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To My Loyal WTR viewers:

My apologies for the issues preventing you from accessing videos on this site. I am working with the Viddler team to make sure this gets resolved by Friday 3 February 2012.

This is an issue that must be handled within Viddler, and is out of my hands at this point. It could spell colossal disaster or magnificent triumph.

Stay tuned, and thank you for your patience.

Jason

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La La Shan hides itself in many ways. Down in the southern corner of TaoYuan county, narrow and winding roads keep it off the itinerary of most travelers. For those who do come, they more likely beat a path to the ancient cypress trees, those sentinels of time and cousins of the redwood. And if anyone does press on past the forests and the shoulder-less mountain passes, she must still ascend into the clouds.

LaLa Shan (拉拉山) tea production occurs at elevations of 4,000 to 6,000 feet above sea level. On the pecking order, it means the mountain isn’t as extreme as Li Shan and Da Yu Ling teas that can grow well above 7,500 feet.

This difference in altitude is not to say LaLa Shan teas deserve to be turned away. The qing xin varietal flourishes here as it does on those other lofty slopes. Depending on season and weather, the farms can turn out 20,000 to 40,000 jin (26,000 – 52,000 lbs) of finished tea per year.

LaLa’s real challenge lies in its northerly position. As spring arrives, southerly mountains warm up first, granting Li Shan (about 35 miles south) and Ali Shan (about 90 miles south) a head start on growth and plucking before the spring rains begin.

So LaLa Shan has 2 cards dealt against it; the first is elevation. Higher altitude can foster divine teas, but the cool days among misty clouds can sink a tea processor’s heart to the deepest low. Necessary withering and drying has to be done in controlled conditions that nature does not provide here.

The second obstacle is LaLa Shan’s northerly position. It waits longer for the warm Spring air, then has less time before the rains begin. LaLa Shan producers work frantically within this small window.

The result is that LaLa Shan remains tucked away, waiting until more people discover its richness. Tea plantations there are about 15 years younger than those of Li Shan or Ali Shan. Until they gain more credibility, their teas often get marketed under the catch-all “Gao Shan Cha” (High Mountain Tea). You may have already tasted some of LaLa Shan’s treasure but didn’t realize it. Some Li Shan and Da Yu Ling processors will blend LaLa Shan tea with their leaves to increase the volume they can sell under a more reputable mountain name.

But LaLa Shan teas deserve a place of their own. When done properly, the tea here takes on the floral sweetness of sweet pea blossom. Textures run rich while resorting to less bitterness. Maybe this character is due to the extra coolness in these northern mountains. The  bushes may have been more sluggish in waking from winter, and therefore did not pump as much polyphenol into their younger leaves.

Until this tea gets the recognition it deserves, the treasure will be blended into obscurity. Or it will be reserved for those who brave the winding mountain roads, through ancient forests, and into the clouds.

Walker Tea Review- a tea blog with tea reviews and tea tastings.

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Origin: Simao, Pu’er, Yunnan, China (Guangfu Tea Factory)
Harvest: May 2007
Score: 88
Price (as of post): 50 g = $5.90
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Sample provided by Teavivre.
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Share your gaiwan questions and experiences as well.

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Origin: Tiger Hill Estate, Nilgiri, India
Score: 87
Price (as of post): 2 oz = $2.34
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Sample provided by The Spice Hut.
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Part of a series on evaluating online tea stores.

A look at Numi Organic Tea in the areas of quality, selection, and tea community.

I admit that it has been over a year since I had any interaction with Numi teas. I moved on from their teas and site mainly because of the very limited selection of un-blended teas. Since then, Numi has performed a significant upgrade in their site design . That said, it can still be very frustrating maneuvering around the site and finding information.

Quality: Numi has built its brand around offering pure, natural ingredients that are beneficial to people and the Earth. As such, many teas are Fair Trade and organic.

• Product pics make me reluctant to buy. For example, their Dragonwell appears excessively brown. This tea looks old and overpriced.
• Numi does offer a compressed, brick pu’er (difference in spelling is intentional), but I wonder if it could go head-to-head with a traditional pu’er brick from an established producer. I have not yet tasted it.

Selection: Small. I found 9 of 24 total loose teas that were unflavored and un-blended. You will find 1 wulong, 4 greens, and 1 black tea that meet this criteria.

