- HOME >
- Origin of Tea
Many Teas in Yunnan are Organic but it is Not Sufficient
- [2016.04.13] Posted By Akira Hojo
Every year I stay in Yunnan Province for about a month to source various Yunnan teas. During my stay, I have opportunities to eat the local food in various places. I found an interesting trend. The quality of tea in the respective area is in proportion to the taste of the food material served at the same area.
Yunnan cooking
From my point of view, the Yunnan cooking is strongly influenced by the Thai, Myanmar and Sichuan style. Various spices and herbs are used and generally the taste can be hot and spicy. I often travel different provinces of China to buy teas. My favorite food is always the Yunnan cuisine. The unique characteristic of Yunnan cooking that impressed me is they use a lot of local vegetables, and whichever fresh wild plants and herbs available in each particular season. They never choose material according to what they want to cook, but to cook the fresh food materials available in each season. In most of the local town and rural areas, there is no preset menu in the restaurants. They will display whichever fresh vegetables and wild plants/herbs available at the moment, and after we choose the food material then we decide the cooking style. While I am staying in Yunnan, this food serving style often reminds me of the rhythm of the nature and the changes of season; this is the lifestyle that has long been forgotten in most modern cities.
Huge gap between the taste of food in rural village and Kunming city
Basically the style of cooking between the city like Kunming and the rural village in the mountain is more or less the same. However, there is a huge difference in the quality of the material they used for cooking between the city and the rural area. In Kunming, they tend to use a lot of mono-sodium gluconate (MSG) in cooking, just like other cities in the world. On the contrary, those chemical condiments are seldom used in the rural village. As a result, the “quality of food” is so much different between Kunming and rural villages.
Different level of understanding in natural farming in different villages
Normally, the primary tea processing facility is located at remote mountain area which is closer to the natural farming tea garden. In general, it took me a one whole day trip to visit these tea processing sites. I often being offered to have the home-cooked food prepared by tea manufacturers. While I am visiting many villages and tasting their food as well as tea, I started to realize that the quality of the food ingredients and materials are in proportion to the quality of tea produced in the respective area. If the tea has very strong aftertaste, their food also has very strong aftertaste. It could be partly because of the soil and the altitude. But most importantly, their sense of value in natural farming practice directly affects the quality of their agricultural product. I frequently stay at villages located at altitude around 1800-2000m. When I communicate with the villages, they often amazed me. Many of them are very well aware that fertilizer spoils the quality of agricultural product. In developed county or in city, people often think organic product is the best. However, believe it or not, any agricultural product in those rural villages is kind of organic product. The only fertilizer available in those villages is comes from their livestock. Regardless of organic or chemical fertilizer, once fertilizer is applied, the tea tree or vegetable grows faster and bigger. As a result, tea or vegetable gives very light aftertaste. I was impressed that people live in the rural villages in the mountain somehow knows this fact very well. Throughout their experience, they know very well that agricultural product without any fertilizer is the best in quality. They are aware of the negative effect of fertilizer on the taste of tea and also the rest of the agricultural product in their village.
Modernized food culture in famous tea production area
In south Yunnan, the price of tea is generally very high. As a result, it changes or in other word, modernizes their point of view in agriculture. Since their tea is very popular and tourist kept visiting there, many of them pay attention on the quantity more than the quality. Despite it is in the same Yunnan province and mostly tea is also grown by minority ethnics, they have very different way of thinking from the people in the rural village in south west Yunnan. In south Yunnan, they always emphasize on organic product. They proudly tell us that they are not using any chemical fertilizer, but organic fertilizer. Naturally, the taste of food material used in those villages are not as refined as what we eat in rural village in south west Yunnan. Their philosophy in agriculture is clearly reflected on the quality of tea as well as all other agricultural products.
Rice with very thick taste
I used to think that Japanese rice is the most delicious, until I tasted the rice in Yunnan. The common rice served in Yunnan, especially in town/city area is not nice though. I was very impressed by the rice I ate at the remote village located at very high mountain area in south west Yunnan. The rice was made without any fertilizer. It gives very deep taste and its taste lasts very long. After eating their rice, I felt like drunk due to the too high mineral content. It was just like tea-drunk effect. Japanese rice is very nice in terms of texture since they have series of research and development in cultivar. However, I am not judging the quality based on the texture but taste. I felt that some rice made in Yunnan is extraordinarily outstanding in terms of taste.
Goat meat that gives no goat meat smell
It is not only the vegetable or plant that taste is affected by the way of growing. I realized that the most precious and exclusive chicken is not the one grazing around the village, but the one that is given no food at all. For them, the value of chicken is lower if they are fed with any food. I often visit a small village in the mountain area to buy tea. At this village, chickens are very busy running around and knocking the ground to look for worms. Once chickens are fed, they are considered as second class in quality. To my surprise, those chickens that are grazing and not fed give no so-called chicken smell at all. I used to think that the taste of chicken meat is light and plain. But that non-fed chicken gives extremely thick aftertaste; it is really beyond the taste of chicken. The taste of chicken in the local town is obviously much lighter. Perhaps they are grazing around but being fed. Even so, these chickens are still much better than the chicken we eat in Kunming or big cities. The other day, I ate goat meat. It was a goat grown without feeding and in natural style. I used to think that goat meat has a distinctive flavor like mutton. However, the goat grown by only eating natural grass never gives distinctive goat flavor. The other day I also ate the liver of cow. I am fine with liver but some people do not appreciate it due to its peculiar smell. But the liver I ate was very different. It did not give any odd flavor. It had the texture of liver but no liver flavor, with extraordinarily thick taste and very lasting aftertaste. I could eat it just like I am eating vegetable. I realized that the smell of meat is not due to the animal but animal feed.
