Shang’s Journal

Growing up in China, I drank tea all the time, and enjoyed it immensely. It was not until I was older, however, that I began to appreciate all of the work that goes into the tea leaves that I brew daily.

I have personally visited many of the factories and farms that produce the tea for Shangtea.com. As I return to China in search of more high quality tea, I will write about my experiences here. But first I would like to share some of the past things that I have seen and learned at the tea farms and tea factories.

Drying Tea on a hot wok

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One year I was lucky enough to visit the tea farms during their April harvest. March and April are big months for harvesting tea leaves. The leaves are still very young and tender before the spring rains. Generally, these young, small leaves are the most desirable because they are healthier and of the highest quality.

Tea pickers harvest the leaves, picking two larger leaves and a smaller bud, and place them in a large bamboo basket that they carry on their backs. I have seen them line these baskets with clean cotton cloth when they pick the early, before rain, teas. This is so the tender leaves do not get damaged by the bamboo. The bamboo baskets can hold about ten or twenty pounds of tea, and are emptied into a larger basket once they are full. p>I have seen some tea farms dry their own teas, while others send them to a factory to be dried. This process must be done quickly so the leaves retain their freshness. They call this "qing quaint qing" or "run for the green." To dry them, the leaves are spread on a bamboo mat. This must be done in the shade so the leaves do not wilt, as the weather is usually warm during the harvest.

I visited a tea factory while they were drying the teas. The factory manager explained their drying process to me. Once the tea leaves have softened on the bamboo mats, tea leaves are placed in a hot wok and quickly tossed to remove excess moisture. They are then spread again on bamboo mats to cool and dry further.

Shang and friend discussing tea at a small tea house.

Two years ago, I visited a jasmine tea factory for the first time, where I found our Premium Jasmine Tea and Classic Jasmine Tea. I was intrigued by their lengthy process of infusing the tea with jasmine blossoms, not once but three times. They showed me how they spread the fresh jasmine blossoms across bamboo mats, alongside the drying tea. After the blossoms dry, they are discarded and new blossoms are laid down, and they do this a total of three times. I met the expert who was in charge of processing the teas. He showed me the big woks that they dry the teas in every spring and summer. While drying and processing the teas, the workers were very focused, so I did not get to talk to them much. I just said hello and watched for awhile.