Drought In Uva

A small producer wrote this


Unfortunately we are having a severe drought which means that our leaf yields have dropped more than expected.. it’s affecting the whole of UVA and i am now forced to go down to 14 day plucking rounds!




So we are drifting into the Uva season, when it is usually dry anyway. Lets hope they get some rain before then.

Japanese Tea update

hello.  Uji is now at the beginning of full production.  it is hotter

season, so the tea is growing fast.

we are buying very carefully as the steaming is not proper with many

teas as the leaves are harder(grown) than the

farmer thinks his leaves are. Matsuda is doing very well, so we are

excited to see the processed tea of

Matsuda in a few weeks.  I believe he is one of the very few who is

doing best in the whole Wazuka.

Kagoshima is now ending its season in a few days.  So far their

quality was not so good in the average.

Shizuoka has now produced one third of their production ability but

the market is crushing already.

we hear they have found very little level of radio active substance,

so the market should go steady than

last year, but it is falling.  it was 2100yen average yesterday which

is about 10% lower than last year.

they say nobody is buying except Itoen, and strangely nobody discusses

about the quality.

It maybe because of the long deflation/depression of the economy, and

the radiation problem, and

mixture of it.

Just back from Asia

Me and my tasting buddies ( Elvira and Marcus) just went to Taiwan, Fujian, and Hunan. We went a bit later than normal so we could see some oolongs. Most times it is 3 weeks earlier, and we catch the Chinese greens.

We were at the end of the Wenshan production, in the middle of the Dong Ding and at the end of Ali San (in southern Taiwan). And Li Shan had not started yet. It was a good year on the island. I do love the new style of Taiwanese oolongs that have great floral and citrus flavors.  The day up in Ali San was wonderful and sunny, a nice contrast to the rain elsewhere.

We did see lots of Mainland Chinese, and they are having an effect on everything including tea. The prices are going and availability down.

Then it was off to China. First stop was the WuyiShan up in the northern Fujian Province. There was a ton of rain. We stopped by some old friends that make great Yancha (rock oolongs). Things seems to be going well, because the factory is doubled in size. The Chinese like to buy their oolongs. After a great lunch at the factory, we saw a nearby factory and we saw why our friends were successful. There teas are substantially better than their neighbors! All that we ask of them is to tone down the firing, so we can taste the delicious flavors of their oolongs.

Then it was to the southern part of Fujian to see Ti Quan Yin production. This was very interesting in spite of the rain and low clouds. IT was a very pretty area outside of the center of the tea (Anxi), we took lovely pictures. Our guide's tea garden uses reduced amounts of pesticides, so it can qualify for the EU  regulations. Also we saw a new way to make rolled oolong. They use a box that becomes smaller by compression. This is used instead of rolling the tea for 30 times in the traditional method. We will watch  this to see if it creates good tea over time.

Finally we went the Weishan in western Hunan Province. I kept thinking our friend Steve was saying Wuyishan and I was confused. However it Weishan.  I had never been there, so it was a fun trip  (even if it was 6 hours of driving.) Weishan was a very pretty area, in fact Mao loved the area. There is an organic green tea garden that makes wonderful spring tea. So we bought some.

All is all, a wonderful trip. There is always some to learn and enjoy out in Asia.

New teas

The season seems to be in full swing now. It was late but quality seems just fine!

We are getting two nice First Flush Darjeelings: Risheehat and Puttabong. My son, Alex, just got back from Darjeeling. He had a blast filming the First Flush. Our friends in Suzhou are sending some nice Bi Lo Chun. And samples of Lung Ching anyday.  Today I tasted a Shincha Sencha from the very southern Japanese island of Yakushima. I have never had tea from there. It was a deep steamed Sencha with lots of body, but not the nose of a Uji Sencha. 

So we are quite happy to have these new teas

2012 teas

OK, after a bit of a delay, the season has started.
When we were in Beijing, it snowed. So it was colder than normal in the tea growing regions of China. However it was warmed up enough to start some production. They say with the rain, they expect good teas.  It was cold in Tokyo also. There was some dispute among tea traders about production in the southern area of Kagoshima. However, it should start in a few more days.  My son Alex, just went up to Okayti today. So I will ask him for the straight story on First Flush Darjeeling. Two auctions in Calcutta were cancelled because lack of tea. A friend said so far all the teas suck, but they were putting in a bid on a Teesta Valley invoice. It is dry over in Darjeeling. More to follow.

