Tea Notes, March 2021

Warm greetings!

Not quite officially spring yet, but the Chinese garden at the Huntington Library nearby was showing blooms around lunar new year in February:

Butterfly Pea Flower & Mango Blend

The dramatic and unusual blue that pea flowers impart has made this a trendy ingredient in beverages. Some samples definitely deliver on color, but not always on taste. This new blend with mango has the familiarity of mixed fruit and is eminently quaffable. The color may be odd but the flavor is friendly and not at all strange.

If an anecdote can serve as a sign of improving conditions, our transport companies report being busy. Truckers who come to pick up our outbound pallet orders speak of full dispatch schedules, often arriving late just before we close. I hope  more teas continue to move, giving a little boost to our mental resilience, in line with the NYTimes urging its readers to “Settle in for a Cuppa,” suggesting that “tea might be the perfect drink for the pandemic winter malaise.” (2/28/2021)

Arriving Teas must now stretch into April because shipping capacity shortages and congestion at ports and terminal depots continue to disrupt the supply chain. On top of rising shipping rates (e.g, >$1000 more for a 20FCL than December), we are now seeing the addition of “congestion charges.”

The delays made the front page of the NYTimes on March 7^th, with a picture showing ships on the water at Long Beach, and the headline ‘I’ve Never Seen Anything Like This’: Chaos Strikes Global Shipping.’ (The quote came from the head of Maersk, the world’s largest shipping lines.)  Each week we receive notices about a new later date when a vessel is actually docked at port.

Many of the teas on our Arrivals List represent the last batches of summer Jasmine and fall Oolong teas from our sales contracts. Among the incoming teas is a modest quantity of Single Trunk Oolongs, known as Dancong.

One reward of using a lidded vessel when brewing tea is sensing the aroma when the lid is lifted, whether from a mug, pot, or bowl. This is an ephemeral moment, but we all recognize how smells can be powerfully evocative in retrieving memories and places. As a recent article about smell shows, there is much to learn about this sense, the importance of which has gained more attention in the past year since the temporary loss of smell is a symptom of COVID-19.

There are a few ways we perceive food, and not all are particularly well-understood. We know that much of it happens in the olfactory bulb, a small lump of tissue between the eyes and behind the nose, but how the stimuli arrive at this part of the brain is still being worked out.

The researchers identified two pathways that smells reach our brains: “Orthonasal (what we typically think of as smelling) and retronasal (what we associate with eating).”

The article goes on to consider a fine distinction:

Taste’ vs. ‘flavor’: What’s the difference?

 

“Taste” refers to the taste buds in the tongue to identify tastes like sweet, sour, bitter, salty and umami. “Flavor” is a sort of umbrella term that incorporates taste, but also the smell of the food and its texture as well.

 

If I ask what flavor is, most people will say ‘taste’ — the flavor of food and the pyramid of food that we’ve created in the Western world is very much based on taste, not the smell component,” he said. “But a big part of flavor is actually the other part of the chemosensation — the smell components. Smell happens pretty much — not just in humans but also animals — as we chew our food. When we chew the food, molecules are released and become airborne.

 

{Citation: “Taste and Its Two Ways to the Brain,” by William Weir, Yale News, Feb. 12, 2021.}

I am guilty of using these two terms, taste and flavor, interchangeably. The important role of smell in our overall experience is a reminder to pay close attention to this aspect of teas we evaluate.

I used to get nervous when trade show attendees picked up trays of dry leaves to sniff, eager with anticipation. Other than flavored and scented teas, they were not likely to get much from those dry leaves. Removing moisture to render the tea stable is, after all, a key part of processing. Knowledge of processing methods might have forestalled those attendees from any disappointment, politely left hidden.

Moving on from such images, however, there is apt to be more confusion. 

First, why is “Phoenix (FengHuang)” often attached to the category?

Second, these teas are very place specific, being from Chaozhou in Guangdong province. Yet within the growing area, there are many mountains and valleys. So within this rather narrow region, the range of names and flavors widens considerably.

