Travelling with tea – part 3

(também publicado no Substack)

You may read part 1 about Portugal, Bangladesh and Qatar here and part 2 about mainland China here.

Macao and Hong Kong: I have been to Hong Kong and Macao many, many times. But still, not enough times yet. One can see the differences between those two cities, but they are relatively close to each other and experience a constant movement of people and goods. Both are open economies, where we can try some of the best teas from mainland China and other tea regions such as India, Ceylon, Taiwan, or Japan. These are cities where the best teas get proper attention in shop windows. One can conduct a serious sociological analysis just by observing the tea houses of Canton. There, we can see real intergenerational interactions, social hierarchies, habits, hospitality, and etiquette. Everyone should visit Macao and Hong Kong at least once in their lives. But if you like tea, besides visiting some of their beautiful tea houses and shops, you should also go to the Casa Cultural de Chá in Macao and the Flagstaff House Museum of Tea Ware in Hong Kong. In those museums, you will get an insightful look into tea history, as well as exceptional teapots, other instruments, and precious works of art related to tea.

 

Myself in Japan: visiting plantations, selecting teas and learning from experts.

Japan: Japan is different. The Japanese people, perhaps because of their insular condition, have had centuries to slowly contemplate the islands and all the elements. I don’t know any other reason that explains how tea culture became so ritualized here and elevated to an artistic state with unrivalled aesthetics. The tea ceremony is the most obvious image, but every stage of the tea – cultivation, crop, processing – is done with wisdom and beauty. Among Western countries, Portugal has the longest relationship with Japan. I also have good friends in Japan. Therefore, I felt compelled to bring some of the best Japanese teas back to Portugal.

Kyoto: in 1905 the Portuguese Consul in Kobe wrote about the tea gardens in Uji 宇治 that “due to the land’s fertility, tea from that place has been celebrated as the best of all the [Japanese] Empire; the Emperor’s tea comes exclusively from there” (Wenceslau de Moraes, in “O Culto do Chá”). This tea had to be in Portugal too! I visited the tea plantations in Uji near Kyoto, sourced the best tea leaves and brought some back.

Our tea from the Uji plantations, near Kyoto. It was rainy that day.

Shizuoka: other plantations and factories that I visited were on the Shizuoka 静岡県 region, southwest of Tokyo. There, you will find some of the most extraordinary tea experts, who know everything about the plant, its traditions and innovations. We had a fantastic “sencha” green tea from Mount Fuji. Another one I called “Aires” after my son – a smoked black tea in the Lapsang Souchong style, but made in Japan with a twist, replacing the traditional sharp aggressiveness of pinewood with the mellow elegance of cherry wood… But my favourite was indeed the tea from Umegashima 梅ケ島, the highest tea plantation in Japan. My local partners and I climbed the mountain above the clouds, checking the dewy green bushes emerging from slim dried branches on the soil used as organic fertilizer – Man intervening in Nature with immense respect. And never underestimated how a tea can make you smile! This one tasted as if all of Japan could fit into a single cup.

Above the clouds in Umegashima, the highest tea plantation in Japan.

Next: In upcoming posts, we will look at the proper ways to prepare tea. I may also write about other countries and teas; for instance, one day I would like to visit the plantations of Uva in Sri Lanka, the gardens of Darjeeling in India, or the mountains of Taiwan, where some of best oolong teas are made. Meanwhile, I raise my cup of tea, and I thank you for reading!