Terrior, or the concept that the land and environment greatly conspires with the genetics of a plant or animal to create a unique taste is not just limited to wine. Tea is very much a product of the place it grows: the soil, the rain, the heigth, the winds, temperature etc, as it is of when harvested and the details of how it was processed. There are aurguments that are made that a certain type of tea (like Dragon Well) is inherently lined to a place that it cannot be produced anywhere else. (I agree.)
Keep in mind, all tea comes from 2 varietals of tea bushes. White, Green, Oolong, Black etc are catagories of tea processing (tea is dryed, roasted, shaped, rolled, aged, fermented in different combinations known as processing). Darjeeling, Assam, Wuyi, etc describe the region the tea was grown - and can be considered appellations in some cases. Highgrown, sping picked, 2nd flush, etc describe some of the details. But all teas come from two vareities of bush - hence why I think terrior is important.
Why the lesson: A friend asked the other day if there were any good america grown teas? I have tasted some blacks from central america (Hondorian, Guatemalian, Brazillian) that were not bad. Pretty much anywhere you can grow coffee, tea can often be grown. But there has not been a lot of good quality teas, an almost none grown north of Mexico.
I've had ( and reviewed)Kona grown, Hawaian Green tea "Kilinoe" ("Misty Rain") distributed by the folks from Narien Teas. Part of Kona have attribute very similar to some of the regions in China, and there are several gardens underway there. The early teas I've had are greens, and show a lot of promise. As the producers get more experience in finishing, the quality will increase.
Tea Master Roy Fong, of the Imperial Tea Court in San Fransisco, recently acquired property in California to start a tea garden, which you can read about here. (His blog is worth the read for any tea fan!) I am excited and encouraged that soon more high quality tea will be domestically sourced!
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About Me
- Mike Dorosh
- I am a self confessed tea geek from Chicago who from an early age understood the power of a cuppa to heal the body and mind. I am fascinated by the styles, customs, culture and history of tea, and have been lucky enough to travel to many of the worlds tea centers. Tea is social, medicinal, spiritual, and magical. A bowl of Long Ching in a Shanghai tea house, a gourd of mate shared by co-workers in an office in Buenos Aires, High Tea in a garden in London, or a cuppa Brekkie in my kitchen - tea transports one's mood. I hope to make drinking tea more accessible and more interesting through my contributions. Drink More, Better, Tea!
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