Do monkeys actually pick tea?

[Michael_C]

I'm a little confused. I read recently in "The Way of Tea: The Sublime Art of Oriental Tea Drinking" that so-called 'monkey picked' tea is, in fact, picked by trained monkeys. I didn't think that still existed, or if it did, was so rare as to be nearly anomalous.

This book also claims that Ti Kuan Yin is not oolong, and refers to Pu-erh as Po-Lee, saying it is always green. It also claims tea should not be consumed by anyone under stress, and that oolong (as opposed to any other type of tea) will melt body fat.

Obviously there is misinformation here - I'm really trying to get at the 'monkey picked' claim.

(This also leads to another question, which might best be its own topic - why all the misinformation? Tea is so widely consumed and so many thousands of years old, how can it be that it is such a magnet for profound misinformation, hyperbole and conjecture?)

[wyardley]

From everything I've ever heard, monkeys don't actually pick tea, at least not in China. Anyone claiming that tea they're selling is currently being picked by monkeys or other non-human animals is probably misinformed or full of it. Like with a lot of legends, it's always possible there is a kernel of truth to it (historically), but I am skeptical. Does it really matter?

Tieguanyin is an oolong (well technically, it's a varietal, but it's almost exclusively produced as an oolong, to the best of my knowledge), though there are some confusing grading issues which (in my understanding) resulted in Anxi oolongs being categorized into "tieguanyin", "sezhong" and just generic "oolong" types. This is a little confusing, since all of the teas are also oolong. But maybe that's what the author was talking about? Some people do seem to refer to tieguanyin (especially the modern green style) and yancha as their own categories, but they are still technically oolongs.

Po-Lee is one romanization of the Cantonese word for puer (bolay, polay, etc.).

[Chip]

In addition to what Wyardley already said, the Chinese are rather famous for embellishment of the myths and even of truths. Numbers are a big source of exageration.

To me, it makes tea interesting ... and it is just the way it is. But you need to be aware of it.

[TIM]

They did picked in the late Dynasty. Not anymore in Wuyi Fujian:

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=3 ... =716858016

[beecrofter]

Of course they do.

Monkeys account for half of the flavored offerings in the marketplace!

[Victoria]

Riiiiiight.

[MitzyG]

Ewwwww, monkey flavored tea!


Pft!


(Sorry, in a silly mood today)

[brad4419]

Depends on whos picking your tea, they could be a monkey of some kind

[tenuki]

methinks it's monkeys of the great hairless ape variety.

[edkrueger]

They did picked in the late Dynasty. Not anymore in Wuyi Fujian:

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=3 ... =716858016

I'm not sure that proves anything. Could just be an artistic exaggeration.

[silverneedles]

would monkeys be able to do the fine task of picking bud and leaf or they'd just break branches... but that wouldnt help much with next harvest...

[GreenwoodStudio]

This thread cracks me up

[brad4419]

Would they be trained not to scratch there buts before picking tea leaves or is that part of the "special" flavor?

[iannon]

Would they be trained not to scratch there buts before picking tea leaves or is that part of the "special" flavor?

I think there is some coffee like that somewhere .....

[TIM]

They did picked in the late Dynasty. Not anymore in Wuyi Fujian:

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=3 ... =716858016

I'm not sure that proves anything. Could just be an artistic exaggeration.

I have to revisit this: http://phyllsheng.blogspot.com/2008/09/ ... k-tea.html