The Well of Rare Tea

Rare teas are just the best. 

 

You can brew the same leaves 7 - 10 times, sometimes even more, before they go flat. There’s no astringency to the tea, even when brewed for too long—like when I pour hot water in the pot and walk away to do a quick something, only to remember 10 minutes later that I was steeping tea—which happens to me more than I like to admit. But still, the tea is delicious. 

 

And then the flavor profiles of rare tea…oi. Deep, complex notes. A hint of sweetness. If you’ve had the luxury of trying a rare tea before, you’ll know that describing such tastes in words can be a real challenge. But it’s amazing, even those who have no background in tea whatsoever, when we’ve had them try a cup the reaction is always the same—a surprised, “whoa” in delight. We believe this is because it doesn’t take an expert to recognize real quality. When it’s there, it’s undeniable and easily noticeable by all. 

 

Rare teas are the bragging rights of their curators. The creators, those who are masters in producing these teas, go to great lengths to ensure an extraordinary product. They search out the most exotic, often wild, tea plants by looking for tea estates outside of your normal run-of-the-mill tea farms. This is because the standard rows upon rows of tea plants we often see in photographs are designed specifically to meet the high demand of the tea industry—they’re designed for efficiency and high yield. Which makes them very valuable to supply the masses, but also very common. 

 

A rare tea obviously demands quite the opposite. We’re looking for tea planted among many other types of vegetation. As well, tea plants growing in very rocky areas, or on the side of steep mountains. Tea plants at high elevations, and tea plants stuck in shady spots struggling for light. 

 

The key word there to focus on is struggle. We want plants that are having to work hard to grow. This has two benefits. One, it causes the plants to strive which makes the leaves richer. If a plant is positioned on a steep mountainside where the water runs off quickly, or in a shaded area where it has to put forth much effort to find the light it needs—these are all very desirable circumstances to enhance the taste of the leaf in our cups. Secondly, such situations cause the plants to develop slower, which means more time for the plant to inject its goodness into its leaves. 

 • A picture of one of our Taiwan tea gardens.

Additionally, as stated, we’re looking for plants surrounded by other types of vegetation, or in rocky environments. 

 • Our Alishan Fields.

What this implies is that the soil the plant is resourcing from is rich in nutrients and minerals supplied by these environmental factors. 

 

Then there’s the processing of the leaves - an art of great attention to detail. A process that can take many days on end of which, if any nuance of what is happening to the leaves during this time is missed, it can greatly compromise the outcome of the tea. This process is outlined in a different blog post to give it its full respects. We highly recommend reading that article to deepen one’s appreciation of the hard work and long hours that have gone into our cup of rare tea. 

 

But in this article, lets get onto the problem here. 

 

Rare teas are exactly that—quite difficult to find. 

 

Especially for the individual whose life doesn’t revolve around sourcing teas. But even then, going overseas to tea markets and areas where tea is being farmed and processed can be just a fiasco. These places are in eternal anticipation of your arrival—everyone making claims to the superiority of their product, everyone willing and ready to strike a deal. It can be very overwhelming and hard to sift through the tidal wave of offers. Who can you trust? How can you tell? 

 

I recently heard a story involving a tea farmer. He owned multiple farms, some in excellent locations for producing premium tea, and others in less desirable areas. The premium stuff sold top dollar within Asia no problem, while his less exotic plants would surely sell but at a much lower price. But he’d heard about the West and how if he was to jump through some hoops making some adjustments to his processing to get his lesser crops certified “organic”, then he could sell it to the West at a more premium price because the West greatly values product deemed organically grown. And this is what a lot of farmers do end up doing. So even the teas here in the States that we see labeled with organic often aren’t the ‘good stuff’. 

 

Which brings me to my final point as to why rare teas are so…well, rare in the States. It’s because the producers have no need to make the extra effort. I’ve heard it said, every religion has its drink: Judaism and Christianity has wine, Islam has coffee, Hinduism milk, and Buddhism tea. Religious or not, the point I’m making here is how engrained in Asian culture tea is. Therefore, there is no shortage of demand for great tea right at the farmer’s front door. In this sense, typically the best teas go to the Eastern market while we come in behind them and get to choose the best from what’s left. 

 

That’s usually how it goes, with few exceptions. Which is why we’re so grateful here at hygge panda to be able to offer these rare teas. And the irony behind it is, we weren’t really even looking! 

 

 A Bit of Our Story

Years ago, I was living and working in Shenzhen, China. My wife was living at our home in Kunming, China in Yunnan province (considered the birthplace by many historians of tea). Much of our lives revolved around tea in many intimate, sentimental ways but we’ll save those stories for a later blog post. My wife had come down to visit me at one point, and while I was tied up in other affairs she took it upon herself to go explore what Shenzhen had to offer as far as tea culture. 

 

My wife, being a CMO for a rather large education company had many friends in high places and thus used these connections to set up meetings with top professionals in the tea industry. One such meeting was with a Master Fang from Taiwan. 

 • A Picture of Master Fang Himself!

Now, it’s worth mentioning that my wife has a very special family name, XiaHou, which dates back to the beginning of known Chinese royal family. A wisdom from which, I believe shines through even today. Partly because of this, and mostly because of her extensive knowledge in tea culture, Master Fang took a liking to her and they spent many an afternoon together conversing over a pot of tea. 

 

Little did I know, years later living with my wife in the States I was enjoying sharing our knowledge of tea along with teas that we’d found with our community. It was suggested at that point that I make something more of it than a friendly gesture. So one evening I ran it past my wife who then brought up this tea master that she’d met back in Shenzhen. She said his heart was good—that he was a genuine person focused on the tea rather than the customer. I went ahead and reached out to him to see if we could taste some of this rare tea he was in the business of…and thus, hygge panda was born. 

 

The connection that Master Fang and I had was that we both saw tea culture in the same light. That it was about the tea. Not about the business, not about the money, not about customer quantity. No, it is about the tea. 

 

As I saw it, rare tea should be as affordable as possible. It’s not here as a medium to make a quick buck. If that were the case, there’s a plethora of “good” teas out there selling for triple their wholesale value. Seems in my area, all you have to do is mix in a few rose hips and call it a blend. But no, such rare teas as the ones we were being given access to by Master Fang would never be considered for making a blend. They’re about the experience. An experience that we see fit for all people, not just those with deep pockets. Granted, the tea is still not cheap. What quality product is, given its demand? But we have strived to make it as affordable as possible. 

 

Both my wife and I have spent half a lifetime working hard to be financially secure. We’re taken care of, in that sense. The tea is a rare opportunity to share a culture of contentment and conviviality we’ve seen spring to life in many circles. To get together with friends and have some laughs without the hangover. To sip a cup quietly by yourself in contemplative reflection. Or simply, to feel like a roly-poly panda, and enjoy the hygge way of life. 

 

Cheers!

hygge panda