2011 Yixing greens, harvest on Chái Lín Jūn's tea-farm

[ChinesePottery]

I finally managed to visit Chái Lín Jūn's tea-farm just 2 days in this years harvest.
Here an impression of, no, not the high quality tea they produce there, but of the rubbish that was deemed unfit and discarded during the sorting.



Although the tea trees have of course been planted and are cultivated there on the farm, they are allowed to grow almost as they would in the wild. No cutting for accelerated growth nor shaping for machine harvesting. It makes it a bit harder to pick the tea but that’s well worth it.

(For larger versions of all images check my blog)

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Chái Lín Jūn does not machine harvest nor does he produce autumn tea. The reason for that is quality. Farmers who do produce and offer autumn teas here in China almost all use pesticides, even the so called organic ones. International tea importers are well aware of that and do test samples, but please don’t let me spoil your autumn greens should you like them, as at least on the international market they are fairly save to consume. Anyways, I personally tend to avoid them here.

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Once the picking is done, usually in the early afternoon hours, the sorting starts immediately followed by shāqīng also known as kill-green. For kill green and the first pre-shaping 2 machines are used, the rest of the process is done by hand. A wood fired air-oven is preheated.

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From there it goes onto the heated air to be hand-rolled with distinct movements.
...more in the followup post.

The full story with high-res pics is available in my blog.
The blogger link underneath my avatar will get you there, I'm sure you'll find it.

[ChinesePottery]

As I just wrote, from there it goes onto the heated air to be hand-rolled with distinct movements.

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I grabbed a handful almost finished tea and took this shot so you can compare and see how it started to curl up, changed its color and the little white hair started to show.

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A few minutes later I enjoyed the first glass and as you can see, the little white hair made it all the way in there. MMMmMMMM, so delicious.

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(The video is available via my blog)

All tea made pre-qingming (before the 5th) is rather pricey and not much of it is available as Chái Lín Jūn’s farm is not industrial scale….

….however, if someone really really wants to have some of this fine green in their cups PM me. (as long as it is strictly for personal use in a reasonable limited amount)

[Chip]

Looks awesome, thanks for sharing the experience with us.

How would you describe the flavor profile, aroma?

[ChinesePottery]

Fruity note, fresh, little sweet in the end, very pleasant.

I also did a few questionable taste experiments that day which the tea professionals there frowned upon with bewilderment in their eyes.
Steeping a handful of unprocessed raw leaves which I picked myself was one of them.

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I enjoyed it though.

[Chip]

Fruity note, fresh, little sweet in the end, very pleasant.

I also did a few questionable taste experiments that day which the tea professionals there frowned upon with bewilderment in their eyes.
Steeping a handful of unprocessed raw leaves which I picked myself was one of them.

I oft wondered what "raw" leaves would taste like. I imagine quite light ... and if you have the leaves, why not!

[Chip]

Thank you again for another interesting post also found on your blog.

http://teaandpottery.wordpress.com/

[lkj23]

woooooonderful, very fresh

[jaderabbit]

i'm so jealous!! i want to go visit a tea farm too

[bagua7]

You are right, my friend. Autumn tea is just another capitalistic move (and deviation from the Dao since that is the time of the year to organize, work hard, and finish projects that you began in spring and summer, and nothing like harvesting tea ) to inflate the market with junk and deviate from the spirit.

Have the Chinese forgotten the wisdom of their ancestors?

“In the three months of autumn all things in nature reach their full maturity. The grains ripen and harvesting occurs. The heavenly energy cools, as does the weather. The wind begins to stir. This is the changing or pivoting point when the yang, or active, phase turns into its opposite, the yin, or passive, phase. One should retire with the sunset and arise with the dawn. Just as the weather in autumn turns harsh, so does the emotional climate. It is therefore important to remain calm and peaceful, refraining from depression so that one can make the transition to winter smoothly. This is the time to gather one’s spirit and energy, be more focused, and not allow desires to run wild. One must keep the lung energy free full, clean, and quiet. This means practicing breathing exercises to enhance lung Qi. Also, one should refrain from smoking and grief, the emotion of lung. This will prevent the kidney or digestive problems in the winter. If this natural order is violated, damage will occur to the lungs, resulting in diarrhea with undigested food in the winter. This compromises the body’s ability to store in winter.”

Huangdi Neijing Suwen


Spring tea (liver, movement, growth and rejuvenation) all the way!

Thanks for the info.

[gingkoseto]

Nice tea! It's a tea very hard to obtain even in China!

You are right, my friend. Autumn tea is just another capitalistic move (and deviation from the Dao since that is the time of the year to organize, work hard, and finish projects that you began in spring and summer, and nothing like harvesting tea ) to inflate the market with junk and deviate from the spirit.

Have the Chinese forgotten the wisdom of their ancestors?

“In the three months of autumn all things in nature reach their full maturity. The grains ripen and harvesting occurs. The heavenly energy cools, as does the weather. The wind begins to stir. This is the changing or pivoting point when the yang, or active, phase turns into its opposite, the yin, or passive, phase. One should retire with the sunset and arise with the dawn. Just as the weather in autumn turns harsh, so does the emotional climate. It is therefore important to remain calm and peaceful, refraining from depression so that one can make the transition to winter smoothly. This is the time to gather one’s spirit and energy, be more focused, and not allow desires to run wild. One must keep the lung energy free full, clean, and quiet. This means practicing breathing exercises to enhance lung Qi. Also, one should refrain from smoking and grief, the emotion of lung. This will prevent the kidney or digestive problems in the winter. If this natural order is violated, damage will occur to the lungs, resulting in diarrhea with undigested food in the winter. This compromises the body’s ability to store in winter.”

Huangdi Neijing Suwen


Spring tea (liver, movement, growth and rejuvenation) all the way!

Thanks for the info.

I think I agree with you at 30% that capitalistic impacts intefere with production a lot in recent years and sometimes changes seasonal harvest pattern of tea. But I don't agree that we can denounce autumn harvest based on Huangdi Neijing's contents. First, at Huangdi's time, tea production was available or not in large scale. If there were tea then, most likely people drunk wild tea. Secondly, Huangdi's theories are based on the biome he lived in, which is pretty much central China and doesn't fall in the modern tea production regions of China. His descriptions of seasonal patterns and agricultural activities will not apply to Taiwan, Fujian, many other Chinese provinces, or southern hemisphere, or regions with drought/rain seasons

I do believe people's activities should follow the pattern of nature in their own natural conditions. And I think that's the key point of Huangdi's teaching. But the patterns are not necessarily exactly described in his book.

[bagua7]

This morning's breakfast was some Yang Xian Xue Ya:



Wet leaves



Steam coming up



And the brew itself

Very nice, it reminds me of long jing. Beautiful subtle aroma and a very delicate tea overall. Highly recommended!

[ChinesePottery]

Chái Lín Jūn is now a member of our etsy shop and some of his teas are available here:
http://www.etsy.com/shop/chinesepottery ... pe=gallery

[bagua7]

Thanks for the link.

Is that page going to remain there for future purchases because I am really enjoying the teas from that farmer and am considering to buy some more greens once I finish the two batches I got.

Cheers!

[ChinesePottery]

Thanks for the link.

Is that page going to remain there for future purchases because I am really enjoying the teas from that farmer and am considering to buy some more greens once I finish the two batches I got.

Cheers!

I do what I can to keep it up.
You can always ask me directly though, saves some fees too