Tea Paradise in Anxi

We were not particularly interested in Anxi , it was only a stopover, and our main route was to our friends and suppliers of Tie Guan Yin tea – the Hong family. Their house is located in a small village deep in the mountains. We had previously called Mr. Hong’s daughter – Hong Min – and agreed to meet in Anxi early the next morning and then go to their village together.

When we planned the trip, we didn't expect their house to be so far up in the mountains. It took about two hours by bus to get there. We passed through many different villages.

The asphalt had ended long ago, and we were already driving along a dirt road, winding along serpentines. The road was very narrow in most cases, and the bus could barely pass oncoming cars. Moreover, this often happened in the most inappropriate places. There were no fences, no posts on the edge of the road - just a cliff. And the height was sometimes such that it was scary to look out the window, because the edge of the road we were driving on was not visible, the bus was moving along the very edge. And only when it began to seem to us that only the name remained of the road we were driving on - we began to enter their village.

The first thing we did when we entered their house was to treat us to Tie Guan Yin tea, which had literally just been prepared. It was the freshest tea I had ever drunk.

While we were tasting various qualities and types of tea, kids came running to the doorstep. Their main goal was to stare at two "laowai" (that's what the Chinese call foreigners). When else would they have such an opportunity? We were probably the only Europeans or even foreigners who had visited their region - such "wilderness". In general, all Chinese, big and small, love to stare at foreigners, especially those with white skin.

Having drunk such a huge amount of tea that there was simply no room for an additional bowl, we decided to take a walk through the tea plantations and tea mountains.

Walking through the mountains and talking with Hong Ming, we learned a lot of interesting things, as they say, "from the horse's mouth", about this tea and even some tea secrets. But first things first. The raw material for the production of Tie Guan Yin tea is collected from tea bushes aged 3 to 6 years. And only the top 3 leaves are used to produce this variety. Due to this, the tea turns out to be very thin, soft, gentle and virgin. We also learned about another oolong from these parts, which is called Huang Jing Gui. In most cases, it is cheaper than Tie Guan Yin, but many consumers will not understand the difference between these teas. And the Chinese take great advantage of this, slipping it to foreigners instead of one of the most popular oolongs. We also learned the secret of how different notes in the taste of tea are achieved. To do this, during the growth process, the lower leaves of the tea bush are torn in a certain way, literally small pieces and in a certain part of the leaf. Because of this, the process of movement of juice in the plant changes and this affects growth and subsequently the taste. To tell everything about this type of tea, it is necessary to write a separate article or even a book. Therefore, for now I will limit myself to this.

I wish everyone a pleasant tea party.

AlexanderPolyakov