2017年1月27日星期五

Under the tea trees


Minority village is a unique biotic landscape system where village and tea garden bond together, tea farmers inherit gardening techniques from their ancestors, and biological diversity and human beings are interrelated. Under the tea trees, clansman worship ancestor, celebrate festivals and meet here all the time.

There are few steps from house to garden. Mushroom, wild vegetables and giant wood would be found with the tea trees. The biological chain has good function in pest controlling, multitudinous animals and plants could keep a healthy environmental balance in the tea garden.

The Qizi cake is the most representational puer tea embodied form. Ming Wanli, the court set up government to manage the tea trade in Puer. The governors brought the puer tea to Beijing and the palace. Then the raw puer tea was gradually popular with the whole country.

Emperor Qianlong evaluate the Qizi cake as “Round as autumn Moon, fragrant like charming orchid”. The high compressed raw puer tea comes from special geographical conditions and period. In the early period, in order to carry easily, the tea was steamed and packed, and compressed into cake. One piece of cake was 7 Liang (the old weight unit), 7 piece cakes were packaged into one bamboo package, thus the tea cake got its name, Qizi.





The tea-growing minorities.

The Bulang, Hani, Lahu, Dai and other minorities are the earliest planters who domesticate and plant tea. They live in the high mountains, company with woods, culture the tea trees, and guard them from generation to generation.

Up to now, these minorities still respect and worship the tea. They think ancestor’s spirit bond with the tea trees, so they still worship the trees regularly.



 
where to buy high quality tea

The teaching from the ancestor as following:

If you are inherited with gold and silver, you will use them all; if you are inherited flocks and herds, you will eat them all; hence, you be supposed to inherited with tea trees which could supply you with endless food and income.


2017年1月21日星期六

Famous Puer Tea Mountains

Bingdao Mountain is located in Shuangjiang County, Lincang City, stemmed from ancient Dai village, namely Bingdao. This Dai village is on the north of snow mountainside where is mist-shrouded, and primordial forests gather together. Hundreds and thousands years of old trees spread among mountain, all tea trees are typical Mengku large leaf variety.

Yiwu Mountain is located in Mengla County, Xishuangbanna Prefecture, and is one of the 6 Old Main Tea Mountains, the famous fountainhead of the Tea Horse Road. There is ample sunshine, plentiful rainfall, heavy fog twining round the high mountain, fairly fertile soil, warm and rainy, all these make Yiwu be the ideal tea-growing land. Relying on the long tea-consuming history and the laurel of “Auspicious Tribute for the Imperial Court”, Yiwu is really a Pu-erh tea holy place.
 

Nannuo Mountain is located in Menghai County, Xishuangbanna Prefecture. The average altitude of Nannuo Mountain is 1400m with high peaks and deep valleys and luxuriant growth. Be provided with the best ecological environment for large leaf variety, heavy fog twining round here, the tea from Nannuo Mountain has extremely high quality. From time immemorial, Nannuo Mountain is the most well-known ancient tea mountain and origin area of high quality of raw Pu-erh material in the western downstream of Lancang River. Here are mixed ancient tea gardens which were built from one thousand year ago by Bulan minority, and then abandoned.



where to buy puer tea
Bangwei is located in the Lincang County, Pu-er City, and in the south of Tropic of Cancer. Specific elevation, rainfall, and humiture constitute unique habitat, which breeds numerous Theaceae plants, and ultimately evolve to wild old tea community, transformed and cultivated old tea community. Bangwei is prior tea- culturing fecund land on Lancang riverside.
 

Jingmai Mountain is located in Huiming Village, Lancang County, Pu-er City, and is one of the Six Main Tea Mountains in China, and has the largest ancient tea area. The tea trees from Jingmai Mountain are all age-old and live in good ecological environment. The Jingmai Mountain tea is one of the most significantly naturally wild teas. 



2017年1月9日星期一

If there is no good water, tea is nothing


The extreme fragrance should be made out with water. If there is no water, tea is nothing.






Nice water

Mountain spring water

Groundwater as a source of natural spring water is the best water for tea.

Spring water is clean, free of impurities, soft and sweet, very suitable for tea.



Well water

In general, protected by water-resistant layers, deep groundwater is free from pollution, clean. Shallow groundwater is easy to get polluted, so deep well water is better than shallow well water. In addition, the less contaminated well water in rural areas with good water quality is more suitable for drinking.



Pure water

Pure water is a typical soft water, colorless and tasteless, and it can bring out the nature of tea, without thermonatrite, which is conducive to the maintenance of teapot. In the modern fast-paced life, pure water is a better choice.



Mineral water

Mineral water contains minerals which are more likely to affect the tea quality, but weak alkaline mineral water is suitable for tea, which not only helps make better tea, but also helpful for the body.



Running water

Usually through artificial purification, disinfection treated river water or lake water can also be used to make tea. If the water has a strong chlorine taste, it can be held in a clean container for one day and night until its strange smell naturally evaporated, and then it can be used to make tea.