ARCHIVE FOR November 2022

Finding salt on the tea route

25 November 2022
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It is not only in Tibet and the Himalayas that the tea route crosses the salt route. When you travel from Cuzco to the Peruvian Amazon, where tea is grown, you pass close to Maras, a village famous for its salt ponds. Thousands of years ago, these mountains were submerged under the sea. These days, salty water pours from a spring and fills the small pools.

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Omar Syariff

18 November 2022
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This is Omar Syariff, who is closely involved in the production of quality tea in Central Java (Indonesia); more specifically, on the Dieng Plateau. He dedicates his time and energy to helping farmers who grow this plant. He seeks out the most hardy cultivars for them; he helps them to develop production from old tea bushes that will be harvested to benefit the local community. When I ask Omar what he is passionate about in life, he says, “Sharing knowledge. Sharing experiences.” And when I ask him what he would like me to say about him here, he replies modestly: “I’m just a simple man who knows how to make good tea.”

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The people of tea

10 November 2022
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Tea is not just about landscapes, however beautiful they may be; it is not just about the plants or the leaves. Above all it is about the men and women who harvest, handle, analyse and select it. From Harendong to Semarang via the Bandung Research Centre, here are a few people who, in one way or another, make their living from tea or simply enjoy drinking it.

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A virtuous circle

4 November 2022
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Tea can be picked by hand rather than mechanically, and it makes all the difference. It is difficult to harvest the leaves properly with shears (except in Japan where they have developed high-precision tools) and claim any quality. It is true that a hand-picked tea will cost ten to a hundred times more than an industrially produced tea, and sometimes the difference is even greater. But it is important to remember that fine teas provide an opportunity to establish a virtuous circle: the higher the income of the producers, the more these farmers can invest in the transmission of skills. They will seek to obtain quality rather than quantity; they will employ more people who will become more connected to their land and their rural way of life. A great tea thus offers everyone the opportunity to live in harmony with nature.  

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