Single Trunk Oolongs are a specialty associated with ChaoZhou city, although the tea trees are some distance from the city proper, where little cups of the Oolong are a nice part of restaurant meal service. (The ChaoZhou dialect and Cantonese are not mutually intelligible, although most ChaoZhou natives are adept in both.)

In the larger ChaoAn District, there is Phoenix Town (FengHuang) named for the famed Phoenix mountain range nearby. This range covers several mountains, including the formidably named WanFeng Mtn. (10,000 Peaks). “Phoenix” is the enveloping region and each sub-zone has its own Single Trunk teas, named after the localities and nearby mountains. Hence, “Phoenix Single Trunk” is a broad term that covers several tree types, each distinct enough to warrant its own name.

The oldest such tree ascribed to the Phoenix area, with references in texts dating back to the late Southern Song dynasty, is over 500 years old. In 1980 one official name “Song Zhong Dancong” was created. This appellation is no longer very accurate. Today Song Zhong is one among several cultivars in that high mountain cloud tea group. (Our item is #4602.)  Other better known types include MiLan (Honey Orchid), Bai Yeh (White Leaf), and Shui Mi (White Peach), none of which is scented.

The dozen or so tree types share a similar climate in this corner of Guangdong. The tea trees are found at elevations between 350m to 1500m, where they are surrounded by clouds and fog year round. The temperature difference between day and night is large; sunshine is limited but filtered light and high humidity nurture the trees. Within this area, slight variations in topography, soil (mostly red soil), and trace elements play a role in the formation of fragrance and taste, and are especially conducive to the production of aromatic substances.

One term used to describe Single Trunk teas is 独具山韵, which googletranslate renders as “unique mountain charm,” a simple literal reading. “Shan Yun” refers to a deeper layer of sensory response that can only be revealed, but not sought. The phrase might not be easy to decipher, but the experience of smelling and tasting Single Trunk teas, of letting the characteristics reveal themselves, of sensing that distnctive character, is readily attainable and immensely satisfying.

At blind tastings at tea competitions, it was always easy to pick out a Single Trunk tea among other Oolongs and one I was happy to spot. Dancongs share a nectar quality, accompanied by the fragrance of flowers from ginger plants, and a finish of honeyed nuts. These are generous teas: the tea’s lingering finish is a well known feature, and after the last sip, the mouth is left with a pleasant aftertaste, easy to hold onto and savor. Beyond this general profile, the micro environment of each tree type is reflected in subtle but discernible nuances.

If we prize Green and White teas for their minimalist processing and hold expectations about their flavors accordingly, then the more labor intensive Single Trunk teas do in fact deliver a fine payoff: complex, fussy processing rewards with a multi-faceted, layered cup.

Armed with even a little tea education, consumers are likely to derive more enjoyment from their cups. There is yet another side to tea knowledge, beyond some understanding of how processing affects flavor, and that has to do with the prevention of contamination.

In recent years it has become more evident that what matters to consumers when buying beverages and food are product ingredients and food safety. 

With respect to straight (unblended) teas, the ingredient list is easy: there is only one, Camellia sinensis. (Two in the case of flower-scented-only teas.) 

Farm to cup safety is not as straightforward. From my soapbox I have observed that the notion of direct shipments of teas from farmer to consumer can be a beguiling one, as we become accustomed to reading menus naming the dairies and farms from which cheeses and produce come.

There are American grown teas, of course, but most of the teas consumed in this country come from distant lands. Importing from established tea companies need not mean that one is supporting unfair labor or other dubious practices. The FDA, for one, issues voluminous pages stipulating what importers must do in assessing their suppliers. In addition, third-party certifications (for organic, EU compliant standards, and GMP) build trust and also add value.

