APRIL/MAY 2019 71
NG MAPS, MAP DATA: © OPENSTREETMAP CONTRIBUTORS, AVAILABLE UNDER OPEN DATABASE LICENSE: OPENSTREETMAP.ORG/COPYRIGHTprocesses tea. We drink expensive teas that have “hints of apri-
cot” and cheap teas that cost about five dollars a kilo and leave
the mouth as puckered as sucking on an unripe persimmon
would. We drive on dirt roads that seem to lead to the middle of
nowhere, but it turns out we aren’t quite as much in the middle
of nowhere as we think.
One day, bumping along a narrow dirt road that runs through
a tea terrace, a van comes at us from the opposite direction. It’s
filled with tea tourists from Japan. While the drivers negotiate
how to get the two vehicles past each other, the visitors from the
United States, Nepal, and Japan stand together on the hillside,
trade tea stories, and take photos.
On our last day in Yiwu, our foursome veers off the main drag
to search for the historic starting point of the Tea Horse Road. It’s
as if we’re stepping back in time. Many original houses—hundreds
of years old, made of unfired clay brick, with upturned eaves—
remain. As we meander through the serpentine pathways, we
see wide rattan trays filled with freshly picked tea leaves stacked
on garden walls, lying on patios, or perched on verandas so the
leaves can have their sunbath. Before each house and in every
courtyard, women—many of whom wear the traditional dress of
their ethnic minority—sit around other wide trays mounded with
processed tea leaves. These they sort a leaf at a time, according
to grade and color. It’s unbelievably time-consuming, yet every-
where I look, the women are chatting, gossiping, and sometimes
singing to while away the hours of meticulous work.
We reach the clearing that marks the start of the Tea Horse
Road. Huge camphor trees provide shade as they must have in
the past. The road itself is made of cobblestones and is about five
feet wide. It’s easy to imagine horses neighing, the bells that dec-
orated their halters jingling, men shouting orders, meats being
cooked over open fires, and teams of laborers grunting as they
hoisted the heavy packs onto their backs to join their caravans.
Today the clearing seems a little lonely. Some children play in
the lower branches of a camphor. An old man—toothless, bent
with age, and supported by a homemade walking stick—takes
an afternoon stroll along the storied road.
There are those who say tourism has ruined Yunnan.
Kunming has become too modernized. Dali has lost its charm.
The Tiger Leaping Gorge and Lijiang are too crowded. But
Xishuangbanna Prefecture’s natural wonders and deep cultural
experiences are still mostly pristine, and tea offers a unique
way to explore both. Some tea aficionados will tell you that tea
requires a lifetime of study and dedication to fully enjoy it, but
it can also be experienced at its most basic level. To walk any
street, visit any kitchen, or go to any wedding in China is to
understand the adage “Drink tea, make friends.”LISA SEE( @Lisa_See) is a best-selling author whose books
include The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane and, most recently,
The Island of Sea Women.Wife-and-husband photo teamTUUL
AND BRUNO MORANDI( @bruno_morandi) are based in Paris.eae uieaubetU A)A
time to try various teas until
you find one you like. Avoid
buying the most expensive
tea in the shop to preclude
overpaying for a tea.
Most tea shops in China
are willing to bargain.
However, some may offer
you more tea in lieu of a
discount. Insist on the
discount, because you do
not want to end up with
more tea than you need.
Some Pu’erh tea shops
may claim that their tea cakes
come with a “certificate of
authentication.” Currently,
there is no official entity in
Yunnan that issues such a
certificate. They are of little
worth in guaranteeing the
value of the tea you purchase.WHERE TO BUY
Guangzhou 88 Qing Dry
Store Tea Company
No. 2-17, Building 21, Haoyu
Dacheng, Ouhai County,
Xishuangbanna, YunnanDenong Tea Shop
No. 7, Building 18,
District 1 of the Kangle Tea
Cultural Center,
No. 188 Guannan Ave.,
Kunming, YunnanLinda Louie, tea educator and
owner of Bana Tea Company,
which specializes in Pu’erh
tea, gives us her tips for how
to taste and buy tea.HOW TO TASTE
In China, people take their
tea straight without adding
any sugar or milk. (The
exceptions are the modern
boba tea joints.) Tea shops
are not equipped with any
condiments to accompany
the tea.
What is known in the West
as black tea is called red tea
(or hong cha) in China. Pu’erh
and other post-fermented
teas are the black teas (or
hei cha).
