China Trips

This is my final blog from my trip to China, and I have to say I am a little sad.

Yesterday I had my last lesson of the Oolong teas. I learned a lot about the different rock teas and tasted some teas from the spring picking. It is hard to write down all that I learned in one blog.  My notes will help me with my tea presentations though and I can pass on what I have learnt that way. Speaking of, my next presentation will be at the MASshop in Antwerp, Belgium on 26th May and June 2nd, maybe I will see you there?

One thing I did learn that I still can’t quite believe is, did you know that there are 600 different oolong rock teas? I was proud that I knew about a dozen but 600?!! The most famous four are Da Hong Pao, Tie Luo Han, Bai Ji Guan and Shui Jin Gui. These teas are famous in China for clearing your mind and giving you energy!

Da Hong Pao

As I said in one of my first blogs, I will never know it all! There are still many tea gardens to visit, many mountains to climb…but I will be back for the next picking season!

So, today it is my last day! I had a great time like always and I thank all the people who made it great! I can’t wait to come back because I already have a new tea road in mind!

So, thanks for reading these blogs, I hope you liked them and maybe they have given you the desire to visit this land of tea, amazing China!

Bye for now, hope to see you soon in the MASshop!

San

Life is more than a cup of tea...so as a change, I went to a traditional Chinese wedding last weekend! The essence of course was the same but all the rest is very different!

The difference starts long before the wedding day. In China a man has to prove that he is capable to marry a woman. He needs to have money or a house to prove it to the parents of the bride. So, no money, no wedding! This is very simply said and I still don’t know where the place of love comes in? Is it more a practical decision? I don’t think so; love is everywhere, even in china!

Back to the festivities! The cars to go there are all decorated with red ribbons and follow each other. We arrived at 5pm where the couple were standing in the hall of the restaurant to welcome us. The bride is in a very nice long white dress but she will changes her dress four times throughout the evening!

Two of her dresses!

It is a big feast of food and drink and the wedding favours are pretty different - cigarettes! Oh yes, this is China and they put on each table two packets of cigarettes. I did not really understand this at first but later I found out why.

The celebration started at 6pm. The couple made their entrance to applause and music. Meanwhile the table filled with food and drinks. I was sitting on the table for the guests of honour who were not yet married, don’t ask me why!  There is a little podium and that’s where they showed the pictures of the couple from before. It is on this stage that they said the famous words:  “yes, I do” and shared a glass of wine…

After, there was a lot of eating and drinking and also there was a lottery and some games to play…

I was sitting on the same table as the couple but they did not have the time to sit and enjoy their meal… they have to go to each table to raise their glasses and share the cigarettes with the guests at each table….I don’t think this would work the same in Europe!

The whole thing was over by 9pm which is pretty different to what I am used to! People go home, the party is over… it is the same in theatre, we all applauded the couple one last time and then it was over. But….it was fun! Not as serious – everyone was always laughing, smiling, chatting – everyone was happy!

The incredible food!

For me, it was a very special moment and I am so grateful that I was invited and could be for a little time be part of their lives.

Campei…..and I wish the couple a longand happy life !! Indeed….life is more than a cup of tea!

A  tea expo is always very interesting! For the main reason that, you can taste many different teas and compare them with each other.

I love trying all different teas!

For me, it is more to compare taste and prices with the knowledge I know from my visiting trip. Don’t forget, it is still business. So, each farm, each company has the best Tie Guan Yin, the best Puerh. So it is my job to choose which tea is the best. Quality and price are very important, of course. The difficulty is that you can have a super tea from a small tea garden but no they have no export license making it not possible to buy this tea and that is very sad!

Authentic dress and lovely dancing as I walked around the expo

It’s also important that farms have health certificates and work organically (although certification for this is hard in China!).

Every time I am in the tea gardens and I see the work that is needed for a few kg of good quality tea, I gasp because it is a lot of hard work. There are two different ways to pick the tea leaves. By hand or by machine….I don’t have to explain the difference in quality. The best tea will be always the handpicked tea. Why? Because they only use the young bud and the young leaves for the quality tea. Obviously a machine can’t distinguish between the new buds and it is a lot rougher so this is for the lower quality or for teabags.

So, when I am at the expo, I can compare but I do not buy. I only buy from the farms. But, it is simply a joy to be there and drink tea and discover new teas!! It is impossible to travel to all the tea gardens in China and to discover all the new things…but this time, I was lucky and I found a new pure flower tea.  At the moment it is not possible to export but we are working on it! The taste is extraordinary and seems very good for the body and health. I keep this as my little secret till I am sure that is possible to bring it over and share with everyone.

Me and my secret tea I want to source for the future!

Still busy with my oolong lessons….that’s for next time!

A cup of tea can make people happy, well, I had many of them and I feel…great!!

Until next time..

San

I am now back in Shanghai! It was a very interesting journey through the country side, visiting the tea gardens.

I knew that I was not that good at taking pictures but this time it was very bad!!! I thought I was taking pictures but, no, I was taking a video but at the end they are something in between. So, you can see it now on youtube and I think that Pawel can make a rap with the words ‘There's something wrong here’!!! Well, at least you all could laugh with me!

Here's the video I mean - made using the "pictures" I took not realising I was actually taking videos!

Back to Shanghai and to the serious things in life…. Continue reading →

The day after..it was a long drive, yesterday...

“This is China”! How many times in the past I had to hear this! Every time I see different costumes and I ask why or what, the answer is always the same: “This is china” and that is all that is said!

One of these things was and is the discussion of breakfast. It is hard to go on the road without eating in the morning (I LOVE breakfast). But to find something to eat (real breakfast food) is difficult because there is no way that I can eat soup on an empty stomach when I have just woken up! It’s always a problem for me in China.

Ok now I have my little rant out of the way… Continue reading →