After sleeping and the ordeal of trying
to find food the night before, we woke up hungry. But we also woke up
late for breakfast on the farm. Still, we humbly asked for any type
of breakfast service. Our host looked over his shoulder for a quick
glance. He was showing a bit of reserve as if to say, “It might not
be good enough for you.” Then, he kindly showed us to the kitchen
after we demonstrated hunger in earnest. I knew that drinking loads
of tea on an empty stomach would not do me any good.
Over breakfast of rice porridge known
as “zhou” or “xi fan,” we discuss the plan for the day. The
food was fresh, but cooled after sitting out and the chill was still
strong in the early morning air. Who knows what time this food was
originally prepared, but it was cold now. I wanted to eat a lot. Not
only as a big fan of the breakfast, but also because tea was in the
air. We had no formal plan for the day, so it was over breakfast that
my friend said, “Listen, that tea from First Stop won’t be ready
until well into the day, so let’s drink and see what kind of tea
this guy has.”
With time to kill in the tea mountains,
let the slurping begin! One bowl of zhou for the better and I am
staggering down another set of stairs, into the out-of-doors, but
only for a second. The sunlight feels good and the mountain air is
light and calm. This courtyard leads to the main hall where the tea
is brewed. From our room to the kitchen to the main hall…we went
from one large room to another, all of which had ceilings at least
forty feet high. Trophy plaques commending best regional tea adorned
the walls. Most tea growers have such artifacts on display, but I'd
never seen anything like this. Wall after wall, covered with the
trophy plaques and it seemed as if they had kept building halls just
to have more room for their growing award collection.
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| View of tea plants when entering into the main hall |
As we entered the main hall, our host
invited us to sit at the tea table. It was a modest table, clearly an
understated and well loved tea station. The glass brew ware
contrasted beautifully on the carved black stone brew plate. Glass is
a confident choice as it is the material least prone to enhancing the
tea flavor. Our host isn't interested in deception, rather as the
glass would indicate, relying on transparency. Exciting! He invites
us to sit in this informal setting, across from him and apologizes
for having such simple brew ware. Then he proceeds to make us tea
with no explanation of what type of tea he is making. It is assumed
that he will be making us what he has harvested recently. The oolong
is a green heart varietal and the oxidation is light. We drink the
tea and after a while, and finally I am reminded. “Have you come
to your senses yet? Are you buying this tea or not?” This sounds so
much better in Chinese. I do come to my senses and say to myself, “I
should buy this tea.” If you would like to buy this tea, it is available on our website here:
Mt. Ah Li Tai He Sun link.
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| Our host's brew station |
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