Today we enjoyed another tasting of red and semi-green teas from Wuya – we visited a friendly farm from which Tomas gets some of his red teas…
15 pieces for tasting, comparing, picking out the better pieces and that in maybe 2 hours = tea making here is quite hard work :))) Especially the head is already dumbfounded by the individual subtle nuances, aromas etc.
We also looked at the actual processing of the tea, which compared to the previous „factory“ was noticeably meatier and with less care (not everything can be given attention in such a volume).
Still, a substantial portion of the teas advanced to the next round = an evening tasting in the mountains.
For my taste, the oolongs are overcooked at Wuya and lose their bite and energy – the most killer ones are often just covered by the charcoal aroma and taste. A few days before today we tasted a tea at a „wild“ tea plant that would be no match for a not-so-roasted (Italian style) espresso = too much roasting will ruin even the best tea…
We also looked at a very old (actually already archaeological excavated) dragon kiln from the Song dynasty – ca 960 to 1279 AD – for pottery (up to 80,000 pieces in one go???). It’s just a small thing, but the tea here is incredibly interwoven with the whole history of the country and you can smell it everywhere!