Tea Community: Numi does sport regular activity on a blog, Facebook, and Twitter, but their use of FB and Twitter is more of an announcement or bulletin board employment. They are not places where people go to ask questions or expect back-and-forth interaction.

Conclusion: I generally find Numi’s selection and quality of loose, unflavored/unblended teas uninspiring. Their tea community and overall online presence is one-directional and fairly stagnant.

And their website is awkward. If I want a tea, do I go to Product or Shop? Only after looking at the product did I realize “bulk” included 4 ounce volumes. I saw one link to their blog on the landing page, and but could not find another. So I would have to go back to find that link. Just a mess.

Walker Tea Review- a tea blog with tea reviews and tea tastings. Operated by Jason Walker.

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Origin: Thyolo, Malawi
Score: 86
Price (as of post): 1/2 oz = $5
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Sample provided by Butiki Teas.
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Image: Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times / October 18, 2011

Read this article and some of the comments about this article from the L.A. Times.

- While I appreciate press coverage of the growing place fine teas are taking in the U.S., I squirmed in my seat at how tea (and tea-drinkers) were presented. One passage makes it look like some new hipster obsession that comes after bicycle and vinyl record collecting. Come on!

- The article fails to explain that good tea is good tea. The guys in the article are seeking the 7th heaven of an expensive tea experience. They’re drawing from an extensive collection of teaware and agonizing over choice of waters. Good teas do not have to be high-maintenance. They can also be enjoyed with simplicity.

- Good teas do not need to be so expensive. One of the reader comments below the article remarks at the apparent wastefulness. Some people collect fine, expensive wines. Others collect tea. But good teas can be enjoyed for far less. Considering how many times loose-leaf teas can be re-steeped, the cost per cup can be much lower than you imagine. Even competing with some teabag teas.

- Good teas can also be earth friendly and farmer friendly. With online retail and the work of organizations like the ITFA, it is possible to get teas while cutting out middle-men. And since there is no tea bag and string to recycle, your tea leaves return to directly to the earth as mulch or compost.

- Finally, the descriptions of the teas’ characteristics will scare some people off. How many people want to drink something that mainly tastes like moldy bread? There are so many rich characteristics to tea. Good tea is lower in astringency and bitterness than most of the mainstream teabags. It also invites you to move beyond flavor-chasing to experience rich texture and that sought-after aftertaste. Aftertaste is different from the initial flavor of a tea. It is sensed in the back of the mouth and throat. Once you experience it new doors of delight will be opened onto you.

Don’t let the tea geeks scare you off.

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Walker Tea Review- a tea blog with tea reviews and tea tastings.
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When recently asked: “What tea books do you return to as resources?”, this book was on the short list.

The Tea Drinker’s Handbook aims to provide insightful, expert information on tea growing & craftsmanship, tea preparation & appreciation, and a collection of must-try teas.

- use it when you want to understand tea growing and processing. The Tea Drinker’s Handbook goes beyond many other books in explaining, for example, how oolong tea processing differs from black tea processing. It also gives some of the most thorough coverage on basic terrior and tea farming practices.

- use it when you want simple guidance on tea preparation methods. Basic steps on a variety of steeping methods are provided, including Japanese kyusu and Chinese gaiwan usage. You can also pick up some of tea tasters’ lingo, potentially helpful when you need to interact with certain tea vendors and aficionados.

- use it to gain a glimpse of the many treasured teas waiting to be explored.

For another perspective, see: Pluck Tea’s review. While the flaws in the appreciation/preparation section that Pluck noted do exist, I still found the handbook to be one of the most extensive in coverage of the cultivation and production of tea.

In short, this reference book will give many readers the feeling that they too can start growing and processing their own teas. Or maybe jump into the tea business.

From Amazon:

About the Author(s)
François-Xavier Delmas is founder of Le Palais des Thés. His in-depth knowledge of tea-producing regions and his exceptional tasting skills make him one of the leading experts in his field. Mathias Minet is a taster. He joined Le Palais des Thés ten years ago and co-directs the business with Delmas. In 1999, he and Delmas founded L’École du Thé, a school for would-be tasters. Christine Barbaste is the author of Thé à Paris in the series Paris est à nous (Editions Parigramme).

Walker Tea Review- a tea blog with tea reviews and tea tastings.
Want to see a tea reviewed? Contact me: jason@walkerteareview.com

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