Tea Talks on Paper No. 22: Biographies of Tea Masters ①

It has been over a year since the last article, "Tea Talks on Paper No. 21: What Makes Good Tea", and I paused for so long because I felt I needed to settle down.

I started writing Tea Talks on Paper in the spring of 2016, when I had just begun to truly understand tea. I was very excited, somewhat arrogant, and eager to show off, so I wrote dozens of articles in the Tea Talks on Paper series. In 2017, I started building the Houyue factory, bringing all fresh leaves to my own factory for processing. I made raw tea, ripe tea, black tea, and white tea myself, gaining many new insights. Along the way, I also read books on tea processing and production principles. I should say, I became somewhat afraid to write, fearing I might make mistakes. So, I chose to post small updates on my social media. These short posts were my feelings or complaints during the period of building the factory and making tea myself, but they couldn't be formed into full articles. The Tea Talks on Paper series will continue; my thoughts and experiences in learning and making tea will all be in this series, and when the time is right, I will compile them into a book.

The Biographies of Tea Masters is a small series that will cover all 26 letters of the English alphabet, totaling 26 articles. This is the first batch, including Tea Masters A-I, nine articles in total. It is an anonymous tea master series under Tea Talks on Paper. Welcome to read and welcome your feedback.

Houyue factory ancient tree raw tea drying in the sun

Biography of Tea Master A.

Tea Master A wanted to make high-end pure ancient tree tea from a specific tea mountain. After tasting samples and finding them good, he worried about ecological issues, so he sent soil for testing. In the first year, he only made a few samples. The soil and sample test results were excellent. A was delighted and immediately shared the good news with the tea farmers and a few close friends who were also in the tea business.

The next spring, A arrived early at the tea mountain, ready for a big endeavor, only to find that all the target tea trees had been contracted out by the tea farmers for five years. Unable to do anything, A paid more than three times the price to still produce a batch of tea.

In the third year, A paid nearly double again...

By the sixth year, A was still at it, but the price had increased nearly tenfold...

Biography of Tea Master B.

Tea Master B went up the mountain to supervise the picking of fresh leaves. B asked all the pickers to wait and not pick until he gave the order. B found a flat spot, sat down cross-legged, and carefully studied an ancient compass. After a long while, B finally spoke: "Now is the perfect time to start picking." Only then did the group begin to pick the fresh leaves.

Biography of Tea Master C.

At the beginning of a tea gathering, the host had just poured the first infusion. C took the gaiwan, examined the leaves for a long time, took a small sip, and slowly said, "This tea is very good, but the leaves were picked half an hour too early." The lively gathering fell into an instant silence.

Fresh leaves withering

Biography of Tea Master D.

D is from Taiwan. For each batch of tea he makes, he first sets a total selling price, say 100,000. He sells half, then doubles the price. The remaining tea's total selling price is still 100,000. He sells half again, doubles the price again, and the total remains 100,000. Even if only two cakes remain, he sells them at 50,000 each, and the last cake at 100,000. If someone wants to buy everything at once, he firmly refuses, selling only half.

Biography of Tea Master E.

The first time I met E was at a summer barbecue stall in Kunming. He was casually dressed with a loud voice. After chatting, I felt he had just learned to distinguish raw and ripe Pu'er tea, and was clueless about everything else. The next year, I heard from several people that there was a master E on the tea mountain who was teaching people how to stir-fry tea everywhere. In the third year, I actually met E in Menghai. He was dressed in tea master attire, twirling wooden beads in his hand. Seeing a crowd, he brought out a tea sample for everyone to taste. After several infusions, E pressed everyone for their opinions. Everyone praised the tea, saying the material and processing were excellent. E laughed heartily and said, "This is a standard small-tree tea; it's my stir-frying skill that's high." I noticed several people barely swallowed, just wetting their lips before putting down their cups, but they all praised the tea. I could only hear E's laughter growing louder...

Sun-dried black tea drying

Biography of Tea Master F.

In the seventh year of selling tea, F still didn't know much about tea. He could handle mid-to-low-end teas, but high-end ones left him clueless. F liked to drink tea from large cups, strong and one after another, without feeling uncomfortable. Only when the concentration was high enough did F feel he could judge the tea. At the end of the year, during a casual tea chat with peers, F was drinking casually from a large cup when suddenly his heart raced and his body felt weak. It was different from the tea drunkenness he felt when he first started. Even after eating, he felt unwell for a long time. From then on, F never dared to drink tea casually, let alone strong, large cups of thin tea. It was also after that incident that F finally had an epiphany and understood how to appreciate various high-end teas.

Perhaps many things are like this: you strive desperately to understand and obtain, but your body gives out.

Biography of Tea Master G.

G was originally a public official who loved tea. In 2004, G took unpaid leave and entered the tea market to sell Pu'er tea. He made a small profit in 2005 and a large one in 2006, so he raised funds from various sources, borrowing from relatives, friends, and banks, accumulating massive debt. At the end of that year, he bought over a thousand pieces of a certain iron cake at over 4,000 yuan per piece, along with various other brands, totaling over 3,000 pieces, planning to work hard for a few years and then retire. Before the Spring Festival, the iron cake was at over 5,000 yuan per piece, but G didn't sell, expecting it to rise above 10,000. He also held onto other teas. In March 2007, the Pu'er market crashed. G remained calm at first, refusing to sell at a loss, but after struggling for a year, by the end of 2008, he cleared out the iron cake at over 300 yuan per piece and all other teas, recovering less than 20% of his investment. He had no choice but to sell his house to repay debts. G's mentality remained relatively good, but when drunk, he would occasionally mutter phrases like "Greed knows no bounds..." and "Back to square one..."

Biography of Tea Master H.

H used to work in marketing. He found the tea industry lowbrow, but with many beautiful women, so he switched to the tea industry. He first read some books on tea, took meticulous notes, and highlighted key points. He also searched Baidu extensively and found several "errors"...

Then H wrote two books, which were lukewarm. Not satisfied, H dug out his previous notes and started a public account. He built on others' works, seizing on one or two points and refusing to let go, crafting clever but deceptive articles, attacking numerous authors, and finally became "popular"...

Biography of Tea Master I.

For ripe tea from the same pile, Menghai tea merchant Huang bought 10 tons and made a batch of low-end ripe tea. He wholesaled 357g cakes at 13 yuan each, and sold out in less than six months. Huang was very content and often boasted about it in conversations.

The remaining 15 tons were bought up by the renowned tea master I. While processing the tea, I began telling stories: old Banzhang spring ancient tree material, fermented by a senior master from the old Menghai tea factory, then carefully hand-wrapped in cotton paper. The outer box bore the three characters "Lao Banzhang" in powerful calligraphy. Each piece contained 28 cakes, weighing 10 kilograms, and each person was limited to 10 pieces. The wholesale price was about 30% of the retail price. For a time, I and his sales team flooded the market with this Lao Banzhang, constantly posting updates. In less than six months, it sold out, with the transaction price exceeding 1,000 yuan per kilogram. I dismissed it as a trivial matter.

Huang watched all this, astonished, and regarded I as a god.

View more articles in the Biographies of Tea Masters series: Biographies of Tea Masters Table of Contents