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About my photographs
I took
these photographs in April 2000 at the height of the
spring green tea harvest when Bob and I had the
opportunity to visit three of the most important green tea producing
provinces in eastern China - Anhui, Jiangsze and Zhejiang - on
a tea-buying trek.
Our passion for handcrafted tea was rewarded by this
experience, and the knowledge we gained from workers
in the tea villages and regional tea factories fueled
our desire to pass this information on to our
customers back home in words and pictures.
We are thrilled to be able to share these photographs, and pleased that
they serve as a tool to highlight a traditional agrarian way of life that is under
pressure to change.
Fine tea is the result of skilled hand-labor and the
dedication of hard-working men and women living in tea growing areas. No other tea producing
country possesses the
hand-skills utilized by Chinese tea workers, and these photographs
illustrate the steps involved in bringing tea from the
tea gardens to the marketplace.
By making people aware of the
human side of tea production we hope to encourage
interest in and demand for hand-made tea so that the
future of artisan tea makers in China and other parts
of Asia remains as bright as it is for
artisan food producers in the West.
Historic Deerfield, Deerfield MA: The
Canton Connection: Art and Commerce of the China Trade
1784-1860
From Fall 2005 until spring 2007 my photographs were
on display at the Flynt Center at Historic Deerfield,
in conjunction with their exhibition titled: The
Canton Connection: Art and Commerce of the China Trade
1784-1860
The Link Between the Photographs and the Exhibition
In
the exhibition, Historic Deerfield displayed a rare
and magnificent Tea Production Album that was painted
in China circa 1795. In the album a sequence of
charming images guides the viewer through the steps of leaf
cultivation and manufacture, conveying in colorful
detail how tea was made in China at that time.
My color photographs of contemporary tea workers shows
that the steps involved in the manufacture of
hand-made tea is much the same today as it was in
1795. While some degree of modernity has been
incorporated, the style and essence of the process has
changed little.
The Importance of Tea in China’s History
Once called the 'Elixir of the Immortals' and renowned
as the beverage of Chinese Emperors, Chinese hand-made
green teas are highly prized today by tea connoisseurs
worldwide for their unique leaf styles, and clean,
delicate flavors.
From 1784-1860, the time-frame explored in this
exhibition: The Canton Connection: Art and
Commerce of the China Trade, China was in the
middle years of the last great Imperial dynasty, the Qing
Dynasty ( 1644-1912.). This dynasty saw trade and
commerce with the West blossom and witnessed the
brilliant glow of China’s imperial power fade into
history.
Tea was the commodity that brought Westerners knocking
on China’s door, and it became the single most
important commodity that fueled the expansion of the
China trade with the West. In Europe and especially
England, this simple leaf and its humble beverage became an obsession, first
with wealthy lords and ladies, then with the
intellectual elite, until finally all classes of
citizens came to depend on this invigorating brew.
I
Mary Lou |
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The
epicenter of China’s spring green tea harvest is the Golden
Triangle - the provinces of Anhui, Jiangsze and Zhejiang. The
topography here is stunning, with steep, rugged mountains
claiming much
of the land. The most famous mountains - Huang Shan, Mogan Shan,
Qi Shan and Tianmu Shan - rise over five thousand feet and are
accentuated with bamboo groves, waterfalls and stands of pine.
Their foothills are compressed in folds and pleats, with tea
gardens planted in rhythmic patterns that cover the landscape in
a soft, green mantle. |
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The common tea shrub, Camellia
sinensis, is a specie evergreen related to the exotic flowering
camellia. It produces the finest teas in high altitudes where
sunlight, rainfall, cool breezes and mist coax the bushes to
fullness. The Chinese variety - Camellia sinensis var. sinensis
- is small and robust. In the wild, tea shrubs can grow to a
height of nine feet, but cultivated plants are pruned to a
manageable three and one-half foot tall by three-foot wide bush.
Tea shrubs can live more than one hundred years, but they are
cut back to the ground every twenty years to encourage new
growth. |
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Elegant, clean and fresh in flavor,
spring green teas are known for their artistically shaped
leaves. The choicest leaf configuration, mao feng, consists of
two leaves of equal length and a bud; next comes mao jian, with
a single leaf and a bud. Mao feng teas have a broad, flat shape
and a sword-like curve from tip to end, while mao jian teas are
thin and delicate, with a wiry twist to the leaf.
All of these teas brew into a pale green liquid with tinges of
gold; they are sweet, mild and slightly grassy. Their names -
Snow Dragon, Clouds and Mist, Curled Dragon Silver Tip, Rain
Flower, White Monkey Paw - reflect the aesthetics of China’s
ancient tea culture. |
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Once
picked, the fresh leaves are placed in large, low piles on
bamboo floor mats inside the tea factory. Next, they are
partially dried in a de-enzyming machine, which heats them with
warm air and dries them just enough to remove excess moisture.
This process prevents oxidation and keeps the leaf green,
ensuring as few physical changes as possible.
This partially processed leaf is called primary tea. |
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Basket-firing is
also a traditional method of drying and leaf-shaping in one
operation. Depending on the size of the basket, basket-firing
tea requires a single worker or a pair of workers, who move
together in a smooth rhythm, lifting the basket of tea on and
off the heat source, all the while hand-shaping the tea as it
slowly dries. Basket-fired teas are twisted and bulky, and more
wiry in shape than pan-fired teas. Because basket-firing is
close to air drying, these teas are more subtle and delicate in
flavor. Pan-fired teas have a slightly toasted flavor from the
contact with the hot surface of the wok-like pan. |
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The
traditional pan-firing of Lung Ching
( Dragonwell tea ) requires eight to ten repetitions to
shape and dry it properly. Lung Ching acquires a long,
flat, shiny appearance from the constant pressing and
manipulation. The brewed tea reveals that each apparently
separate leaf is actually two tender leaves cupped around the
bud. This tea fulfills the Chinese expectation for a
hand-processed tea: the brewed leaf returns to the original
shape of the freshly-picked leaf, connecting the drinker to the
tea's natural source |
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China
has the most complicated terminology and classification system
of any tea-producing country, with over eight thousand
distinctions for labeling and grading tea. Most of these
classifications are for green tea, with a smaller number for
black and oolong teas. Approximately twenty of the most prized
teas - whether green, oolong or black - are known as Famous
teas. These teas are place specific and instantly recognizable
by their characteristic appearance, leaf shape and flavor.
Several famous teas are produced in the golden Triangle,
including Lu Shan Gua Pian, Huang Shan Mao Feng, Ming Mei, the very
rare Tai Ping Hou Kui, China’s most revered Famous green tea:
Lung Ching from Hangzhou, and the Queen of China’s black teas:
Quimen ( Keemun. ) |
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See also:
Tea Treks
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