The drive up the mountain to see late night tea production was beyond nerve wrecking. First of all, a blinding fog rolled in, so visibility was about 2 feet. Then, it is a very steep mountain with hairpin turns. The road is narrow, and unpaved with huge rocks and mud holes. I was convinced that a couple more rattles of that little minivan would shake us off the cliffs. Of course there are no guardrails. The wheels would dangle off one edge as the van made turns to avoid fallen rocks. It was a good thing I left an envelope with instructions in the case of my demise in one of these trips. I take comfort in the fact that I can’t possibly be replaceable and therefore, not going anywhere anytime soon. So there is nothing inside that envelope, folks.
At least the night air smelled delicious.
Once we made it, the night time production was in full swing and the rest of our crew almost went straight to bed as the nap up the scary mountain took too much energy out of them. I observed the rolling and shaping and baking parts of the oolong production, and went to bed prepared for a 5 am rise.
The teas are grown at 1300 meters here, and as far as the eye can see, covering the entire mountain range deep in Anxi. The grades are 50 to 70 degrees steep, and that is basically vertial cliff. The terraces are tall and treacherous. It was ludricrous for any big corporates to grow tea here, because for sure you will need highly skilled, nimble as well as sure footed tea pickers who can scale these cliffs like monkeys. No, Monkey Picked Tikuanyin isn’t picked by actual monkeys, thank god, after meeting those snarling monkeys at Emei Shan.
Part professional craft and mostly art, the production of oolongs and tikuanyins have existed for close to 200 years. The best conditions, said teamaster Wang, was tea bushes grown on the top of these mountains, where a gentle breeze can comb through the leaves from all four directions. No pesticides needed, it is far too chilly and foggy.
The oolongs grown here are Ben Shan, Yellow Gold, Hairy Crab, Mei Zhan, and of course, the incomparably fabulous Tikuanyin.
We followed the morning teapickers out to harvest the shiny, almost oily slick beautiful leaves. Teamaster Wang tells me only in such high elevation and optimal conditions can you find such shiny leaves. Can not pick the leaves right after a rain; the leaves are too heavy and the force needed to pic
k them crushes and starts oxidation too soon. The surface also takes too long to sundry and if they get too dry and the inner moisture gets trapped. Yikes!
The leaves are brought in to sun dry for about 15 minutes before indoor wilting. Then you see them being fluffed and turned for the sun dry. The tumbling and cold storage oxidation occurs within the next hour for the next 5-7 hours, and night production begins. Won’t go about all the procedure here but be assured that this is extremely hard work and requires uncanny knowledge of every minute adjustment of dry, re-moist, roll, fire, shape, bake, and how much steam needs to be let out when. Absolutely meticulous and requires tremendous experience.
W
e were treated to their King's grade Tikuanyin before we left, and the fragrance of osmanthus permeated the room. It was by far the best Tikuanyin we ever had! 
It's difficult to get on this blog, edit, or put photos in within China. Being in these farms mean no internet access. i will try to post the rest in the next couple of days. No folks, i haven't stepped off a cliff, that's not why there hasn't been posts! i was busy fending off the mosquitoes.
At least the night air smelled delicious.
Once we made it, the night time production was in full swing and the rest of our crew almost went straight to bed as the nap up the scary mountain took too much energy out of them. I observed the rolling and shaping and baking parts of the oolong production, and went to bed prepared for a 5 am rise.
The teas are grown at 1300 meters here, and as far as the eye can see, covering the entire mountain range deep in Anxi. The grades are 50 to 70 degrees steep, and that is basically vertial cliff. The terraces are tall and treacherous. It was ludricrous for any big corporates to grow tea here, because for sure you will need highly skilled, nimble as well as sure footed tea pickers who can scale these cliffs like monkeys. No, Monkey Picked Tikuanyin isn’t picked by actual monkeys, thank god, after meeting those snarling monkeys at Emei Shan.Part professional craft and mostly art, the production of oolongs and tikuanyins have existed for close to 200 years. The best conditions, said teamaster Wang, was tea bushes grown on the top of these mountains, where a gentle breeze can comb through the leaves from all four directions. No pesticides needed, it is far too chilly and foggy.
The oolongs grown here are Ben Shan, Yellow Gold, Hairy Crab, Mei Zhan, and of course, the incomparably fabulous Tikuanyin.
We followed the morning teapickers out to harvest the shiny, almost oily slick beautiful leaves. Teamaster Wang tells me only in such high elevation and optimal conditions can you find such shiny leaves. Can not pick the leaves right after a rain; the leaves are too heavy and the force needed to pic
k them crushes and starts oxidation too soon. The surface also takes too long to sundry and if they get too dry and the inner moisture gets trapped. Yikes!The leaves are brought in to sun dry for about 15 minutes before indoor wilting. Then you see them being fluffed and turned for the sun dry. The tumbling and cold storage oxidation occurs within the next hour for the next 5-7 hours, and night production begins. Won’t go about all the procedure here but be assured that this is extremely hard work and requires uncanny knowledge of every minute adjustment of dry, re-moist, roll, fire, shape, bake, and how much steam needs to be let out when. Absolutely meticulous and requires tremendous experience.
W
e were treated to their King's grade Tikuanyin before we left, and the fragrance of osmanthus permeated the room. It was by far the best Tikuanyin we ever had! 
It's difficult to get on this blog, edit, or put photos in within China. Being in these farms mean no internet access. i will try to post the rest in the next couple of days. No folks, i haven't stepped off a cliff, that's not why there hasn't been posts! i was busy fending off the mosquitoes.
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