Welcome to the eleventh in our series of blogs documenting our tea & teaware sourcing trip to China & South Korea. At Comins we are very fortunate to have friends all over the tea world. When we visit them on our trips we promise to share what we learn & in our recent survey you shared that our blog is one of the best ways to do that. So we hope you enjoy the journey!
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First, a little background on Mr Zheng who, having grown up in this area returned from the army & started his life in tea - a path that involves the whole community : 'when I was growing up no-one here cared too much about white tea and now they do' he shares It's a fascinating and heart warming tale of a local boy who came back home with a vision to make something better & different for the community that he grew up in. After introductions we officially start the day with a welcome glass of chilled 2017 Shou Mei - something you must try - and talk about Mr Zhengs ongoing commitment to organic tea (they have been organic here since 2009) & his desire for clean & healthy tea. It might be a good time to pause before we dive in more deeply & share a little more about the different types of white tea made here. Mr Zheng explains :-
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'Bai Mu Dan : is made from one bud two leaf. Silver Needle is one bud and one leaf. Gong Mei must be made from a small leaf cultivar and Shou Mei is the Da Bai Hao cultivar made from 3-4 leaves' He continues 'in the village we say 1 year old tea is good tea, 3 year old tea is a treasure and 7 year old tea is medicine' No wonder the 2017 tea seemed to have such a restorative effect on us!
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With this front of mind we head out into the tea fields. At our time of visiting the season is nearly over here - it started on the 4th March & the last tea is being picked as we arrive at the tea fields. Out in the garden we see Mr Zhengs plans in action. The model here has always been to pick up abandoned land and start from scratch. As we walk we talk - 'there will always be pests that are bad for tea but the key to success is to attract good insects to eat them' - share the team. Soil health is front of mind and we observe wormwood, peach trees and other planting designed to enrich the soil. 'After cutting we place the cuttings back onto the soil so the nutrients can go back into the soil' the team share - something we commonly see across gardens who take a natural approach to cultivation. Mr Zheng shares 'I am also keen to move to a fully carbon neutral approach and am working with some partners to look at how we can achieve this. I recently offered a presentation 'use tea to grow the country and scientifically promote carbon neutral' and was presented an entrepreneurial award'
The planting of the garden has been undertaken with organic and natural cultivation in mind - 'diversity of planting is important amoung the tea plants'. We observe and discuss how the team have planted large trees for shade which is good for the tea [there is also a much wider tree planting programme here]. The team share how the trees are planted facing North - the South is warmer so the trees planted here are ones that lose their leaves in the winter - leaves in the winter in the South part of the garden would help the unwanted pests to flourish bringing their numbers to an unfavourable level. The rows of tea bushes are also planted widely to avoid it getting too hot & wet - conditions which attract pests.
The local community is at the heart of the vision set out by Mr Zheng and he is keen for the work and thinking that has informed their approach to be embedded in the way of life here. As we reach the top of the hill we reach a platform overlooking the beautiful landscape with educational panels exploring nature and the local ecosystem. This is part of the education programme started in 2020 which aims to share the work being done in the area and inform people about what has been planted and what insects you can see in this area. Many local children and adults come here as well as the Hangzhou tea association. The knowledgable team guide their learning. The focus is primarily on primary education - 'we have spent a lot of time to realise organic farming and we want to share it so that people can know what has been planted and what insects they can see in this area. We start by trying to get people to understand 'what is an ecosystem?' - the climate, the water etc - when more people understand this it is better and easier to protect the environment - what is a grasshopper?, what are the other animals here? - we pose these questions and provide answers - it is our social responsibility' the team share.
We take one last look at the beautiful view stopping by the sign which states in large writing 'be happy I am in the organic tea field!' before heading back down to the factory. Here the same approach continues - children come here, into the heart of the tea making area - to learn once a month. As well as sharing his insight with the local community Mr Zheng also continually pushes himself to improve working with a teacher from Taiwan. 'Many of the farmers I employ used to think my approach and all the efforts needed to grow tea in this way was madness' he laughs 'they called me a silly boy so in 2019 I launched a brand of my tea called 'Silly Boy' tea. Now they see the tea sales they are far less sceptical' he smiles
Having taken in the in action we head back down to the factory for lunch where we observe the fresh leaves that have just come in from the field. We take the withered Shou Mei in our hands observing the wonderful transition that occurs between fresh and withered leaf before being ushered into the tea tasting room.
And what a treat this turns We start with a wild tea which the team are keen to promote - 'it doesnt look as glamorous as the other teas' the team share 'so the consumer needs to be educated'. As we taste Mr Zheng explains 'this teas has a bamboo feeling. We follow the process of pick, wither and then dry. We do a 13 hour wither to 20-30 percent at 40-60 C and then we place the tea on the floor for 7 days on a white cloth before placing it in the dryer. If you compare this to Silver Needle' he adds 'the steps are the same but the hours and the temperatures are not. We wither slower at a much lower temperature because of the buds'
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We move on to taste 1,3 and 5 years Shou mei - 'Slow oxidation over time develops flavour' Mr Zheng shares 'If you choose to steam the tea and put the tea into a 'bing' [cake] this will bring a much stronger flavour longer term.' To prove this point we finish our tasting with Mr Zheng sharing one of his favourite teas with us - an aged Shou Mei - the slow ageing has developed a very deep flavour. Delicious.
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Back in the kitchen its party time as the season come to an end. Mr Zheng has prepared an end of season feast for the community and they all toast the hard work that has seen a successful white tea season in this most famous white tea producing areas. The atmosphere is jolly, fuelled by community, tea and a few cases of something a little stronger!
Time to reluctantly leave the party. As we step outside the light is fading and the factory has a beautiful light and a low hum. Mr Qui (a tea maker of 27 years) is in charge. We sit on the wall and take a moment to watch the calm, well practiced movements of the team as they carefully finish and pack this years tea. We cant wait for you to try it soon. Thanks to all the team who made us so welcome on this visit - it was such a joy to return here.
