Art of Tea: You’ve said originally switched to organic production in search of better tasting tea. What is the difference between the taste of organic and conventional [non-organic] tea to you?

Kinezuka: Organic tea has a deeper, richer taste. We often receive tea from other [conventional] farmers, and I am always surprised to taste it because it looks very good, but once we brew it, it is not tasty at all.

Art of Tea: When did you make the switch to organic tea production?

Kinezuka: In 1976. Before then, I had a strong dependency on chemicals.

If we go back to the earliest history of agriculture, we cannot find any time with such a high dependency on chemicals. In the 1960s,Japanese agriculture became highly dependent on chemicals, so the dependency has only a short history of about 50 years. In these 50 years, without people realizing it, there was a huge environmental destruction.

Art of Tea: What kind of environmental destruction?

Kinezuka: When I was little, farmers used a very strong chemical in the rice fields. After they sprayed, they would put up a red flag in the field, and the children were not allowed to play in the river. This is why I never learned to swim.

At the same time, the fish disappeared. If there had been a factory up the stream that killed fish and damaged the environment, it would have been a big social issue, but since it was farming, people did not take the same approach. However, farming is one of the biggest polluters.

Until today, there has been destructive construction that killed a lot of the creatures in the river and nature. We used to have many fireflies, but now we don’t see many. At one point, they almost totally disappeared.

Art of Tea: That’s terrible… What is the role of insects on your organic tea farm today?

Kinezuka: A professor observed two farms in Shizuoka from March to November, when the insects are the most active. He compared our farm to a conventional farm 250 meters away. The insects with wings were evenly spread over the two farms. However, the number of insects without wings was steady on the organic farm and it changed suddenly on the conventional farm. Overall, the average was lower on the organic farm, in part because helpful insects like spiders exist on organic farms. They eat the harmful insects. In addition, there was a much wider variety of types of insects on the organic tea farm.

Check back next week to learn how the diverse ecology of organic farms makes better tea.

Art of Tea’s tea bags were included in the party favor for a soiree for a Los Angeles based Moms group. The Moms loved the tea bags on their night out on town (sans kidlets!). The bags were in a cute little pouch (made by one of the moms) that had the event name on it, providing the host with an easy yet sophisticated way to hand out the little gifts. The women ooh-ed and aah-ed over the aromas that were released when some of them opened their favors, unable to hold off their curiosity.

As the after-event emails trickled in, and the Facebook statuses got updated, the Moms all remarked on how wonderful the tea bags were, how angelic and blissful those few moments of sipping hot tea can be. One Mom said that the Earl Grey Crème was her new favorite, that it was a quick indulgence for her in the morning before the daily routine kicked off.

Art of Tea now offers a Sachet Tea Ceremony Sampler, a beautiful elegant box that holds 2 individually packaged tea sachets.  It makes a wonderful thank-you gift to your guests.

I hope I don’t offend anyone here with this post. According to my resources deep in the Wuyi Mountains there are plenty of wild tea trees but  no Monkeys that pick tea or for that matter have ever picked tea here.

Oddly enough however there appear to be several species of non human primates in this region which are known to open/pop the top off a bottle of beer. Granted there are pictures and old paintings of the tea partnership between Monks and Monkeys trading food for wild tea leaves that could not be reached by humans, however these primates have no interest in the leaf. They prefer another brew.

So why have the name  Monkey in a tea such as our white monkey picked or golden monkey? Monkey Picked Tea refers to a top tier tea. Typically wild thicker leaves are used for this or rarer more precious leaves and buds.

This checkpoint is to prevent tourists, foreigners and uninvited guests away from the protective reserve. The habitat hosts a variety of  rare herbs and botanicals, rock teas, about 1000 residents and a host of wildlife. Tourists are only allowed in the Summer time and this visit was early harvest season so no tourists are allowed in order to protect the reserve’s natural habitat. Since I was traveling with the estate manager the guard let us through without question. Once through the gate the forest opened up to be a pure magical place. With China having many contrasts of population and other environmental concerns this place was surrounded by mountains peaks far away from city culture. These mountain peaks would shoot up at a 90 degree angle at the sky with waterfalls flowing down the side  wild monkeys, tea shrubs, pine and bamboo forests. This is where our famous organic white tea and some of our organic hand crafted oolongs are produced… You can smell and taste the freshness of this area in the tea.

