• HOME >
  • Origin of Tea

Getting inspired by the rich food culture in Yunnan

[2015.03.24] Posted By

雲南省でプーアル茶の仕入
While traveling in Yunnan province for hunting pu-erh tea, I often drop by the local restaurant. To be frank, I am very fascinated with local cuisine. It is one of my favorite times throughout my trip.

The deeper we go, the thicker the taste of food it becomes

Based on my experience, the taste of food material differs a lot when I am moving from the capital of Yunnan, Kunming → Baoshan City → local town near mountain side. It has nothing to do with the cooking skill or the freshness of the food materials. The food materials available in the local town are mainly made with least or no fertilizer. These food materials have very thick and deep taste. The taste is so thick that I am always looking forward the next lunch or dinner. Same to the tea leaf, the faster vegetables grow and the more the output it is, the lower the quality. The quality never comes along with quantity. The usage of fertilizer will increase the output, but lower the quality. The taste of food material in the local village is thick because of slow growing rate.

雲南省でプーアル茶の仕入

Yunnan restaurant in rural area has no menu

Visiting the local restaurant in Yunnan rural area, you wouldn’t be able to find a menu. Instead of ordering food from a menu, we straight away walk in to the kitchen. They display various fresh vegetable, fish or meat. It is very simple to make an order: we pick any food material we wanted to eat, and then the chef will recommend the type of cooking for the particular material we picked. For example, if I choose mushroom, they may recommend making it a soup with some other vegetable, stir-frying with meat or cook with egg. We do not have so many ideas about the cooking in detail. All we need to do is just to pick up whatever food material we wish to eat. It is quite simple and yet interesting process. Although it is sometime the same common food material that I am familiar with but throughout the discussion with the chef, I have a closer understanding with the food material and I feel we are involved in designing the way of cooking too.

雲南省でプーアル茶の仕入

The local people call it a mountain pepper. But it is neither pepper nor sichuan pepper.

雲南省でプーアル茶の仕入

Pu-erh hunting in Yunnan

Wild plant is the important food in Yunnan

In this early spring season, most of vegetable displayed in the kitchen is the wild herbs or vegetable. What I am always impressed when I am eating food in Yunnan is they are fully living in their natural environment. They collect most kinds of edible plant from the nature and cook to serve. Of course we also eat various kind of wild plant in Japan in early spring season. However, we do not really take them as common vegetable. We may collect them as hobby or as special food occasionally. In Yunnan, generally people count on the wild plant instead of planting vegetable. Since there are abundant of wild plant, why do they need to spare additional time and effort planting vegetable? The wild plant gives much nicer taste than cultivated vegetable. That is the way they may think. For them, they only grows vegetable in the season when the wild plant is not available. I deeply agree with this lifestyle. In our modern lifestyle, any vegetable is available throughout the year. When we walk in to the supermarket, we can obtain about the same types of vegetable regardless of the season. We have forgotten which vegetable grows during which season. In a way it is convenient, but we are gradually losing the richness in our dietary life, and the rhythm of nature in each season. In Japan, our country is very rich in nature, especially my hometown Nagano is surrounded by mountains. I should seriously look for more edible wild plant when I am back home.
雲南省でプーアル茶の仕入

雲南省でプーアル茶の仕入

This is chicken fried with the mountain pepper.

雲南省でプーアル茶の仕入

Related Articles

How to get the latest update on HOJO Tea?

1. Follow Twitter, 2. Click "Like" on Facebook, and 3. Subscribe in newsletter. You can have the latest tea news from HOJO Tea.