If you are traveling to
tea-producing regions, ask to
try a tea that is well-known
in that region. Observe and
learn how the locals brew
and drink their tea. Your tea
tasting can turn out to be an
intimate, informative, and
enriching cultural experience.HOW TO BUY
The majority of the tea shops
in China offer complimentary
tea tastings so you can try
before you buy. Take yourTravel Wise: Tea Essentials
APRIL/MAY 2019 71
NG MAPS, MAP DATA: © OPENSTREETMAP CONTRIBUTORS, AVAILABLE UNDER OPEN DATABASE LICENSE: OPENSTREETMAP.ORG/COPYRIGHT
processes tea. We drink expensive teas that have “hints of apri-
cot” and cheap teas that cost about five dollars a kilo and leave
the mouth as puckered as sucking on an unripe persimmon
would. We drive on dirt roads that seem to lead to the middle of
nowhere, but it turns out we aren’t quite as much in the middle
of nowhere as we think.
One day, bumping along a narrow dirt road that runs through
a tea terrace, a van comes at us from the opposite direction. It’s
filled with tea tourists from Japan. While the drivers negotiate
how to get the two vehicles past each other, the visitors from the
United States, Nepal, and Japan stand together on the hillside,
trade tea stories, and take photos.
On our last day in Yiwu, our foursome veers off the main drag
to search for the historic starting point of the Tea Horse Road. It’s
as if we’re stepping back in time. Many original houses—hundreds
of years old, made of unfired clay brick, with upturned eaves—
remain. As we meander through the serpentine pathways, we
see wide rattan trays filled with freshly picked tea leaves stacked
on garden walls, lying on patios, or perched on verandas so the
leaves can have their sunbath. Before each house and in every
courtyard, women—many of whom wear the traditional dress of
their ethnic minority—sit around other wide trays mounded with
processed tea leaves. These they sort a leaf at a time, according
to grade and color. It’s unbelievably time-consuming, yet every-
where I look, the women are chatting, gossiping, and sometimes
singing to while away the hours of meticulous work.
We reach the clearing that marks the start of the Tea Horse
Road. Huge camphor trees provide shade as they must have in
the past. The road itself is made of cobblestones and is about five
feet wide. It’s easy to imagine horses neighing, the bells that dec-
orated their halters jingling, men shouting orders, meats being
cooked over open fires, and teams of laborers grunting as they
hoisted the heavy packs onto their backs to join their caravans.
Today the clearing seems a little lonely. Some children play in
the lower branches of a camphor. An old man—toothless, bent
with age, and supported by a homemade walking stick—takes
an afternoon stroll along the storied road.
There are those who say tourism has ruined Yunnan.
Kunming has become too modernized. Dali has lost its charm.
The Tiger Leaping Gorge and Lijiang are too crowded. But
Xishuangbanna Prefecture’s natural wonders and deep cultural
experiences are still mostly pristine, and tea offers a unique
way to explore both. Some tea aficionados will tell you that tea
requires a lifetime of study and dedication to fully enjoy it, but
it can also be experienced at its most basic level. To walk any
street, visit any kitchen, or go to any wedding in China is to
understand the adage “Drink tea, make friends.”LISA SEE( @Lisa_See) is a best-selling author whose books
include The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane and, most recently,
The Island of Sea Women.Wife-and-husband photo teamTUUL
AND BRUNO MORANDI( @bruno_morandi) are based in Paris.eaueieaub etU A)A
time to try various teas until
you find one you like. Avoid
buying the most expensive
tea in the shop to preclude
overpaying for a tea.
Most tea shops in China
are willing to bargain.
However, some may offer
you more tea in lieu of a
discount. Insist on the
discount, because you do
not want to end up with
more tea than you need.
Some Pu’erh tea shops
may claim that their tea cakes
come with a “certificate of
authentication.” Currently,
there is no official entity in
Yunnan that issues such a
certificate. They are of little
worth in guaranteeing the
value of the tea you purchase.WHERE TO BUY
Guangzhou 88 Qing Dry
Store Tea Company
No. 2-17, Building 21, Haoyu
Dacheng, Ouhai County,
Xishuangbanna, YunnanDenong Tea Shop
No. 7, Building 18,
District 1 of the Kangle Tea
Cultural Center,
No. 188 Guannan Ave.,
Kunming, YunnanLinda Louie, tea educator and
owner of Bana Tea Company,
which specializes in Pu’erh
tea, gives us her tips for how
to taste and buy tea.HOW TO TASTE
In China, people take their
tea straight without adding
any sugar or milk. (The
exceptions are the modern
boba tea joints.) Tea shops
are not equipped with any
condiments to accompany
the tea.
What is known in the West
as black tea is called red tea
(or hong cha) in China. Pu’erh
and other post-fermented
teas are the black teas (or
hei cha).
If you are traveling to
tea-producing regions, ask to
try a tea that is well-known
in that region. Observe and
learn how the locals brew
and drink their tea. Your tea
tasting can turn out to be an
intimate, informative, and
enriching cultural experience.HOW TO BUY
The majority of the tea shops
in China offer complimentary
tea tastings so you can try
before you buy. Take yourTravel Wise: Tea Essentials