"Tea Talk on Paper" No. 26: Biographies of Tea Masters ②

This is the twenty-sixth article in my "Tea Talk on Paper" series, and the second in the Tea Masters Biography series. The Tea Masters Biography is a series of short biographies that will cover all twenty-six letters. Check the previous article here: "Tea Talk on Paper" No. 22: Biographies of Tea Masters ①.

Tea Master J

J is from Taiwan and enjoys bidding high prices for various gold medal tea kings, from Xiangzhuqing to Luoshui Cave, spending lavishly under the flash, buying only the most expensive.

J won the first place "Tea King" Luoshui Cave tea 4kg at a sky-high price of 200,000 yuan, spending a total of 800,000 yuan, then went into the village to buy all the other Luoshui Cave tea from the farmers who made the award-winning tea...

The unsold award-winning tea, the endless stream of sky-high priced tea kings, and J became a spectacle in the tea industry.

Tea Master K

A student called and asked: "Teacher, why is the tea I bought from you last time not as good as when I had it at your place? I don't feel anything when I drink it."

Teacher K replied slowly: "Is that so? How did you brew it? What water did you use? ... How's the weather today? Has it changed? ... How have you been feeling lately? How's your sleep? Have you been getting inflamed these past two days? ... Have you been staying up late? How's your sleep? Have you been drinking alcohol recently? ... How did you store the tea when you took it back? Did it absorb any odors or go bad? Did you let it breathe? How did you do that? ... And finally, tea can be hard to drink at certain stages; you need to give it time..."

The call lasted several minutes. K spoke at a slow pace, often pausing for a few seconds. The student exclaimed several times in between. Finally, the student apologized profusely for disturbing the teacher, promised to take good care of his health and try the tea again, and said he would definitely bring friends to learn from the teacher and buy tea. The student hung up in complete admiration...

2015 Houyue Tea Gathering under the Old Banzhang Tea King Tree

Tea Master L

L has written several books and also sells tea. Everyone calls him Teacher L.

One day, a student asked: "Teacher, why is it that no matter how I brew the ancient tree tea I bought back, I can't find the same feeling I had when I drank it on the mountain?"

L chuckled lightly and said: "This is the charm of Pu'er tea! One mountain, one flavor; one village, one flavor; one tree, one flavor; even one leaf, one flavor! What you drank at that time naturally won't taste the same as what you took back. Of course, maybe what you drink now is worse, but after a while, what you drink might be much better than your first taste. You have to trust me; you need to give the tea time. Isn't that so?"

"Yes, yes, yes, Teacher L, I was presumptuous..."

Tea Master M

M has run a tea shop for ten years. He used to sell Dayi, but starting in 2011, he began selling ancient tree tea.

In early April, M put up a poster outside his shop:

New tea arrival / New Arrival,

Inside the shop, he displayed many new raw teas. The main promoted tea, T, was placed in a cardboard box right in the center, less than 2 meters from the entrance.

In the morning, a group from the north saw T and were very excited. They immediately asked the Hani girl in the shop to brew T. After three rounds of tea, one of the northerners said: "It's a bit bitter. Is this Old Banzhang?" M raised his thumb and said: "Impressive! This is indeed newly arrived Old Banzhang ancient tree tea..." The northerners all bought some at a high price, totaling over ten kilograms, and left happily.

In the afternoon, Taiwanese people came and asked if T was Yiwu tea. M agreed, saying it was indeed Yiwu ancient tree tea. The Taiwanese also bought several dozen kilograms at a high price and left.

In the evening, Cantonese people came to drink tea. They found T sweet and refreshing and asked if it was Bingdao tea. M also agreed, saying it was Bingdao ancient tree tea. The Cantonese happily bought over a hundred kilograms at a high price.

...

According to the girl in M's shop, M managed to sell several tons of small-tree tea that cost only tens of yuan per kilogram for over a thousand yuan, and it wasn't enough to meet demand. He told customers to come early next year.

Tea Master N

N sells tea in a tea market in Kunming. He started by buying and reselling tea for over a year but didn't make money; after paying rent, he had almost nothing left. Later, following a fellow townsman's advice, he started selling fake Dayi in 2006. Relying on his quick wit and diligence, he focused on speed, never holding too much stock, only sourcing from suppliers when buyers needed it. In two years, he made a fortune. Even the 2007 Pu'er market crash didn't affect N. That Spring Festival, N thought that after selling so much fake Dayi, he should buy a genuine piece to collect and also use as gifts for relatives during the New Year. So, N found an authorized Dayi dealer and bought a piece. He dragged it back to his shop and opened it, only to curse: "Damn it, it's fake!"

Tea Master O

O is a good friend of mine for many years and also deals in tea.

