes flying around the
> corners with teas on big bags. What a business
>
> The best part was I was given at the one factory some aged tie guan
> ying , it looked dark, the leaves really krinkled and hardly a smell
> to it. Apparantely it is kept in porcelin pots and has to be fired
> evry year in a wok to keep the moisture out and maintain its quality.
> After tatsing it I was totally blown a way . This tea is really really
> nice. Crisp honey fired notes and a woody taste which is subtle and
> friendly and this tea just made brew after brew after brew and still
> had a dominant character. I asked for half a pound but they only gave
> a small sample in a tiny zip lok bag which is now safely in a sealed
> tin in my soitcase. did not know that aged oolong existed.. and thank
> you Yigo , for those who dont know ,Yigo contacted me through this
> forum and he lives in china ,and I called him when I arrived in china
> as promised and invited him to join me on this adventure and of course
> he dived at the opertunity and we had a very fruitful experience
> together.
>
> Maurice
>
> www.tea-junction.com

Great stuff Maurice. Which An Xi village did you visit? It is a very
interesting area of China and fascinating to see production cycles and
also how dependent the area is on tea. Fujian people I believe, though
I have no figures for this, must people one of the largest tea
drinkers in the world. You can't go in to a home without seeing a tea
tray and normally this is in constant use! I have been keeping a blog
at: http://travelocitea.blogspot.com/

The chemical situation also worries me, expecially being English/
European, organics is a very important topic which is relevant for us
all. Interestingly I noted a comment in another forum that African
teas are some of the best in this respect, pollution is very low and
at this time chemicals are very expensive so putting them out of the
range of tea farmers, except those on big, internationally, owned
estates. In China and India the situation varies considerablely from
place to place.

On the point about aged Oolongs, for those that buy them regularly I
would suggest putting a bit a way each year. It is an interesting
experiment on how they alter. I must say the 5 and 10 years Oolongs I
have drunk are very interesting, produce a lovely colour liquor but I
would still the fresh version or go for a Yunnan Pu Er.

Happy tea drinking all,

James

http://www.wanlingteahouse.com