Our journey told through tea and culture.
Why We're Doing this at all
We happen to have quite a unique family friendship with a celebrated Taiwanese tea master, and thought it only proper that we share such a blessing with others.
The Merging of Cultures
Born and raised in Sacramento, CA, I (the husband) moved to China in 2008 after the Great Recession.
By fate of the leaf I landed in Kunming, Yunnan -the birthplace of tea- where I settled.
And by fate of love, I met my wife who had moved from Eastern China to work in Yunnan. She was the liaison facilitating operations between foreigners and the Chinese government to maintain their visa status where I worked.
This is where our journey begins.
Exporation - A relationship with tea
Everything in our relationship from a budding friendship, to intimate relationship, to marriage, revolved around tea, leveraging the Xiahou name to intensify the quality of our experiences.
We traveled the country, most of the time, simply in search of new and interesting tea experiences. From the bamboo forests of Guizhou, to the mountain tops of Lijiang, to the Southeastern shores of Xiamen. We drank tea with esteemed tea masters, conversed over rare pickings with high government officials, and endulged in extravagant cups with billionaire businessmen.
When I met her parents for the first time it was centered around a warm pot of tea. Our wedding present to our guests at my Uncle's vineyard in the states was iconic Pu'er tea from Yunnan.
And when we moved to America, we immediately went on the hunt for good tea.
We ended up in rural Wyoming caring for an aging stepmom and to our surprise (and somewhat amazement), the standard of tea which we had grown so accustomed to was hard to come by even through internet!
So we decided to bring the standard over ourselves.
The Tea Master
The tea master we are currently representing exclusively, we met while working on projects in Shenzhen many years ago.
Master Fang has had some exposure to the West, having been the keynote speaker at multiple events in Hawaii, South America, and Australia regarding tea and his knowledge around ancient sustainable farming practices. But this is where the bridge to the West has ended for him, as his teas are reserved strictly for the higher-end Asian markets.
Even in our own relationship with Master Fang, his emphasis has always been on taking the time to teach us rather than taking our money in sales.
And throughout our observations of Master Fang we have seen this time and time again. That his urgency is centered on his need to educate rather than to sell. I can not tell you how many encounters we have had with him where we have taken his precious time and he has refused our money. Which makes sense. If a tea master owns all his own farms, processes the tea himself, and his entire harvest is already sold before the market even opens that year, then the need to sell sort of goes by the wayside.
Nevertheless, when we approached Master Fang about the possibility of representing his tea in the American market he obliged, making the necessary accommodations for us. I suspect, this is mainly due to the Xiahou name. Master Fang and Mrs. Xiahou have grown close over the years, sharing many enjoyable conversations with each other while we sipped extraordinary leaf. And to our great benefit, as he seems to see Westerners as flavorfully full of passion, but lacking in the depth of culture only a true native heritage could satisfy.
And so, Here We Are
A decade's worth of research, relations, travel, and exploration to find authentic tea and exceptional people.
Adventures that led us to 18 Chinese provinces, 4 countries, and 31 cities in search of the calmer, more refined aspects of Asian culture influenced by the tea tradition.
A heritage of an honored family history; an ancestry that includes the creation of teaism as it is enjoyed today.
And a legacy of craftsmanship that shimmers in every cup, sculpting an artistic expression of refined complexity coupled with a confidence of calmness.
And so, Here We Are
A decade's worth of research, relations, travel, and exploration to find authentic tea and exceptional people.
Adventures that led us to 18 Chinese provinces, 4 countries, and 31 cities in search of the calmer, more refined aspects of Asian culture influenced by the tea tradition.
A heritage of an honored family history; an ancestry that includes the creation of teaism as it is enjoyed today.
And a legacy of craftsmanship that shimmers in every cup, sculpting an artistic expression of refined complexity coupled with a confidence of calmness.