On the subject of traceability, one of my most treasured photos shows a factory manager logging in a sample taken from a farmer’s plucking. The small sample was locked after being recorded at the processing plant. This simple step is an early part of the entire HACCP process, monitoring all the critical hazard points, from the garden to the truck delivering teas at the final destination. The FDA requires information about this trail before a ship sails, from the factory to the container loading, and transport to the point of entry. Our assessment of producers does not stop there.

The prospect of getting small parcels of tea directly from a farmer loses some of its appeal when one realizes that large portions of the process of monitoring safety are missing. 

Knowing our suppliers means not just knowing the quality of their teas, but having knowledge of their monitoring. In safety-speak terms, we require documented validation and verification. Then at our end, certificates of analysis performed by labs here further bolster our records. 

Well informed tea consumers need not know all the steps in food safety protocol or that, for instance, the ubiquitous ISO certification has more to do with management practices than operations, but they ought to be apprised of the general overall cautionary steps and third party certifications that ensure a safe cup.

Such record keeping is ongoing year round. At this time we are at the cusp of seeing spring tea work, a more enjoyable task.

Springing Forward!

In southwestern China tea work has begun. In the eastern coastal province of Fujian, plucking this season began earlier than it did last year, with Jin Jun Mei (Gold Tribute) being one of the first to be picked, right about now.

Here are a few spring teas that will be the first to arrive:

Snow Sprouting Green from Guangxi, (garden shown at left), first picked Feb. 23.

The next two are from Sichuan, and so shall be coming in soon:

• “Bamboo Leaves” Green
•  Honeysuckle Dew Green

Two of the hottest Wuyi teas now are both Rou Gui, named for famous nearby boulders:  Horse Head Rock and Bullpen Pit. (MaTouYan Rou Gui, and Niu Lan Keng Rou Gui)

Prices are forbiddingly high, following the trend that Jin Jin Mei enjoyed a few years ago. Press coverage about these Rou Gui prices reinforces the cachet propping up Wuyi teas, and while there is a lesson here about just how specific, how narrow “place” can be in tea terms, taste along with value should still be the overriding criterion.

Springing ahead, there are other discoveries and teas with which to reacquaint ourselves. The pluck may not be the very first, but the takeaway from spring Green teas is about freshness and coming upon a surprising range in taste in a category that was so little manipulated. And often there is a fine postscript about its place of origin as well.

The two Rou Gui examples show the heights in price and media attention teas can reach. At a more realistic level, a few photos serve as shorthand to highlight several teas. These may not be newsworthy but are the types of teas that make a solid foundation in any menu.

Golden Sprouting Buds Black

For those new to tea, the all gold-coppery look of this Sprouting Buds tea must be enticing, since it bears little resemblance to the usual image of Black teas.

The color gives easy evidence of high quality plucking, and the price makes it more affordable than comparable single-bud and budset Black teas.

Two Keemun Styles

Looking at Keemun Congou traditional teas, it seems almost a disservice to refer to these as Brokens, the traditional term. These fine leafed teas are clearly not the BOPs with which we are more familiar.

As I explained in a 2019 post, there is a step in Keemun processing where the leaves are bashed during the very important secondary stage, after which they are sieved and sorted for uniformity. The process is one of breaking, but the finished tea is not the usual cut up BOP we know. On the contrary, a first grade Keemun congou exhibits one of the prettiest leaf styles in the Black tea category.

In contrast, the more recently developed Keemun Maofeng bypasses this bashing step, and the entire pluck of a bud with two leaves is processed, which is very evident in the infused leaves. 

This photo illustrates these two manufacturing styles and how intent guides the methods, one with a long history and one responding to consumer preference.

Qing Ming, the grave sweeping ceremony, falls on April 5th this year, a date meaningful in the tea context. The observance each year coincides with periods of sustained light rain. Teas that are made before this date are termed “Ming Qian” or “Before the Rains” and fetch higher prices.  We’ll have a few of the former and more from “after the rains,” when prices are friendlier.

 With best wishes,

Lydia

March 12, 2021