One of the most basic information any vendor should tell you about their teas is the origin. I am not talking about country- but more specific than that.
China is a big country.
That statement is only useful to someone from another planet. But the surprise is how often origin is simply listed as ‘China’. That is marginally useful if we are talking about tea producing nations where the production is more standardized- most probably from British colonial days.
If you are talking about China where there are literally thousands of varieties of tea, origin- place of origin-‘China’ means as much as the label ‘fiction’ does in a bookstore.
Why does it matter?
Reliability
One of the perils of trading in China is the fear that what you see is not what you get. From mobile phones to designer bags, knock-offs flood the market.
For tea, the story unfortunately remains the same.
Thanks to the numerous Chinese publications available, we can read up on the teas before buying- at least for those who understand Chinese- and be armed. While this is by no means fool-proof, basic knowledge will help us weed out quite a bit.
For example if the merchant labels his ‘Biluochun’ as being from Yunnan, you can be sure it’s not that fruit nuanced sweet delicate Top 10 Famous Chinese Tea.
Like any industry, many merchants prey on the ignorance of others. Opaqueness is one way of camouflaging the value, simply labeling a tea as being from China covers a lot of vital information.
Value of Tea
I would make the case that not only should the province be listed- e.g. Yunnan, Fujian etc- the county should as well- i.e. Wuyishan, Fuding, Zhenghe etc.
While a very good case can be made that Dafo Longjing tastes every bit as good as Shifeng Longjing, no one in the right frame of mind would pay the even remotely the same price for the former.
Proper disclosure of information is important to help the customer make an informed decision.
Also if you see a cheap ‘Shifeng Longjing’, you can laugh and go elsewhere but that is a tale for another post.
In specific circumstances, it goes deeper. For example for Wuyi teas, Zheng yan, ban yan and zhou cha are priced at very different levels. For example our Wuyi Shuixian is more than twice the price of our Wuyi Rougui because the former is grown in the zheng yan area while the latter is not.
Style of Production
In certain cases, specific counties have their unique production style for the same variety of tea, even within the same province.
One classic example is white tea- particularly Silver Needles and White Peony. The main production areas are Fuding and Zhenghe while Fuding teas being withered in the sun, then baked while Zhenghe teas are entirely sun-dried.
A case for the individual merits of each style can be made but information needs to be provided to the consumer to decide.
Birthplace and authenticity
Arguably the most important point is left till the last- disclosure of the origin allows the customer to identify if the tea is produced in the birthplace and hence determine the authenticity of the tea.
In China- and Chinese communities- a big deal is often made of being the original birthplace of something, be it tea or a particular dish. The phrase is beautiful 正宗原味- translated as ‘True Ancestry, Original Taste”.
Image from WikiCommons
In local context, we can take the example of ‘Katong Laksa’. Best of my knowledge there are at least 3 or 4 shops laying claim to being the originator of it.
There are some circumstances where varieties flourish outside their original birthplace- such as Wuyi Shuixian which is more famous and valued than JianOu Shuixian and Muzha Tieguanyin which is often comparable to Anxi Tieguanyin but by-and-large these are the exception rather than the rule.
The premium on birthplace can be attributable to 2 main factors in my opinion- the environment that gives rise to the unique characteristic of the tea and the technique of producer.
For example, Biluochun that is grown on the shores of Taihu have fruity nuances that are attributable to the surrounding trees. Biluochun produced in Sichuan or Shandong though would have none of these characteristics though.
The next point may seem puzzling to those who are unfamiliar with Chinese culture- why can technique be replicated elsewhere? Who is to say an oolong tea producing in Sichuan would not have the same skill as one from Phoenix Mountain?
If you watched many Chinese martial arts movies, there is a recurring scenario, the impartation of the master’s greatest skill.
That is almost universally performed on the master’s deathbed (or if he thought he was going to die as in the case of Hong Qigong and Huang Rong) and to his or her anointed successor only, usually his son.
This illustrates among other things the level of mistrust that perpetrates the Chinese culture. Even today, a traditional Chinese cook will withhold his the exact proportion and ingredients of his secret recipe from his disciples for fear that i) he may be replaced or ii) the disciple will steal it and be his rival.
Even in car repair workshops, senior mechanics have sent junior mechanics off to buy coffee (or tea) when they are about to perform a crucial repair, just to keep their competitive advantage.
This is true with tea makers. That’s why many of the crucial steps in producing tea in traditional workshops are still performed by the tea master. It may sound ludicrous to one foreign to Chinese culture but this practice is still commonplace.
Hence if Longjing, for example, is produced in another province (or even county), it may well be a high quality product but apart from the environmental factors, don’t expect the same skills to be replicated elsewhere.
So the next time you ask for the origin of your tea, don’t settle for country or even province.
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