The Consummate Connoisseur Tea

There will never be enough Phoenix Oolongs to make a business, laments Mr . Lin and Mr. Ge, both farmers and tea masters. Mr. Lin spends time trying to help his family sell their teas, while Mr. Ge focuses on roasting and finishing and entering competitions. Last night and this morning, I spent the entire time with Mr. Lin and his brother, making their small, only batch of Pommelo Fragrance oolong from the winter harvest. His wife sorts the stems and imperfect leaves out. Last night’s blackout now over, the weather has also changed into an anomalous hot day. There was no harvesting up at the upper elevations but at 300-400 meters, the tea pickers were out. Still, one will never see a sea of harvesters such as at other tea farms. At Phoenix, not only are the trees few, the leaves fewer, the farmers were also scarce.
Mr. Lin confided that some large enterprises have come to talk to their village about exporting their Phoenix Oolongs. The problem is, they hardly have enough supply for the locals. The locals will pay 2000RMB for their tea, which, in their standard of living, is like, $2000 USD for a lb. Foreigners may consider paying 10% of that. The lower grade lower elevation versions can be had for much less, but then, Phoenix teas never do well mixed together. They each have their distinct fragrances, so the batches are all separate. That also means that alas, you can not sell 1000 kgs and have everything all blended together which is what they are accustomed to in the West.
Besides, 1000 kgs? Not a chance for that kind of quantity. Most foreigners turn on their heels at this point.