First word from Darjeeling

This is the time of the year that we put our ears to the tracks to hear what is happening in our favorite places: China and India. Here is our first report from Darjeeling:

After the useful showers in January, February has turned out to be dry and as a result the bushes, along with the producers are looking skywards.

The bushes are ready to sprout those leaves, but the lack of rain is holding them back!

With the January rains we had expected that we would see the first of the true First Flush Invoices by this week, but now it seems, we may have to wait another 7 – 10 days. Therefore, whilst First Flush is not going to be early, as we had thought it might be, what is causing a certain amount of concern is that if there is no rain by around the 15^th, there could be a setback in terms of the quantum of good 1^st Flush that may be available. The weather has been surprisingly good, with “coolish” temperatures which has resulted in no build up of moisture and therefore the lack of rain.

Rains coming after 20^th could result in heavy rains a for a couple of days and this could be detrimental to quality as there could be a rush of crop.

A couple of early invoices from lower elevations are likely to reach Kolkata end of this week.

Special Chinese Black Teas

I love Chinese blacks. Nothing like a good Fujian Black: Panyang or Chingwo. Recently the Chinese have been doing great blacks from the Lapsang region: Jin Jun Mei is a good example. And who would not love a Keemun Mao Feng. The complex mixtures of sweet, honey, cocoa, and fruity flavor with a great body do warm my bones. Unfortunately, it appears that I am not the only one who likes it. Now the Chinese are experimenting with black teas. They used to drink green and oolongs, and sell blacks to us Westerners.

 I remember visiting the famous Lapsang factory high up in the beautiful Wuyi Mountains. There was this guy there that was from Beijing that was supervising the workers. He only wanted the best of the best of the early Spring crop. He would show the factory managers how he wanted it done. And he was showing some of the best tea people in China how to improve. He was going back to Beijing and selling for a ton or maybe two.

 We just got this note about another black tea from our Chinese supplier:

 XIN YANG HONG is one kind of Black tea of special quality, as well as it is very expensive also. Perhaps you know, it is crazy for some tea in domestic market in past year, such as Pu-Erh Tea some years ago, and recently special Black Tea is getting crazy, such as Jin Jun Mei and Xin Yang Hong, their prices are about ten thousand yuan RMB half kilo and more.

 Fyi, we can't supply XIN YANG HONG at moment because these tea have been sold out already, fresh XIN YANG HONG from 2012 crop will be available in May/June 2012.

Great Japanese Greens

Today, I tasted two fabulous green teas from Japan. One was the Sencha Master's Pick. the leaves were long and dark green. The liquor was great body. The other was the Gyokuro Heavenly. What a fabulous tea, after drinking it, I had shivers down my back. Great body and lovely sweetness, I enjoyed this tea. Yes these two teas are expensive, but they are great.

Spring 2011 OOlongs

Here is some news about production of some of our favorite teas:

Since early May, the continuous rain fall in Fujian affected tea pluck time, evermore has delayed
2011 new oolong tea crop. Normally, the oolong comes to market at the end of April, but this year,
it will just come out this week.

Morning tea in Darjeeling

My son Emeric and I are drinking some Selimbong first flush done yesterday, awaiting the sunrise. I just heard the siren that marks the start of the day for pickets. Soon we will look at the withered (wilted) tea leaves that will rooked and oxidized then fired (dried) in an oven to make today's DJ of tea. That tea will be labeled Selimbong SFTGFOP1 DJ 16. We had yesterday's
's DJ 15 and it was lovely. Yesterday started by walking down to the Okayti factory on the Nepalese border. We toured it and tasted some teas. Later we visited the grave of Bernd Wulf, father of my fellow traveller , Marcus. Bernd was instrumental in developing the First Flush style of Darjeeling and printing it around the world. It was a lovely place high on a hill overlooking many tea gardens.

Then we went to Seeyok Darjeeling to tour and taste. Then it was down a steep and bumpy road to cross the river and drive up to Selimbong.these are lovely organic gardens. They make great teas. Today we are off to Risheehat.

Travel to the tea gardens

We are getting ready to visit India and China to see what nature and the tea workers have made.

We leave on the 10th to visit Darjeeling, then Assam. Then it is off to Hangzhou to taste some great Chinese green teas and then off to Changsha to see what Hunan has done this year.

