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| Western China | |||
 Sichuan province Tea video and soundtrack by Tom Lisicki
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First, let's take a look at Sichuan province |
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| Let's start in Sichuan province | Tea grows here on many terraced mountains | Top quality green tea is grown here |
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Here a woman is plucking tea leaves
BACK TO TOP | Tea pickers take their tea to the local factory | These leaves are ready for processing |
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Green Tea production process |
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| First the tea is withered in trays | Here the leaves are steamed briefly to kill the enzymes to prevent oxidation | The leaves must be partially dried after steaming |
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| Next the leaves are rolled by hand to shape them | This is a mechanical tea roller | The tea is then hand fed to a dryer |
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Finally the tea is air dried on a cloth over a vent
BACK TO TOP | The finished tea will sell for a good price | |
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Yunnan province |
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| Next stop: Yunnan province in southwest China | Tea has grown in Yunnan for many centuries | Some tea trees here are over 500 years old |
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Many tea leaves here are much larger than elsewhere
BACK TO TOP | This is a tiny village tea factory | Here fresh tea is brewed and enjoyed in glasses |
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Puerh Tea production process |
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| The most famous tea in Yunnan is puerh tea | Here puerh tea is being compressed in a round mold | This fresh disk will be air dried and wrapped before storage |
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| The paper wrapper lets the tea breathe | Fine puerh teas are aged for several years and take on a strong earthy flavor | Another popular puerh is tuocha which has a bird's nest shape |
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| In China puerh is prized as a healthy tea, especially good for digestion | This tower of puerh tea is over 5 feet tall | Puerh tea is becoming more popular now in teabags |
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| In the end, it is what is in the cup that counts | ||
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