The Story of Tea Read online

  Copyright © 2007 by Mary Lou Heiss and Robert J. Heiss

  Studio Photography copyright © 2007 by Angie Cao

  All rights reserved. Published in the United States by Ten Speed Press, an imprint of the Crown Publishing Group, a division of Random House, Inc., New York.

  www.crownpublishing.com

  www.tenspeed.com

  Ten Speed Press and the Ten Speed Press colophon are registered trademarks of Random House, Inc.

  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

  Heiss, Mary Lou.

  The story of tea : a cultural history and drinking guide / Mary Lou Heiss and Robert J. Heiss.

  p. cm.

  Includes bibliographical references and index.

  1. Tea—History. 2. Cookery (Tea) I. Heiss, Robert J. II. Title.

  TX415.H44 2007

  641.3’372—dc22

  2007007188

  eISBN: 978-1-60774-172-5

  All location photography by Mary Lou Heiss and Robert J. Heiss, except as noted in the captions.

  Studio photography by Angie Cao, with styling by Bergren Rameson and photo assistance by Cody Pickens, on the front cover jacket and fm.1, 4.1, 4.2, 4.3, 4.4, 4.5, 5.1–6.1, 6.2, 7.1, 7.2–7.3, 7.4, 7.5, 7.6, 7.7, 7.8–7.9, 7.10, 7.11, 7.12, 7.13–7.14, 7.15, 7.16, 7.17, and g.1.

  Maps on this page and this page by Scott Lowry.

  v3.1

  To William H. Ukers

  You blazed the trail and in your footsteps we all follow.

  contents

  Preface

  Acknowledgments

  Introduction

  1. A Brief History of Tea

  2. The Life of a Tea Bush

  3. Manufacture: From Fresh Leaves to Distinctive Tea

  4. Journeying along the Tea Trail

  5. An Encyclopedia of Tea

  6. Brewing the Perfect Cup

  7. Tea Customs and Culture

  8. The Health Benefits of Tea

  9. Ethics in the Tea Trade

  10. Cooking with Tea

  Buyer’s Resources

  Glossary

  Bibliography

  About the Authors

  Index

  PREFACE

  AS TEA MERCHANTS, we are drawn to teas that possess a distinctive style, teas that hold the feeling of the place where they were made in the folds and creases of their tiny leaves. We are captivated by the influence of what the French call terroir—that distinction of flavor akin to a cultural stamp of identity that undeniably pinpoints a product to its origin.

  Terroir is determined by the physical realities of soil, altitude, climate, and geography, and also by the more evanescent and less apparent threads of history, cultural preferences, and tradition. All of these determinants consort to yield what author Fred Plotkin has referred to as “somewhereness.” Think about a glass of chilled, effervescent Champagne or a mug of spicy, rich hot chocolate embellished with a touch of ground chile and cinnamon, and you are envisioning two great examples of “somewhereness.” Each beverage is unique and specific to its “somewhere”; each is completely foreign in spirit to the other place.

  Terroir exists for all foods, but the effects of terroir are most easily understood and tasted in such examples as coffee, cheese, olives and olive oil, rice, spirits, water, wine, and tea. Viewed in concert with these other food products, tea perhaps seems to be the simplest of the group—a humble green leaf that is plucked from a bush, then dried and brewed. In fact, the experienced Chinese farmer who has a few tea bushes growing by his back door can simply pick and parch a few tea leaves in a hot wok over a charcoal fire pan for his own tea-drinking enjoyment.

  But along its more than two-thousand-year journey to today, tea has developed into something much more complicated and place specific. Time has allowed for the creation of tens of thousands of different teas, each of which are produced by people who till the soil in a multitude of tea gardens large and small. The net result is a staggering amount of tea produced annually—not just tea, but different teas, unique teas, teas that are made nowhere else. Six classes of tea (each with several subclasses) have developed into an industry that ranges from vital to emergent in approximately fifty countries. Statistics for worldwide tea consumption pegs tea as second only to water as the most commonly drunk liquid in the world.

