A Guide to Wuyi Mountain Cliff Tea
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A Guide to Wuyi Mountain Cliff Tea Wuyi Cliff Tea was my first romance, and much of why I fell in love with the Leaf. I have traveled to Wuyi every year since, and written and spoken extensively on the subject. Here in this guide I have gathered together interviews, translations and excerpts from several articles friends, as well as experts and I myself have written over the years. Together it forms a nice collage of Wuyi and its famous Cliff Tea. I’d like to thank all of those interviewed as well as the authors that allowed their writing to be translated and/or reprinted herein. -Wu De or hundreds of years tea lovers have followed tradition of holiness and the smell of antiquity to the a journey leading into the northern wilderness of area. And yet, more often than that, you turn a cor- Fujian province, where cliffs and rivers touch the sky F ner and find yourself between two tall cliffs, the sun’s with a dancing grace that is otherworldly. The rocks rays visible strokes that gently end on the greenery here are covered in calligraphy, carved to commemo- and crystal waters—and then you realize that it is not rate dignitaries who came to pay respect to this land the temples which have made this place sacred, but above the clouds, poems written by famous scholars rather a mystical and mysterious charm which drew and unknown travelers—each compelled beyond the wandering ascetics here in the first place. constraint, overflowing with the emotions such beau- I have always felt a kinship to Wuyi teas. tiful rivers, cliffs and bends in the sky inspire. And of They were among the very first teas I fell in love course, there is the tea, called “cliff tea” for its liquor with, and each spring I return to these mountains has within it all these elements. to bask in the Nature that creates my favorite teas, Undeniably sacred, Wuyi is one of the only have sessions on the very rocks ancient tea sages did, mountains in China where Daoist, Buddhist and using the bright stream water that the trees them- Confucian temples abound in such close proxim- selves drink of. And every year I find myself hushed ity. The powerful connection these mountains have to a state of deep calmness unlike anywhere else. It to Nature, the incredibly rich mountain waters and is difficult for me to choose any one genre of tea as a the old tea bushes growing amongst these cliffs have favorite, but if I had to drink only one kind of tea for gathered saints, sages and seers since time immemo- the rest of my life it would indeed be Wuyi yancha. rial. There are Daoist caves that were once essential Wuyi tea is, to me, the richest variety of stops on meditation tours that led to immortality, tea—with thousands of kinds and varieties of quality, and some say there are still hermits high up amongst processing and grades. Not only that, but the way in the peaks of Wuyi even today. For hundreds of years, which the flavors, aromas and Qi change from steep- Buddhist monks and nuns have tended their own ing to steeping, session to session means Wuyi tea is tea gardens there, helping to establish the rich tradi- always inviting me to explore it further. Then, as your tion that has made this magnificent park an essential teas age, they also transform completely so that after stop on any tea journey. On a visit, you can’t ignore five years or so they are no longer recognizable as the the influence these old temples have had, bringing a same tea. Terroir “Wuyi mountain stands like the imposing pillars at Heaven’s gate, supporting all the East. To live is to know the infinite universe, though its creative forces remain forever unknowable.” —Zhu Xi— The World Cultural and Heritage site of Wuyi ping falls that highlight every turn also emphasize the Mountain has been regarded as a national treasure coursing pulse of the mountains, flowing through the since the Han Dynasty. The many gorges, rivers, earth to the trees and on to us. The water that flows cliffs and other scenery have inspired countless poets, down these cliffs is full of rich minerals, not only painters and authors. The park itself is around sev- from the countless rocks within the park, but also enty square kilometers and most of the famous “36 from the higher mountains to the east. This irrigation peaks and 99 crags” are around 400 meters above sea has also helped to create the rich, gravely soil that level. There are numerous waterways, the most fa- tea sages have said is most suitable for tea since long mous of which is the “Nine Twist River”, whose nine before Lu Yu made that claim famous. bends have been eulogized countless times through- Besides rich oxygen, protection and miner- out history. Its source is around two-thousand meters als the cliffs also participate in tea production in one higher and to the east in another park, the Hang other important way: during the day, the rocks and Gang Mountain. cliffs absorb the sunlight in the form of heat, which The environment here produces tea like no they then release throughout the night, comforting other on earth. It is called “Cliff Tea” or “Rock Tea” the old bushes with a consistent temperature at all (yancha) because the old bushes cling to the rocks times. This is especially important during the harvest in beds and valleys between natural gorges. Today, season, when slight temperature fluctuations can af- many of the beds that host these small gardens are fect the quality and abundance of the harvest. manmade, but a deeper trek into the park will yield While we can explore the different ele- plenty of natural settings, with very old bushes, wiz- ments of Wuyi tea production, the harmony of sun, ened to hundreds of years. These cliffs work together rocky soil, water mist and air is really not something with the tea bushes in an amazing variety of ways, maintained or controlled by the hands of men. The surging all the forces of Nature through this channel best teas are created by Nature first, and man sec- towards us humans. ond. Besides the qualities pointed out here, there The cliffs on both sides protect the trees from are a million subtle ecological relationships between wind and other natural dangers, as well as shielding other plants, insects, animals, the mountains and sky, the bushes from too much sunshine. Many of them which we’ll never understand. But is there any need? allow the morning and evening light to gather on the A quiet hike through the park trails to an undis- bushes, and studies have shown that the reddish-or- turbed garden, quiet these hundreds of years, leaves ange light of the morning causes the trees to produce you with an impression a thousand, thousand poems more sugars, while the more purplish light of the eve- could never capture—in awe of Nature and your ning results in more amino acids and various kinds of place in it. Perhaps there is no need to know why proteins. The unique environment here at Wuyi has Wuyi tea is like none other on Earth, especially when resulted in a tea with very unique hydrooxybenzene, you can accept it so easily as that same sunshine amino acids, catechi, caffeine and other elements warms your skin, you reach down and scoop up some which all affect the nature and quality of a tea. of the smooth, soft water with a refreshing coolness. The cliffs here also aid in tea production, as Eating the amazing local vegetables and walking a bit they funnel daily mist into the valleys, assuring that more, you realize that you’d be healthier living here as the tea trees are always humid and moist. Locals well. have for centuries called this the “Breath of Heaven”, Like some other regions, Wuyi people also claiming that the tea trees breathe in the Qi of the take great pride in their tea processing skills, devel- mist and rocks, lending them their “rock flavor”. Wa- oped over centuries. One of the problems that you ter is always such an essential aspect of tea, both as it can encounter with other genres of tea that have flourishes in Nature and in preparation. And as one become popular, like Puerh, is that the booming strolls through the park, the crystal streams and drip- tea industry attracts farmers who were previously this amazing place. They aren’t tended too much and growing other crops. They then learn the “standard” some of the small, terraced gardens are so surrounded method of processing for their region and stick to by vegetation that the tea is not easily discernable to that, day in and day out. Many of the “flaws” in re- the untrained eye. Of course, these trees are almost cent Puerh production are as a result of this formula, entirely organic and harvest by hand once a year. which fails to account for all the subtle changes that There are, however, several qualities of zhen need to be made for each batch—based on tempera- yan starting of course with the trees themselves. It is ture, humidity and many other factors. Watching the a big park and different locations are better for tea ancient wisdom unfold in hand-processed yancha is growth than others: places where the trees are older, amazing, as slight adjustments are made all day and the water and minerals better, or perhaps the mist night to balance factors that are often felt, rather than and sunshine’s is perfect.