One spring, O came to Xishuangbanna. I hosted a dinner and invited some local tea colleagues, including a young woman named Ali. O and Ali sat next to each other, chatted happily, and added each other on WeChat.

That evening, while drinking tea, O asked if I had made any Hekai ancient tree raw tea. I said no, that year I only made Hekai small-tree tea.

A few days later, Ali bought my Hekai small-tree tea.

The next day, O brought a Hekai ancient tree tea he had bought and asked me to try it. As soon as I tasted it, I said, "Isn't this my Hekai small-tree tea?"

A small path in the tea mountains

Tea Master P

P calls himself a teacher, claiming to be proficient in tea art and tea ceremony, and especially skilled in tea tasting. He says he can tell the quality of any Pu'er tea with one sip. It is known that P has taught at several tea training classes and indeed has many students.

One day, in a tea market in Kunming, I accompanied P to a tea shop to drink tea. As soon as we entered, P started chatting with the girl minding the shop, boasting about his illustrious experiences, his deep knowledge of tea, his seniority, and that he was very familiar with the shop owner, though she, being new, hadn't met him. At that time, I had just entered the industry and couldn't clearly distinguish raw from ripe tea. I was dazzled by his talk. I saw P ask the girl for a bunch of tea samples, and he packed a large handbag full, even breaking off half a cake from some. Soon, the owner arrived, and P didn't even recognize him.

Once, when I was drinking tea in my shop, P happened to come in. I casually poured him a cup of plain water and handed it to him. He took it and drank it in one gulp, then launched into a flurry of praise, saying how it tasted this and that, though the flavor was a bit light, but the salivation, returning sweetness, and charm were all excellent... I didn't know how to respond.

After that, I didn't see P for several years. I miss him.

Tea Master Q

Q switched to tea mid-career but had a natural talent and quickly gained fame in the industry. He writes beautiful regular script, is handsome, and quite charming.

One spring, a beautiful woman named A Xia came from Shanghai to Kunming, attracted by Q's reputation, bringing over 500,000 yuan to become Q's distributor. Q was smitten by her beauty and started all sorts of nonsense, talking about life, drinking tea, then going to KTV. After several days, he finally won A Xia over. For a time, they were deeply in love and very happy.

But good times don't last. When A Xia returned to Kunming, she shipped a large truckload of tea from Q without paying a cent. When they parted, Q reluctantly told her to come back to Kunming as soon as she settled things, looking forward to meeting again.

Q is still in Kunming, but A Xia never returned.

Years later, after dealing with several batches of debt collectors, Q took a sip of tea and wondered to himself, "Why can't I get in touch with A Xia and Xiao Hong?"

51 Pu'er Online Store

Tea Master R

I had long heard of R's reputation but had never met him.

The first time I saw R was at a tea gathering. Five people sat in a circle, with R as the main brewer and speaker. The gathering required sitting upright and silence. I was invited. At that time, I only ran 51 Pu'er, focusing on e-commerce, and rarely attended tea gatherings. I found this one particularly novel, looking at R with anticipation and admiration.

R first placed a tea bowl in front of each of us. It was truly a bowl, with a capacity of at least 200cc. R unhurriedly rinsed the tea, brewed two infusions in a large gaiwan, then poured us each a bowl about two-thirds full and asked us to drink it all. During the process, he recited the first line of Lu Tong's "Seven Bowls of Tea" poem, then talked about tea for a few minutes. I gulped down the tea; it tasted okay.

Then every 6-8 minutes, we had another infusion. By the fifth infusion, I couldn't drink anymore, but R recited the corresponding line of the poem, talked about tea, and then waited quietly for everyone to finish their tea. We had no choice but to force it down.

At the seventh infusion, after R recited the poem and talked about tea, and we all finished, he asked if we were sweating and if we felt completely relaxed and comfortable. Then he concluded that this was the power of this tea and announced the gathering was over.

I didn't notice if I was sweating; I just felt a desperate need to pee. As soon as the gathering ended, I rushed out to find a restroom.

After that, whenever I heard about R's tea gatherings, I avoided them. Later, I often heard colleagues talk about R, saying he was very famous in Shandong with many fans, and that R's "Seven Bowls of Tea" gathering model was very successful.

The number seven is interesting: pH balance is seven, the sun has seven planets (in ancient context), lovers meet on Qixi (seventh day of seventh lunar month), a week has seven days, and tea should be drunk in seven bowls. It seems Lu Tong had a large tea capacity, or perhaps we misunderstood Lu Tong?

I once experimented by drinking seven bowls of hot water, and indeed, I sweated profusely.

Images and article are original. Author: Lü Jianfeng, WeChat: 673998, working at 51 Pu'er Online, initiator of Houyue Crowdfunding Tea.

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