Tea Notes, March 2022

We have just marked the official start of spring, March 20th. Looking back at tea garden conditions in China a month ago, the surprising news was unusually heavy snow in tea growing regions.  Below, a view of Yellow Mtn. (HuangShan) in Anhui in Feb. this year.

Even Kunming in southwestern Yunnan, known for its year-round mild climate, had snow in mid-February, an event not seen since some 25 years ago.

In February this year, China experienced three significant weather systems bringing snow. The prospect of frost and snow on tea bushes is apt to raise alarm immediately, just from instinct. And yet reports of heavy snow also came with forecasts about a good spring crop. How may we reconcile these two outlooks? 

The picking of spring tea in some parts of the country has been pushed back due to continuing low temperatures. So the negative results of this delay are a likely reduction in the output and rising prices for early (pre-Qing Ming) rare teas. In addition, and depending on a region’s timing of spring conditions and how long the cold lasts, if heavy snow causes serious damage to the new sprouts in a cold wave, tea buds are likely to be reduced. From early March, I saw reports that temperatures were warming up.

Yet there is some basis for the adage that snow presages a good spring tea season. First, lower temperatures are more conducive to the synthesis and accumulation of nitrogen-containing compounds, so the content of free amino acids and other nutrients in spring tea this year will be higher, yielding better aroma and taste.  Second, a cold wave discourages pests, reducing the need for pesticides.

Starting from the southwest where spring first appears, Yunnan usually enjoys warm and dry weather helped by air flow from the Bay of Bengal. The first tea to merge in Yunnan is from the Simao area.  Other early teas include Yunnan Green and golden tipped Black teas. We should keep in mind that Yunnan is a  large province with different pockets of tea locales and mountains, with slow tea growth in the hilly areas where many old trees are found.  We have to wait till April for teas from these ancient trees. 

The shortage of tea pickers has been an issue for some years now. In Yunnan the problem is not as severe, especially at the border area where many minorities reside. These various groups choose to live and work locally, and there are even workers from Myanmar who travel only a short distance to pick tea during the height of the plucking season. This trend, however, has slowed the last two years due to the pandemic. 

In eastern China, tea factories must compete for workers against other factories that can offer steady year-round employment, and I recall seeing many seniors doing the picking, as in Taiwan where high mountain teas are picked by hand. Tea becomes an important additional source of income, albeit seasonal, for the elderly, while a younger generation moves to industrial zones for full-time jobs.

Above: en route to Lu Mtn.

Jiangxi’s forest coverage ranks second in the country and situated at 30 degrees north latitude, the region is a high quality tea-belt area. When tea companies were still state owned (until the 1908s), in the Shanghai export tea department, Jiangxi’s teas were used to “enhance” the character of teas from other provinces, such as Sichuan. 

Jiangxi has the traditional small leaf tea bushes. The amino acid content of tea grown in this area is generally higher than that from other areas, due to soil and climate conditions, and the content of heavy metals in Jiangxi teas is the lowest in China. 

There are three pre-eminent producing areas in Jiangxi: Lu Mountain, WuYuan, and FuLiang.

Lu Mountain enjoys a strong tea identity in the domestic market. WuYuan is now fairly well known in the international market because of its organic teas. FuLiang is near the porcelain capital of Jingdezhen, underlining the connection between fine teas and fine china.

Scenic as the area is, my most vivid memory of Lu Mtn. is of an arduous, hope-never- to- be-repeated trek up the mountain during a first visit in 2006. The walk down was long but manageable with stairs, and we were — naively, as it turned out — reassured by the slight of gondolas overhead – of easy ride back up. When we reached the base, we learned that the power was out, disabling the cable cars. Someone in our group did count the steps we climbed on our way up, an astonishing number and exhausting. The park ranger sent two helpers to make sure everyone in our tea group (“foreign visitors”!) was safe. Cheerful and welcoming, this pair tried to raise our spirits with rousing songs! (not quite the aid we hoped for).

This package (shown above) was in a tea shop at the train station in NanChang, Jiangxi’s capital. Very typical of many packaging formats, there is little information about the special grade Clouds & Mist tea inside, even though as one of China’s Big 10 Teas, Lu Mtn. deserves much more copy. 

Geese at PoYang Lake, Jiangxi

The drive to WuYuan county recalls exceptionally green vistas. Exports to England date back to the 18th century. More significantly, WuYuan obtained 3rd-party organic certification in 1998.

The tea base covers approximately 2,100 square kilometers in the WuYuan DaYan Mountain range, where the highest point reaches 1630 m. In tea terms, WuYuan is divided into three areas: 1) an alpine ecological zone where gardens are situated between 800-1000 m and yield high quality organic teas; 2) a central area for Green teas; and 3) a large export teas producing zone, in the southwest, comprising about one third of the total area. A 1982 survey identified 55 tea varietals (single bushes).