I am traveling with my tasting buddies Marcus Wulf and Elvira Cardenas. Also my son, Emeric, who manages our SoHo store will be coming.

Darjeeling is open

There has been labor strife in the mountains of Darjeeling. So, there was none of the First Flush Darjeelings being shipped. Now that seems to have been resolved. So we should have this year's offerings soon. The season, so far, has produced better teas than last year.

Word from Uji

Our friend, TsuYoshi, sent this yesterday:

However, we have a store in Sendai, which is at the very center of the quake, fortunately all of our employees are fine, and Tokyo is affected a lot in the view of the developing chaos..
We will wait for the Nuclear power plant problem cool down, and then I am sure things will be moving once again...I hope.....but, everything is okay at Uji and with Shohokuen. there is not and won't be any problem in producing tea, and that is what we can only do, producing good tea, that's what we are here for.

Word from China

Our friend, Jily, who supplies us our Bi Lo Chun sends this encouraging news:

As the temperature of the weather getting better and better, tea will also be listed in the end of this month.this year tea is better than last year .

TsuYoshi Sugimoto at Harney & Sons

We were thrilled when TsuYoshi Sugimoto visited our Tasting Rooms recently. Here's a video from his time at the Millerton, NY Harney & Sons Tasting Room.

NEW TEA SEASON

So I just heard that the first First Flush Darjeelings are starting to make the rounds. A friend tasted some DJ1 of North Tukdah. I should see it a few days. Anyway, he said that it was much better than last year. I don't know yet if it is good enough to buy, but an encouraging sign.

Tea Horse Road

This Saturday (2/26) we will do a book launch of the Tea Horse Road by Michael Freeman and Selena Ahmed. This is at the SoHo store from 6-8 and all are

Richard is a fairly famous British photographer and he went around Yunnan & Tibet for a few years taking lovely photographs. We will have some on exhibit. Selena is a friend in tea. She has spent 4 years investigating Puerh teas and the people that grow it. And for this event she sourced some special puerh's from friends. So please come by.

Fun little article

Recently, I was interviewed by Peter Weed of Bnet. And we talked about selling teas in England. I do both and sell teas.

Mike & John Host TsuYoshi Sugimoto

TsuYoshi Sugimoto is the president of Shohokuen, one of Japan's top tea producers, with a more than 300 year history of producing tea. TsuYoshi provides us with outstanding green teas, including Gyokuro, Matsuda's Sencha, and Genmaicha. We were honored to have him visit our Tasting Rooms, both in Millerton and SoHo.

More Upcoming Harney & Sons Tea Events

Sunday, February 20, 3pm to 6pm
Harney & Sons Soho
433 Broome Street New York, NY 10013
212-933-4853 TsuYoshi Sugimoto in SoHo
The producer of some of Japan's best teas, TsuYoshi Sugimoto will conduct an in-depth tasting of green teas. Join us as we discover the nuances of Japanese green tea.


Monday, February 21, 2pm to 4pm
Harney & Sons Millerton
One Railroad Plaza, Millerton NY 12546
518-789-2121 TsuYoshi Sugimoto in Millerton
TsuYoshi Sugimoto travels north to our Tasting Room in Millerton, NY. This is a not-to-be-missed chance to learn about green teas from one of Japan's top producers.

Saturday, February 26, 6 to 8pm
Harney & Sons Soho
433 Broome Street New York, NY 10013
212-933-4853 Selena Ahmed, co-author of Tea Horse Road, in SoHo
One of the longest and most dramatic trade routes of the ancient world, the Tea Horse Road carried a crucial exchange for 13 centuries between China and Tibet. Join Selena Ahmed, one of the collaborators on this fascinating book, as she discusses tea and the biocultural diversity in the regions of the Tea Horse Road.

Monday, March 14, 6 to 9pm
French Culinary Institute
433 Broome Street New York, NY 10013
212-933-4853 Tea Tasting Class with Michael Harney at the French Culinary Institute
Join Michael Harney in a three-hour tasting for an insightful introduction into the complexities of tea. Explore the origins of cultivation, how the leaves are harvested and processed, and some of the key varietals and their flavor profiles. By sampling a range white, green, oolong, and black teas from China, Japan, Taiwan, and India, you'll learn to evaluate aroma, briskness, body, and other nuances, as well as the methods for properly brewing each type. Visit the website of the International Culinary Center to sign up for this class.