Subscribe the Newsletter to enjoy the privileges
You may receive a free sample upon purchase, or you may have the priority to purchase special products. So please remember to subscribe our newsletter as well as the social network.
HOJO TEA Malaysia online Shop

HOJO TEA Online Shop NEWSlist

Special Release Limited Set of Ancient White Tea from 5 Gardens
The ancient white tea is a very popular tea in our store. We produced this tea in spring. Following production, it was stored in an oxygen-free environment for several months to further enhance its flavor, achieving the expected maturation. The production of ancient tree white tea is limited in quantity per day, resulting in small …
The New Arrival of Da Xue Shan Wild White Tea Loose 2023
We have released the 2023 harvest of wild white tea from the Da Xue Shan. Fresh Green Colour of Leaves Achieved Through Custom Production Da Xue Shan’s wild white tea is an incredibly rare type of white tea, and it’s made from a unique plant called Camellia Taliensis that grows in the wild in the …

NEW ARTICLES

Special Release Limited Set of Ancient White Tea from 5 Gardens
The ancient white tea is a very popular tea in our store. We produced this tea in spring. Following production, it was stored in an oxygen-free environment for several months to further enhance its flavor, achieving the expected maturation. The production of ancient tree white tea is limited in quantity per day, resulting in small …
The New Arrival of Da Xue Shan Wild White Tea Loose 2023
We have released the 2023 harvest of wild white tea from the Da Xue Shan. Fresh Green Colour of Leaves Achieved Through Custom Production Da Xue Shan’s wild white tea is an incredibly rare type of white tea, and it’s made from a unique plant called Camellia Taliensis that grows in the wild in the …
5 Years Aged Wu Liang Shan White Tea from 2018
In 2018, we introduced the Wu Liang Shan Ancient Tree White Tea. It became an instant hit, selling out quickly due to its exquisite taste and captivating aroma.Fortunately, we had the foresight to store half of the tea in Malaysia, where the consistently high temperatures create the perfect conditions for aging. Over the past five …
Grand Reopening of Gardens’ HOJO Store: Exciting Promotions Await!
We are delighted to announce that HOJO tea shop at The Gardens Mall will be reopening after renovation on Tuesday, July 11th, 10am to 10pm. To celebrate the store’s reopening, we have prepared some special promotions for the entire month of July: 1. For every RM1000 purchase on single receipt, you will have the opportunity …
Discover the long-lasting flavor profile of 2023 Shi Feng Long Jing
We have launched the 2023 harvest of Shi Feng Long Jing tea. Shi Feng Long Jing tea, also known as Shi Feng Dragon Well tea. It is one of the most famous and highly regarded teas in China.Shi Feng Long Jing tea is characterized by its flat, spear-shaped leaves that have a vibrant green colour. …
Rare Jasmine Tea Uniquely Crafted from Ripe Pu-erh
Instead of sourcing finished jasmine tea, we specialize in producing custom-made jasmine tea by bringing our carefully selected raw materials to jasmine factories. Over the years, we have created numerous unique jasmine tea varieties that are not available elsewhere, such as Pu-erh jasmine tea made from raw Pu-erh tea leaves, Jasmine Silver Needle made from …
Introducing 3 Varieties of Phoenix Dancong Oolong Tea
We have released new types of Phoenix Dan Cong Oolong Tea that are finished with more rounds of roasting with traditional charcoal fire by skilled tea master. In Phoenix, the locals called it Nong Xiang style, meaning that tea is giving more intense matured flavor. Nong Xiang tea refers to tea that has been roasted …
Exploring the Taste Diversity Within a Tea Tree: Apical Buds vs. Lateral Buds
Do you believe that all tea leaves have the same taste as long as they come from the same tree? I would like to explain that the taste of tea can vary significantly depending on the plucking position, even when harvested from the same tree. The Difference in Flavor Due to Different Harvesting Parts of …
Hidden Costs of High Valuations of Old Tea Trees
Over the past decade, tea enthusiasts in China have been captivated by teas harvested from Ancient Tea trees, particularly those from Yunnan province, Phoenix Dan Cong Oolong Tea and Wuyi Rock Tea. However, as Ancient Tea trees are rare, the prices of teas harvested from them have skyrocketed. As a result, some farmers who possess …
Discover the Unique Taste of Wu Jia Ping Zhang Ancient Tree Raw Pu-Erh Tea
We have released Wu Jia Ping Zhang ancient tree raw pu-erh tea for 2020 and 2021. This tea is grown in tea gardens located around 2100 meters above sea level in the southwestern part of Lincang City, Yunnan Province of China, just a few dozen kilometres from the Myanmar border. Single-origin tea Wu Jia Ping …

PAGETOP