Cheerful plucker looking like a tea missionary

On the Terai plain (area straddling Nepal and India), I’ve seen them use strange crosses to mark the height of tea plants. The cross is stuck into the ground and only the shoots growing above the horizontal bar are plucked. It makes this cheerful plucker look a bit like a tea missionary.

Did you like this article ? Share It !

Iced tea: a sugar free, healthy and refreshing drink

Last Friday, I spent my whole day in my tasting room. This room is usually cool, but here it was so hot that after having tasted a large number of Darjeeling 2nd flush, I felt like having a cold tea. I prepared myself two different teas, because I like making comparisons: a Thé des Songes and a Thé des Sables.

The recipe of iced tea is extremely simple: put 15 grams of tea in one litre of water, let it brew for 30 minutes, then filter the tea with the help of a tea strainer or a filter and it’s ready! After that, up to you to leave the carafe or the bottle in the fridge, if you want an iced tea rather than a cold tea. When serving, and as a suggestion of garniture, a few ice cubes with summer fruits taken in the ice (blueberries, raspberries, redcurrants): it’s nice and delicious.

To help you choosing the delicous teas to drink cold, here are some of my favourites: Bancha Hojicha, Grand Jasmin Chung Feng, Genmaicha, Tie Guan Yin, Thé des Sables, Thé des Enfants, Thé du Hammam, Thé des Songes Blancs, as well as most flavoured teas with citrus fruits or berries…

Enjoy!

P.S.: on the picture, just behind the carafe full of Thé des Songes, one of the tea trees I received when I was in Japan last April. I take great care of it and it returns it good: it has already doubled in size!

Did you like this article ? Share It !

Ye Yingkai, producer of Fujian teas

Ye Yingkai, pictured beside me, is a great connoisseur of Fujian teas. His story is singular, as he started out working for the State Corporation in charge of tea exports in his province, before forming his own company. He then acquired a farm, fields, in order to produce his own tea. Parallel to that, he hunts out great Tie Guan Yin, rare Da Hong Pao, as well as extremely fine jasmine teas.

He has been working with Le Palais Des Thés for nearly 20 years, and of course he’s a great friend of mine.

Did you like this article ? Share It !

Green tea from a wide angle

Of course, from a wide angle, it looks both a little easy and spectacular. Here, it extends the building, shortens the individuals and spreads tea just the way it is required. Spreading the leaves is in fact exactly what has to be done after plucking to avoid fermentation. All the leaves in the baskets are put together and spread into a thin layer just like this women wearing a white headdress has just done. And since green tea (a Bai Mao Hou, « Hairy White Monkey », to be precise) is going to be made here, armfuls of tea leaves will soon be roasted in a big wok.

Did you like this article ? Share It !

White tea withering

White teas are one of the Fujian district’s (China) main specialties. The most well-known ones are named Bai Mu Dan (White Peony) and Yin Zhen (Silver Needles).
The manufacturing process of white tea is quite simple, as it can be summed up in two words: withering and firing.
Traditionally, white tea is withered in the open air, just like here on these large bamboo pans which have been placed according to the course of the sun. This procedure will last from 48 to 60 hours. It is thus better to take the colour of the sun in consideration before plucking the leaves, in order for the harvest not to be ruined by the rain!

Did you like this article ? Share It !