Finally back to somewhere with a good internet connection I thought I’d upload some photos from my time in Nannuo.
It’s been a great week staying in Nannuoshan. Spending time living with the family was amazing and very touching. Also having time to go tea picking most days and try some different options with the processing was a very educational process.
I’d underestimated the skill involved in the shaqing process before – there are so many variables to take into account… the strength and thickness of the leaves, the amount of moisture in them, the heat of the fire, the amount of leaves in the wok and the length of time to perfrom the sha qing process for. Also the tightness of the rolling of the leaves and the length of time to sun dry them for – all of these things have a big effect on the final tea.
It was nice to be there to be able to taste teas from different days and discuss with the farmer his thoughts on different processing methods.
Now, it’s back to Jinghong for a couple of days rest, before heading on to Yiwu. It’s nice to be back in a bed again, somewhere where there aren’t insects biting me all day, but my body feels healthy – good hard work in the tea mountains, nourished by so so many wild vegetables and simple, healthy, tasty cooking has left me feeling good.