Special thanks to Mr. Zhan. He has been my driver for first 5 days of the journey through Fujian and has successfully honked at every bicycle, tricycle carrier, pedestrian, car, ox, dog, water buffalo, tuk tuk, corner, bridge, village entrance, alleyway, motorcycle, motorcycle truckish hybrid (not thinking eco here just no other frame of reference) car, stone, rolling ball, bus, truck, mountain bend, river bed and fallen bamboo…keeping us safe from harm and ensuring we get to our destinations safe and on time.

Because the crop yield is so low this year many of the farmers that would harvest their commercially grown fields are now looking elsewhere. In other words they are diving deeper into wild beyond the regularly planted crops and going back to find tea plants that were once harvested regularly but the tea plants were left once they stopped producing good leaves. This time allowed the tea plants to rest and develop the natural soil again which created a new focus for farmers this year. Many farmers in Southern Mountains in China are picking just what nature has provided are seeing tremendous results with the taste and monetary value.

This reminds me of the true the sense that we may do our best to plan, to organize and to overstock but nature has a wonderful and sometimes mystical way of showing that the what we need is really out there. In some cases more than we know we just have to look for it. Unfortunately the time for lucking is sparked in our lives by running out of options and making the most of what we got. If this lesson of what is provided in nature is true then let the taste and experience of the wild tea plant such as Wild Honey Sprout and White Monkey Picked be the reminder of our own natural potential.

Does she work for herself? I often hear about people wanting to work for themselves. I am not sure there is such a thing. We work for our customers, family, status, coworkers, etc. and what Dr. Csikszentmihal calls that wonderful state of  “flow“. I also observe back in the States how often people wait to put their real efforts and time in when they can have the payoff down the line. We don’t always know when that time comes but it starts with harnessing the moment and proving to yourself what you are capable of achieving. Don’t wait to prove it later. The most successful business people and athletes I know are not competing with others rather they are competing with improving and bettering themselves.  Essentially take what you got, your “lot” so to speak and make it better. If you are given a job find the beauty in the task at hand.

The future great crops that we reap start as early as seeds and need focus, balance effort and attention every step of the way. I look at this woman and am reminded that in this world with these creations of life, it’s not just about the reward but the act of really being present and aware.

Mr. Bei is the tea master of this fair trade estate in Southern China. The way it works at this estate is that there is no central garden rather various lots dotted across campus so to speak. Each location is close to a small production facility or satellite where the teas are quickly dried to prevent oxidization. It is a cooperative effort with many of the villagers putting their strength to work so tea master Mr. Bei can craft our fine teas. According to tea master Mr. Bei there are only 14 days of harvest each year at this location for high quality white teas and green teas. Depending on weather conditions the remaining crops can be made into black teas. The rains came late this year followed by cold weather which have caused the production to drop by 60% compared to previous years. This also means a price increase and a waiting game of bidding.  This is where the relationship comes in and cooperation on many levels to ensure fair prices and fair wages for great quality products.

Plenty of cheers and toasts at lunch today back at the Fair Trade tea estate after visiting the school, most of which were short blasts of warm words in local dialect which I couldn’t understand but I smiled broadly and clicked glasses. Granted, I am a light weight when it comes to alcohol and after a few toasts of beer in a little shot glass I got a little giddy.

So, I thought I’d share my own toast with a L’Chaim. L’Chaim in Hebrew means “To life” or in other words to remain healthy with a bit of luck thrown in there. Saying l’chaim with a slight guttural roll in the back of the throat for the “ch” part caused a momentary ripple in the room, but after saying a few times everyone was rocking out the l’chaims, laughing and adding their own words of wellness. Joining us at the table was the Chief of the farming community. A powerful woman in her own right with 600 farmers voting her in as their leader and voice for great teas in this region.

While lunch was rolling on the estate manager turned to me and in a low humble voice he asked me, “Are we friends?”

Then it hit me.

We eat. We share. We feel good and we do business in China as friends. 90% of success in business transactions done anywhere is based on trust. You want to make sure that you can stand by your product or service time and again. Friends will watch your back and make sure you are getting a reliable product.

Are we friends? I responded. Yeah, of course we are friends.