  In tea-producing countries, tea is as important to life as is food. Tea is consumed both as a thinking person’s beverage and as an everyman’s delight. Tea drinking is a tactile, sensory activity that provides both intellectual stimulation and aesthetic inspiration during times of social gathering or solitary contemplation. In the East tea is more highly regarded for these transcendental qualities than it is for its caffeine content or healthful benefits. The pleasurable ritual of tea drinking is deeply encoded in these cultures and religions, and tea permeates and sustains life in ways that those of us in the West simply fail to comprehend.

  Our search for fine tea draws us back time and again to Asia, for tea that is carefully crafted in small villages by master tea processors who have learned their skills from previous tea masters. These tea processors will in turn pass their skills on to younger workers and to the new generation graduating from agricultural universities with degrees in tea management.

  In some countries tea production is still very much hands-on work. Tea production is a combination of science and cooperation from nature along with the experienced senses of tea workers who can see, feel, and hear the elusive changes occurring in the transformation of the fresh leaf into finished tea. From hand-plucking to hand-sorting, to hand-processing to hand-sorting again, and finally to hand-packing, we are fascinated by tea that is made by human hands that have developed the necessary sense of touch and feel that we call “knowing.” This human factor conveys—in hand movements, glances, and the concentration etched on the tea workers’ faces—indefinable but almost tangible connections to the wisdom of the sages and the tea masters who came before.

  From China to India to Sri Lanka these tea workers all share a common connection with the land and a keen awareness of the way their tea should be. Perhaps most important and most difficult to define is an appreciation for the way that the leaf wants to be. Experienced tea workers know to work with the leaf and the calendar, not against either. To pluck the right size leaf at the right time of the season, and leave the rest alone until its proper time, is a decision that can only be made from knowledge and experience. The same goes for knowing when to prune and when to let a plant rest. No calendar can tell a tea master when the precise moment is right to pluck the first tender tea sprouts that emerge in the earliest days of frost-laden spring.

  Determining how long to let the tea wither, how long to roll it, to oxidize it, to fluff it, or how long to let it sit over the charcoal embers to dry is an art. The timing must be impeccable or the tea will be less than spectacular or ruined. An experienced tea master must pay attention not only to the progress of the leaf’s transformation but also to the weather—the dryness, the humidity, the lack or abundance of rain.

  When we visit tea-producing countries, we become the students to these masters. We are always humbled by the depths of their knowledge, their experience, and their willingness (despite the language pitfalls) to educate us so that we may in turn educate our customers and readers. For the past thirty years tea has played an important role in our Northampton, Massachusetts, shop Cooks Shop Here. Since those early days, tea became our passion. This book is our attempt to transmit the information and knowledge that we have garnered trekking along the tea trail to our interested readers. We hope to cut through the sometimes confusing prattle about tea by providing in-depth information and understanding about processes that many people have written about but few have a
ctually witnessed.

  Explaining to someone how something is made is always a tricky balance of deciding what information is important and to whom that information is relevant. Because we answer questions about tea every day in our shop (and have had hundreds of tea discussions with customers over the years), we have attempted to provide in this book material that appeals to beginning tea enthusiasts as well as to seasoned tea professionals. Our goal is to give readers the behind-the-scenes information about the life rhythms and work cycles in a tea village or factory. We also offer our sensibilities regarding the complexity and intrigue of an ancient beverage in today’s fast-paced, modern world. If along the way we convert new enthusiasts into the ranks of regular tea drinkers, or if we pique readers’ interests to branch out and try new teas, we will have been successful.

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  AT THE BEGINNING OF THIS PROJECT, we hoped we would do justice to how extraordinarily fascinating and colorful the world of tea is. Thankfully, during our travels, research, and writing both in the United States and abroad, we found many kindred spirits who provided us with information, explanations, photographs, meals, travel guidance, language translation, delicious cups of rare and distinguished tea, compassion, and understanding, as well as friendship and congenial hospitality. Without them this book would not be possible, and with them we have succeeded in our task.

  None of us in the tea industry would have a job were it not for the hard work and dedication of the tea pluckers, tea factory managers, and tea processors worldwide who continue to maintain high standards of excellence despite ever-increasing difficulties. To all of you, we bow in awe and gratitude.

  Our understanding of the patterns of life in the tea gardens would all be academic rhetoric were it not for the men and women who welcomed us into their tea gardens, tea factories, tea research facilities, and university classrooms. Their efforts to educate us enabled us to observe and document the continuation of a time-honored, traditional craft. To all of you who are part of the success and the vigor of today’s tea industry, we thank you from our hearts and wish you a thousand blessings.