A quick perusal of auction catalogues will spot the emphasis given to Jingdezhen marks on antique porcelains.  About four hours away from NanChang by car is the tea producing center FuLiang, once known as tea’s “hometown,” but its repute receded as the fame of porcelain overtook the renown of teas. The combination, or connection between FuLiang and Jindezhen, is hard to beat.

 Moving  a little northward, we find spring tea work beginning in Anhui. Here is an approximate timetable for new crops for that province’s signature teas:

Yellow Mtn. Maofeng (HuangShan Maofeng), a Green whose identity is inexorably tied to place, March 20th; usually the earliest in Anhui;

Tai Ping Hou Kui, sometimes known as Monkey King. whose dramatic hand-pressed shape makes it an iconic announcement of spring teas, April 10th.

Tai Ping Hou Kwei is often chosen as the tea to herald the new season.

Cultivars for Maojian/Hairpoint teas are typically small leaf varieties, and middle or larger sized leaves for Maofeng.

The rolling pressure applied to Maojian/Hairpoint is heavier than that used for Maofeng teas, so that Hairpoint leaves end up tighter and more compact.

Processing differs as well: after rolling, Maofeng leaves will be dried, but Hairpoint leaves will be shaped (mechanically or by hand) and then dried.

One result of this difference in method is that the downy hairs are more obvious in Maofeng styles, although how much depends on the cultivar.  (We see Maofeng styles in Keemun and Jasmine too.  )

Here in California, I associate citrus fruits with winter. While receiving a shipment of Puer in tangerine peel, however, I was reminded that those citrus varieties are harvested in July, August and even through October when they are still green. This combination was developed in Xinhui, Guangdong province about 20 years ago. Anyone who has enjoyed “orange chicken” can easily recognize dried orange or tangerine peels as a cooking ingredient. Dried and salted lemon peel is a snack, consumed like salted plums.

Workers carefully cut a cap from the top and then use a special knife to scoop out the fruit. The shipment we just received is filled with Puer from 2019. The cap is replaced and then each filled tangerine is allowed to dry.

(For a loose leaf version with a similar flavor profile, Puer + orange, we offer #5390, blended in Germany.)

More recently, we are seeing White tea going into the tangerine peel “shells.”

From dried citrus, I now turn to other flavored teas and fruit blends:

These new additions are now in stock, and the ingredients provide a sense of the flavor profile.

Vanilla, Orange, Spice Black (w/cinnamon sticks)

Black tea, cinnamon bits, ginger, orange peels, cloves, carob powder, natural vanilla flavoring, cardamom, black pepper, roasted rice, cinnamon sticks.

Jammy Breakfast Black

Barley malt grains, black tea, honeybush tea, roasted rice, natural flavoring, strawberry bits, rose petals.

Amaretto “Kirsch” (Cherries) Black

Black tea, sour cherries, flavoring, red cornflower blossoms, pink cornflower blossoms.

Cranberry Maple Black

Black tea, cranberries, natural flavoring.

Orange Spice Fruit Tea

Apple bits, hibiscus flowers, orange peels, rose hip husks, rose petals, almond bits, flavoring, cloves, cardamom powder, vanilla.

Due to adverse weather conditions last year, harvests of many fruits used in blends were significantly reduced and prices have gone up substantially, affecting items such as raspberries, strawberries, and blackberries.

Moving a few weeks ahead, the following are new custom blends and should reach us by late spring or early summer, combinations that taste like vacation!

First to arrive will be  “Coconut Water” Mango fruit blend,

Apple bits, mango bits, white hibiscus, green tea (8%), lemongrass, flavoring, natural flavoring, acidifier (tartaric acid), pink cornflower petals, blue cornflower petals.

In production and going through quality control are:

Pina Colada Green

Ylang Ylang Green – inspired by the flowering tropical tree

Tamarind Passionfruit Raspberry fruit blend

Pineapple & Passionfruit Black & Green blend

If I seem overeager and hasty, it is partly due to longer and longer lead times. Not only do shipping and courier rates remain high (a quote for a 20FCL from Asia in mid-March was $16,550), because containers still cannot meet demand, their movement on the water and upon arrival at the port terminals is slower than what we took for granted in 2019.  Notices like the following one from logistics companies continue to come in:

The current capacity constraints continue to be significant across many origin ports. The situation is volatile and we are therefore announcing our intention to implement our previously announced  (GRI) and Equipment Balance Surcharge (EIS).

A list of teas that arrived this month or are due in very soon is attached.

The grave-sweeping ceremony in China, Qing Ming, falls on April 5th again this year, a date that is consequential for tea pricing. There may be fewer pre-Qing Ming teas this season, driving up prices even more. However, for high elevation teas in Nepal, we are spared this marker, and expect to see the first invoice of Himalayan Honeysuckle Green very soon.  This emblem of a dependable, predictable cycle will be a very welcome cup.

 Warm regards,

Lydia

March 22, 2022

Text & images provided by and copyright held by Verileaf True Teas Corp.