It is on Apr.6, 2025，the Qingming Festival of this year. We are harvesting the High Mountain Bi Luo Chun in Tongren of Guizhou. The area belongs to Wuling Mountains. The tea garden is at the elevation of 1000m. It is confirmed to organic farming. The manure fertilizer fosters the soil of this garden very well. It produce very tasty high mountain Bi Luo Chun green tea.
Most of the farmers around this garden belong to Tujia, Miao and Gelao races.
I was often asked who is the tea master which produce the tea. Somehow I feel a bit reluctant to answer this question. Because I know usually the ‘tea masters’ in their eyes is the one who process the tea. But actually the tea quality is much more decided by the quality of material rather than the processing. The real tea master shall be the one who manage the tea garden. The managing of a good tea garden requires long persistence, commitment and investment, but gains much less attention as processing.
This tea garden is a good example. There are a few similar tea gardens in this area. But the taste of tea from this garden is the best. The reason is that the garden has been well fostered for many years. It started to be conformed to organic farming since 12 years ago. The application of manure fertilizer (a recipe mainly composed by goat shit and rapeseed residue), and prohibition of pesticides and herbicides makes the soil structure in sound condition. Thus the tea grows well and turns out to be tasty. This finding is simple. But the work behind is quite difficult. Because the yield of this way of natural farming is lower than conventional tea gardens, but the managing cost is higher than the latter. Most of the field work needs to be done by hand or simple machine, and the cost of manufacturing and application of manure fertilizer is much more than chemical fertilizers. The garden owner himself is an expert of manure fertilizer. Because of this special identity, he is much less known as a tea man, and away from the spotlight. Three years ago, I came to this garden and got impressed by the quality of tea from this garden. Much much appreciate to those who work quietly with devotion and commitment. In my world, there are many tea farmers are working and living in this way. They are the hidden hero of tea.
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