Likely to human, it is the food that composes our body. It is essential to eat and drink quality food.
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.
- New Release of Da Xue Shan Wild White Tea 2024
- We have released the 2024 Da Xue Shan Wild White Tea Loose Leaf. This tea was produced under our direct supervision during our stay in Yunnan Province, ensuring meticulous production management on site. Definition of Wild Tea in Yunnan Province People in Yunnan strongly associate Camellia taliensis with wild tea, regardless of where it is …
- New Release of Wild Pu-erh Jasmine Pearl
- Out of curiosity, we decided to create a jasmine tea based on Da Xue Shan Wild Raw Tea. This resulted in an exceptionally rare tea, not only in Japan but also in China. Custom Production Network for Jasmine Tea At our store, we source various types of base teas from different regions during the spring. …
NEW ARTICLES
- New Release of Da Xue Shan Wild White Tea 2024
- We have released the 2024 Da Xue Shan Wild White Tea Loose Leaf. This tea was produced under our direct supervision during our stay in Yunnan Province, ensuring meticulous production management on site. Definition of Wild Tea in Yunnan Province People in Yunnan strongly associate Camellia taliensis with wild tea, regardless of where it is …
- New Release of Wild Pu-erh Jasmine Pearl
- Out of curiosity, we decided to create a jasmine tea based on Da Xue Shan Wild Raw Tea. This resulted in an exceptionally rare tea, not only in Japan but also in China. Custom Production Network for Jasmine Tea At our store, we source various types of base teas from different regions during the spring. …
- 2024 Overview: Our Yunnan White Tea Quality, Process, and Weather Insights
- One of the teas we’ve been focusing on in Yunnan Province is white tea. Historically white tea has been produced in both Fujian Province and Yunnan Province for a long time. While white tea from Fujian Province is well-managed during processing, we are dissatisfied with the quality of the raw materials due to the use …
- Yunnan’s Hospitality Culture: Expressed Through Meals
- In China, as a form of greeting, it’s common to say “你吃饭了吗?” which means “Have you eaten?” However, in Yunnan Province, the phrase “吃饭” is often used in various situations, more like “Eat, eat,” serving as an invitation to share a meal. Yet, with prolonged exposure to Yunnan, one comes to understand that these meal …
- In Search of Wild Tea: Exploring Mountain Villages in Southwest Lincang, Yunnan
- We are currently sourcing tea in the southwestern part of Lincang City, Yunnan Province. One of the crucial products for us is wild tea. While tea processing is important, securing the raw materials poses the biggest challenge. Recently, we received information about a new location where wild tea supposedly grows. To verify this, we visited …
- New Release of Anxi Traditional Oolong
- Anxi, located in Fujian province, China, is celebrated for its Tie Guan Yin tea. However, the Traditional Anxi Oolong from this region boasts a unique fruity aroma, distinguishing it from Tie Guan Yin. Anxi: A Renowned Hub for Oolong Tea Production in China Fujian Province, renowned for its rich tea heritage, boasts several prominent tea-producing …
- Yunnan 2024 Spring Tea Sourcing
- Yunnan Province is globally renowned for the exceptional quality of its tea leaves. However, lax production management often presents challenges in achieving the desired tea quality when relying solely on pre-made teas. To address this issue, we have committed to remaining on-site throughout the spring season to closely monitor tea production. We are meticulously inspecting …
- The Relationship Between Greenness of Tea Leaves and Fertilizer
- For both tea and vegetables, there’s a common misconception that a deeper green colour indicates better quality and greater health benefits. However, this isn’t always the case. Natural plants often have a yellowish-green hue rather than a vibrant green. If you observe wild plants in grasslands or along roadsides during spring, you’ll notice that they …
- Creating Muscatel Black Tea Using a Unique Blending Method
- I would like to introduce the unique creation of black tea with a distinctive muscatel flavor profile. Acquiring Exceptional Mi Xiang Black Tea Have you ever heard of a unique black tea called “Mi Xiang Black Tea” or “Muscatel Black Tea”? This tea is crafted from leaves that have been delicately nibbled by leafhoppers, resulting …
- New Release of Lan Yun Tie Guan Yin from Anxi
- Lan Yun Tie Guan Yin from Anxi, is not just an ordinary Tie Guan Yin. It has a strikingly delightful flavor reminiscent of orchid flowers with silky-soft drinking sensation. Anxi, renowned as one of the three major Oolong tea production regions in China. Anxi is recognized as one of the three major Oolong tea-producing regions …
Shop Info
Address:Lot No. T-215, 3rd Floor, The Gardens Mall, Mid Valley City, Lingkaran Syed Putra, 59200 Kuala Lumpur
Tel: +603-2287-4537
Business Hour: 10am to 10pm
Category
- New Arrival at HOJO Online Shop
- Featured Articles
- Newsletter
- Types of Tea
- Origin of Tea
- Teapot and Tea Equipment
- Tea Column
- How to enjoy tea
- Tea Processing
- How to choose quality tea
- Tea constituents and functional effect
- Safety of Tea
- Foods
- Tea Business Operation
- Hobby and Outdoor Activity
- Ranking of Tea
- Video
- FAQ
- Media Release
Profile
- AKIRA HOJO
- I invite you to experience my tea selections.I was born in Nagano, Japan. In university, I studied agricultural chemistry, and I have the master degree in food science. I worked in Japanese food industry for 10 years. I involved in R&D, QC and QA. As a factory manager, I implemented ISO9000 series and managed the factory.
- The Art of Tea Magazine
- We posted the article on “The Art of Tea Magazine No.9, the magazine is published in Taiwan. We featured some scientific view about the tetsubin
- New Straits Times
- The Malaysian National Newspaper, New Straits Times featured HOJO Tea on 17-Oct-2007.