ARCHIVE FOR 2014

The first selections of first-flush Darjeelings

7 March 2014
The first selections of first-flush Darjeelings

As happens every year at the same time, the first samples of first-flush Darjeelings are starting to arrive. There are never many during the first week, then during the peak of the season, around the end of March, I can taste dozens every day. Each one represents a very small batch of about 100 kilos. I have just chosen two: the Rohini “early spring” and the Longview FTGFOP1 ex-5. They are characterised by their fresh, vegetal, floral and zesty notes.

Share on Facebook. Tweet this!

Jukro, a fine and rare tea from Korea

28 February 2014
Jukro, a fine and rare tea from Korea

Jukro from South Korea is one of the finest quality teas in the world. I know just one farmer who produces it. He can only do so in the first days of May, using his best leaves. The quantity obtained is so small that only a few customers are able to enjoy it. I think you can imagine how eagerly I anticipate his new plucking every year. The richness of the tea’s flavours and its complexity and length in the mouth are worth tasting at least once in a lifetime.

Share on Facebook. Tweet this!

A break for tea

21 February 2014
A break for tea

At the moment there is much talk of the violence in Ukraine; tomorrow it will be somewhere else. Violence, blood, weapons: it is as if man cannot live without them. The quality of this photo is not good, I took it quickly, in Nepal, during a visit by the army to the tea plantation where I was staying. That was a few years ago, when the country was experiencing a bloody conflict, but at that particular moment, despite the fighting, the soldiers wanted to put down their weapons and enjoy a good cup of tea.

Share on Facebook. Tweet this!

Small-scale tea producers in Sri Lanka

14 February 2014
Small-scale tea producers in Sri Lanka

In the south of Sri Lanka there are many small-scale producers who grow tea and then sell the fresh leaves to one of the local factories. For them, tea represents one source of income among others, and they are not economically dependent on the price if it falls. They are tied by a yearly contract with a guaranteed price. They choose the factory they want to work with, and the factory is responsible for collecting the leaves. It is a fair system.

Share on Facebook. Tweet this!

Le soin apporté aux théiers entre l’automne et le printemps

7 February 2014
Le soin apporté aux théiers entre l’automne et le printemps

 

Si vous disposez d’un bout de jardin, vous savez qu’entre l’automne et le printemps et à l’écart des périodes de gel il y a toujours du travail, en termes de taille, par exemple. Dans les champs de thé aussi on va mettre cette période à profit pour examiner chaque arbre et lui dispenser les soins nécessaires. Comme pour un fruitier, on va observer la plante avant de procéder à la taille hivernale. Cette taille qui n’a pas lieu tous les ans aide à régénérer l’arbuste.

Share on Facebook. Tweet this!

Gary, a true connoisseur of teas from south-west China

31 January 2014
Gary, a true connoisseur of teas from south-west China

Every year my friend Gary, who lives in Kunming and runs a tea store there, sends me lots of pu erh samples. Raw pu erhs, cooked pu erhs, pu erhs in cake form or loose, pu erhs of every age, from very young to very old. I always look forward to receiving them. I’ve known Gary for more than 20 years. He was young when we met and was working for the state organisation in charge of exporting Yunnan teas. He has an excellent knowledge of all the teas produced in south-west China. Tea is his life.

Share on Facebook. Tweet this!

In China, the tea market has changed

24 January 2014
In China, the tea market has changed

The process of buying tea in China is not what it used to be. Only 20 years ago only the state had the authority to export tea, and every Chinese tea was given a specific reference. Expert tasters would travel the whole country, visiting each tea factory and tasting each tea before giving it a reference number. For example a Grand Yunnan Imperial was given a grade of 6112.
Things have changed a great deal since then. Today those Chinese experts have gone, no doubt to the private sector, and domestic consumption has increased dramatically. Demand now outstrips supply, pushing prices up. And nobody thinks to remember how it was done 20 years ago.

Share on Facebook. Tweet this!

Feng Huang Dan Cong: one of the rarest teas in China

17 January 2014
Feng Huang Dan Cong: one of the rarest teas in China

Feng Huang Dan Cong, or Phoenix Tea, is one of the rarest China teas. Just a handful of farmers, including the Huang family, seen here, whom I was delighted to photograph, process these large leaves whose lingering bouquet evokes flowers, fruits, wood and spices by turn. If you love fine teas you should taste this at least once in your life.

Share on Facebook. Tweet this!

Eternal snow of Kanchenjunga

10 January 2014
Eternal snow of Kanchenjunga

For my Parisian friends who are finding this month of January a little mild, here is the cooling and eternal snow of Kanchenjunga. This massive mountain extends from the ancient royal kingdom of Sikkim to Nepal and Tibet, just a stone’s throw from Darjeeling.

Share on Facebook. Tweet this!

Tea follows us, it accompanies us.

3 January 2014
Tea follows us, it accompanies us.

A while ago, in Tunxi in China, I was eating my evening meal in a tea house. Outside it was raining. I used a slow shutter speed to photograph the movement of passers-by, and the reflections of the city on the wet pavements. The window reflected the interior of the establishment. Feeling mischievous, I took a photo of the teapot on the neighbouring table, walking over the silhouettes of people outside.

Tea follows us. It accompanies us. Sometimes we don’t see it but it is near and does us good.

I wish you a very Happy New Year for 2014. I hope you enjoy discovering new flavours. I hope that every day you find a moment of harmony. I invite you to share these moments of happiness with your loved ones. Vivre le thé.

Share on Facebook. Tweet this!