The Oldest Trees
At Phoenix Mountain
of Shantou, Southern China, the old, knarly tea bushes are tree size,
reaching the dense foggy skies in their lichen crusted barks. Each tree
produces leaves of a different fragrance, so it’s imperative that each
is harvested individually, and by hand. The farmers can identify each
grove as they are able to recognize their own children. But they have
an advantage- some of these farm families have been tending to these
trees for a thousand years. Phoenix Mountain Oolongs are some of the
rarest teas in the world. But so are the caretakers of these trees. The Wu Dong
Peak within the Phoenix Mountain range was considered home to
some of the best and oldest oolongs in China, the tallest elevation
reaching 1489 meters. One of the original Phoenix trees still alive was
named ‘Song Dynasty Varietal’ (Song Zhong) and it’s at least 400 years
old, and about 20 feet tall.
One of the
caretakers is Mr. Lin who advises me that Phoenix Oolongs tea leaves
are different from almost any other Oolongs, and are characterized by a
deep red border fringing long twisted leaves that resemble eel skin. I asked Mr. Lin how
long he’s been involved with tea. Mr. Lin replied that it’s been
recorded for nearly one thousand years in their geneology book.
Mr. Lin’s father, the old patriarch of the village who presides over a
committee of farmers that determine each year the graftings and
plantings of new tea plants, as well as how to protect the plants from
pests and other weather and environmental issues, is over 80 years old
and is still energetic and straight backed. Do you make much money, I
asked Mr. Lin? No, he replies, we work all year and it’s really up to
the heavens if we get much crop, because the trees have to be fairly
old before harvesting, and there are more branches than leaves in this
varietal. But you can harvest more seasons, and sell more of your crop,
I asked? No, Mr. Lin replied, indignant. We have to take care of the
trees. They can not be harvested more than once a year anymore than I
will let my father work in his old age.
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