  Our literary agent, Lisa Ekus, steered us brilliantly and with great foresight to Ten Speed Press for this project. The trust and support we have found from Philip Wood, Lorena Jones, and Aaron Wehner at Ten Speed Press have allowed us to tell the story of tea from our insider’s point of view. Our editor, Brie Mazurek, showed courage and forbearance in handling the onslaught of text and images, wrangling a sleek book with strong voice out of a mountain of information. Copyeditor Amy Smith Bell is to be commended for her fine, sensitive hand and dagger pencil. Studio photographer Angie Cao and stylist Bergren Rameson brought our collection of teawares to life in the studio. And designer Toni Tajima created a visually stunning book that compliments the colorfulness and the humanity of the tea industry.

  We wish to specifically thank the following colleagues and friends who helped us fill in the information gaps, understand the minutia of tea manufacturing techniques, and grasp the transitory nature of time, weather, and change over the course of a season in a tea garden in lands so far away.

  For generosity without equal, we are grateful to Joel Schapira, who was there in the beginning and from whom we learned what matters, and Stephen Chao and Lydia Kung, who gave us undreamed-of opportunity and experiences. Words of thanks seem inadequate, so we will express our feelings by asking, “What’s next?”

  To our colleagues in Japan, who gave freely and generously of their time and energies to make our tea trip to Japan a full and extraordinary experience: Elizabeth Andoh; Den Shirakata and everyone at Shirakata-Denshiro Shoten; Dr. Kiyoshi Hayakawa and the Fukujuen Cha Research Center; Suichi Kawano, Kenji Tatsumi, and Hideaki Tokuda, at Kyoto Industrial Support Organization 21; Kono Maso, Haruhide Morita, Masashi Yamamoto, and Takahiro Yamamoto; Jun Yasunaga and members of Kyoohoo; Kotobuki Trading Co.; the Japan External Trade Organization; and the Eishunnji Temple.

  For graciously unlocking the mysteries of Chinese tea for us, we express sincere appreciation to the Tea Boards of Anhui, Jiangxi, and Zhejiang Provinces, as well as the following individuals: In Anhui: Li Nian Hua, Jiang Ren Hua, Chen Lu, and Gao Man Li. In Fujian: Peter Wu, Wei Yue De, Wang Wu He, Jiang Yuanxun, Wang Gui Qing, and Lin Jing Qing. In Jiangxi: Hong Peng, Yu Guang Zhong, Yu Jing Hong, Yu Xin Chun, and Xu Yaojin. In Sichuan: Tang Xiaojun, Pan Guicheng, Chen Shuqiong, Professor Mu Jihong, Professor Liao Mingan, Professor Yao Jide, Wan Zhonglin, and Zeng Ying Hui. In Yunnan: Zheng Yue, Luo Nai Xin, Chen Guo Feng, and Dane Xuhe. In Zhejiang: Jianming Wu, Hairong Xu, He Bao Zhang, Wang Ya Tao, Wang Jia Yang, Mao Zhi Fang, Jin Zhong Ming, Yan Yuan Du, Li Jun, and Wei Cui Lan.

  We also thank the numerous colleagues who donated their time and provided us with information beyond our experiences: Brother Anthony of Taizé in South Korea; Donald J. Baer and Beverly Clevidence, PhD, at Beltsville Human Nutrition Research Center, Agricultural Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture; Douglas A. Balantine; Saunam Bhattacharjee, at Tfactor Specialty Teas; Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences in Hangzhou, Zhejiang; Carl Chu; Richard Enticott, at Plantextrakt; Dilhan C. Fernando at Dilhma Tea; Charlotte Gardner, at Nepal Himalayan Tea; Darra Goldstein, at Gastronomica; Christina Green, at the Gardiner Museum of Ceramic Art; William B. Hall, at the Charleston Tea Plantation; Mimi Hellman, Assistant Professor of Art and Art History at Skidmore College; Jim Herron Sr., at Simpson and Vail; Q Li Holmes; Sharon Hudgins; Elliott Johnson, at Mark Wendell Tea; Yeonok Kim, at Hankook Tea; Amanda Lange, Ned Lazaro, and Penny Leveritt, at Historic Deerfield; Eileen and Dechen Latshang; William McMelville; Wanja Michuki, at Highland Tea Company; Titus Gerard Pinto, at Chamraj Estates; Victoria Abbott Riccardi; Bob Rifkin; Galina Rothstein; Milton Schiffenbauer; Robert B. Sheeks and Robert H. Sheeks; Joseph. P. Simrany, President of the Tea Association of the U.S.A; Tea Research Institute and Yunnan Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Yaan, Sichuan; Larry Sokyo Tiscornia; the Urasenke Foundation in San Francisco; Srimathie Weerasuriya, at the Sri Lanka Tea Board; Tea Research Institute in Hangzhou, Zhejiang; Zhan Tian Buddhist Temple; and Chongbin Zheng, at Red & Green Company.

