We owe the very first writing on tea to the Chinese poet Lu Yu. The Cha Jing, “The Classic of Tea”, dates back to the 18th century. In his book, Lu Yu discusses the nature of tea itself, but most importantly he sets out a method for preparing and tasting it. A statue of this tea fanatic can be found by the excellent Long Jing Tea Museum (China).
Je termine tout juste ma sélection annuelle de thés de printemps en provenance du Népal. Ils seront disponibles dans quelques jours, le temps de les acheminer par avion. Cette année ce sont les plantations de Guranse et de Kuwapani qui ont produits les meilleurs lots. Ils sont remarquables et si vous n’y avez jamais goûté, dépêchez-vous ! Ils valent le détour.
D’autres jardins ont fait de gros progrès et je viens de réserver deux lots correspondants : l’un en provenance de Everest Tea Estate et l’autre issu de Kanchenjunga Tea Estate- une plantation sublime située à l’extrême nord de la Vallée d’Ilam et dirigée par mon ami Dilli Baskota que vous voyez ici. Un homme passionné par le thé et très impliqué dans le développement durable de sa région.
This is for fans of Long Jing. This is the source of the Dragon Well that gave its name to this prestigious tea and to the eponymous city. It is a few kilometres from Hangzhou (China).
A visit to 18 imperial Long Jing tea plants is an essential stop on the tourist trail around this region. These tea plants owe their status to emperor Qian Long who wanted to demonstrate his love of the famous “Dragon Well”, which remains one of the finest China green teas today.
Supposedly dating back to the 18th century, I wonder whether these shrubs have not in fact been discreetly replaced since then, as some of the stems do not appear as old as that. But for the buyers, this seems of little importance given the price at which their small but ultra prestigious harvest of leaves sells for: 36,000 euros per kilo!
Darjeeling teas harvested at this time of year have a very different bouquet to those plucked in the spring. Woody, fruity fragrances instead of vegetal aromas, for example. But their prestige is equally high, which is why I’m here, right now, selecting the best of them.
Every time I come to Darjeeling I make sure I visit Gopal Somani. We had lunch together on Saturday at his Puttabong plantation. He’s a wonderful man and his experience is worthy of respect: not only does he produce some of the best teas in the region, but he has also taught many other planters.
In China, there are many different ways of drinking tea, as well as a vast array of recipients. The latter range from glass tumblers, which are fairly widespread, to cups made from the finest porcelain. Tea houses have flourished in the country over the past 20 years, and continue to do so. The art of tea is becoming increasingly refined. Great care is taken over the choice of teas to be served, of course, and these are accompanied by some beautiful utensils, like these bamboo tongs which are simply used to pick up a cup.
Good news from Japan! All the teas harvested since the start of the season by the farmers we work with have shown normal levels of becquerels. This is a huge relief for the growers as well as for fans of senchas and other gyokuros. Of course, we will continue to be highly vigilant and to analyse each lot before making it available for sale, to ensure it is completely safe and allow us to enjoy our tea with peace of mind.
Carine Baudry, who runs the Tea School, travelled to Darjeeling last month accompanied by eight of her students. What a trip! This was a first for Carine, who returned just as enchanted as her fellow travellers, to whom she introduced this magnificent region and the art of producing tea. Carine has often travelled with me in India, Japan and China. But this was the first time she’d had the pleasure of teaching in the production region itself.
On the right, in the blue shirt, is Rajiv Gupta, manager of the Tumsong plantation.
It must be nearly 10 years since a plot of land on the North Tukvar estate was given my name. In high season, these hectares produce a remarkable tea thanks to the skill of the planter, of course, but also because of the quality of the tea plants selected. They are among my favourites.
For the first time, a single lot of tea from this plot has arrived in Paris. For fans of delicate, fruity, vegetal notes and the fragrance of white flowers, this is its name: Darjeeling North Tukvar DJ14 Delmas Bari.
While many of you are taking advantage of the long weekend of the Ascension holiday to escape to the country, I’m in Paris at my tasting table with an impressive number of samples before me. I won’t have time to taste them all over the weekend. In Darjeeling, the harvests are over, but I’m now receiving new-season green teas from China, all very fine examples indeed. Every year, their vegetal aroma is like a big bowl of fresh air. I’m also getting sent most of the Nepalese teas which, in nearly a decade, have achieved excellent standards. New gardens are joining them and making themselves known. Excellence is worth waiting for – it has taken them years to reach this point. Just like these young tea plants, which are receiving such attentive care.