  We especially wish to thank those who graciously allowed us to reproduce their images and photographs: Eliot Jordan, Historic Deerfield, Saunam Bhattacharjee, and Sonam Zoksang.

  With great affection and respect, we send a wink to Tom Lisicki and Eliot Jordan, whose companionship along the tea trail makes the bumpy roads, the endless hours on the bus, and the precipitous drives seem all the less daunting.

  We are ever grateful for the dedication of our courageous associates Beth Grubert and Michael Labenz, who flawlessly manned our store while we headed to Asia in search of tea.

  And lastly, we want to thank all dedicated tea drinkers. Please know that your support of artisan tea supports the health and vitality of tea makers around the world and gives them hope for a bright future.

  Jade Dragon Snow Mountain rises in the distance behind Black Dragon Pool and the Moon-Embracing Temple in Lijiang (Yunnan Province, China).

  INTRODUCTION

  TEA HAS A LONG AND TURBULENT HISTORY, filled with intrigue, adventure, fortune gained and lost, embargoes, drugs, taxation, smugglers, war, revolution, religious aestheticism, artistic expression, and social change. Tea’s association with colorful, far-off lands fabled for richly textured fabrics, aromatic spices, and delicate porcelain tableware helps to explain how a humble commodity from China came to both fire the imagination and stimulate the palate of upper-class Europeans in the early seventeenth century. Eventually this commodity would capture the attention of the entire Western world. This sweeping history, contained in a single cup of tea, is a riveting narrative that belies the gentle and relaxing nature of this mild-mannered beverage. Around the planet millions of people in all walks of life begin their day with a brisk cup of hot tea. They rely on the soothing, relaxing nature of tea in the afternoon to smooth away the rough edges of the day.

  The days when tall, sleek cl
ipper ships raced full-throttle across the seas to deliver another cargo of precious tea leaf have long been replaced by a new era. Today tea enthusiasts need do nothing more than visit the local teashop to select an aromatic tea that catches our fancy. Although times have changed, the centuries-old relationship between the hands-on work of the tea growers and pickers, the environment and the land, and the natural cycle of the harvests still flows according to the traditional rhythms of the seasons in remote tea gardens. A monumental volume of tea is produced annually, especially in the exceptional crop year, when weather cooperates and generously rewards the strenuous efforts and dedication of tea farmers. Working in harmony with nature and by maintaining a keen understanding of the end product desired, tea farmers, pickers, managers, processors, and researchers work in unison to bring a wealth of tea-leaf styles to market each year. Tea is a balancing act between flavor and aroma that carries in its essence the singular stamp of the culture that produced it.

  All tea leaf is plucked from the same species of tea plant, known as Camellia sinensis, which is grown from one of three primary origin-specific varietal bushes—China bush, Assam bush, and Java bush. Camellia sinensis is a sturdy evergreen bush that features dark green, glossy, serrated leaves. Tea is cultivated by every tea-producing country from numerous local hybrids that have been developed for vigor, disease resistance, and weather tolerance. But when we taste a selection of teas, we can clearly see that Chinese tea differs from Indian tea, and neither tastes like Ceylon tea. China is famous for fresh-tasting, sweet, and delicate green tea, while India leads the world in the production of aromatic, flavorful, and bracing black tea—yet, interestingly, both teas originate from the same plant. Japan is known for carefully tended, fresh, and astringent green teas that differ greatly in style and flavor from Chinese green teas.