How To Source Quality Tea
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- čas přidán 3. 05. 2016
- Don takes you along on his journey to China to taste Dancong Oolong. Discover our way of sourcing tea and get a taste for tea travel.
The teas which we sourced are:
Royal Peach Orchid (Mi Lan) - chinalifeweb.com/shop/product/...
Song Zhong - chinalifeweb.com/shop/product/...
Duck Sh*t (Ya Shi) - chinalifeweb.com/shop/product/...
Watch our tasting video: • Tasting Four Dancongs
Because nobody deserves bad tea...
So much truthfullness in one sentence!
I would just like to thank you all at Mei Leaf, finding a company so devoted to their customers and the quality of their product is much too rare these days. I hope your business thrives, and maybe some day I will be able to visit you in Camden to thank you in person. Greetings from a subscriber in America, have a great holiday season.
Thank you for your kind words Matthew!
My cognition of tea is refreshed after tasting thousands of different tea and traveling mountains over mountains.we are spreading tea culture,passing on love and gratitude
you have an awesome job :)
+Rok Sraka can't argue with that one ;)
Fascinating, please share!
What a wonderful perspective onto a world that we consumers don't usually get to see. Thank you for taking us along on your travels and for buying the way you do.
This kind of professionalism is so neverseen I got almost shocked. This video makes me want to have the tea you purchased from this trip. Do you sell your tea products through Amazon in the US?
Thank you! Not yet on Amazon but we sell through our UK website and ship to the US. We may approach Amazon next year though.
Don, watching this video has been such an inspirational story and I'm very happy that you show us a little of your tea trips. I'm so greatful for true tea life!
You truly make documentary-quality videos!
love this video. thank you! great to see the culture!
A new favorite! The breakdown of the dynamics involved in buying direct was VERY informative, like all your vids. Thank You for your work!
Great video showing stages of sourcing.
I absolutely love your videos. I'm also absolutely new to the world of tea. :)
Learning one video at a time..
Welcome Clark!
Hello there! A new subscriber. Thanks for all the informational videos. It really helped me to become more aware of the intricacies and details of different tea cultivars!
Your like Pablo Escobar of the tea game only purity
Haha - I will use that as a quote!
haha nice man....i made a order from over the pond in the usa cant wait to get the whole leaf tea
Wow
thanks for the awsome trip !
Really interesting! Bring more tea traveling please. Its so much more informative to see the reality of the tea culture and production in china.
I love tea travelling videos. Can't wait until you can travel more freely
Outstanding!
Very interesting! You have my dream job.
Very interesting to see, transparent and authentic. I'm surprised this doesn't have 10x the views
Awesome channel. Just discovered it a few days ago.
Please keep it on!
Cheers from France.
+Paul Whitman Merci!
Double thumbs up for Your Tisza branded long sleeve T-Shirt! Anyway, great video as always! You are guys the one who made me jump into the tea stuff after the coffee, just keep rolling!
I love Tisza!
"Gathering post" of Hungarian Teaheads 😀
Hello Don!
It is really an honour to see your work! This is how teabusiness should be done. The big tea companies, usually the ones that only sell bagged tea can in no way provide that sort of information to their customers, who by and large sadly wouldn't care anyway. The way you source tea gives you also great opportunities to adapt to changing ideals in your customerbase. One of them is a growing interest in the workers conditions in teafarms, which is also connected to the use of pesticides and herbicides. I would encourage you to give us some insight into that topic. I for myself really changed my view and consuming on tea when I found out about the miserable situation found in some teaplanations. Since then it is difficult for me to truly enjoy a cup of tea, because I fear that I might be part of a system, that exploits workers and destroyes their health. It is still very difficult to find actual information about the specific tea, that you can buy in your local teashop, because even most shopkeepers don't know much about that.
I really want to encourage you to take a look at that and give us some information in that regard.
Yours Felix
Interesting. You have a great job.
All these farmers seem to be very generous hosts, lovely
Awesome video. Thank you.
+Veronika K Thanks.
you have already sold me. I will be acquiring from you soon. thanks ALOT
Happy that you will be sipping on our wares!
Great video. Going to China is a great experience
Definitely make more videos of your Tea sourcing trips
Very nice video.
Very informative video..
Great!!!!
Fantastic video! Be sure to tweet when you put these teas up on your site, anticipating giving them a go.
+Leerill They will be up next week and we will tweet and do a tasting video.
Thanks for sharing! As a fellow direct from source Yiwu, it's great to see people spreading the message and tea culture. If you're interested in Yiwu gushus, let me know!
Thanks for sharing your sourcing trip! Finding good Dancong without breaking the bank is definitely difficult. It sounds like you found some winners :)
+Tea for Me Please We did but they broke the bank a little anyway :)
I usually order from what-cha but I think I will give chinalife a try too!
Thanks, whenever you fancy giving us a try we are waiting :)
Good video
thank you so much Don ,i thought that tea trees they cant produce good quality tea when they become old,but after watching your tea trip and explaination i came to know that the older the better the higher the quality of tea ,thanks for sharing knowledge
Yes, it depends on if the tea is maintained properly but older trees usually make richer tea.
this is amazing! could you please do tea-buying trips that a few people could self-organise and come with you to these regions?
We have thought about doing this but we are always focused on filming and tasting that it would be difficult to host people too.
Some sellers provide such trips as a separate service. RealChinaTea does so called 'tea tours' for example and they earn from it (hope you don't mind the name being dropped as they aren't really your direct competitor due to language barrier). Them, moychai and your channel are 3 best tea-related channels on YT imho. They do better China-travelling / tea-manufacturing videos but you have an edge on the studio ones. You are all story-tellers and that's something I really appreciate as a buyer.
their videos look great but none are in english *Cry*
Yeah, they are in Russian unfortunately. I got the impression that both companies are considering international markets though. MC has an eng version of their site already and RTC is about to launch theirs, so keep an eye on their channels as I won't be surprised to see subbed videos there sometimes soon. Those videos are quite educational even without the audio either way.
"let me further explaining this..." Don shaking his head to the camera, what a fun coincidence
Too caught up in the tea to be polite!
@@MeiLeaf eq32u
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Out of curiosity, how many languages do you all speak? I loved watching this. It was so relaxing.
At some point you need to travel to Alaska, Canada (or arctic regions) or Siberia and find Chaga teas. Look for the harvesters, know your sources and brew some up! Maybe you did a Chaga tea video? Thanks for sharing your vids. :)
Fantastic! Loving it!
BTW I got tea drunk for the first time and it's something I wouldn't get without gong fu brewing, which makes it worth to buy expensive tea and get all the taste & kick out of it! The western brewing I knew kills all the flavor and probably the kick of those expensive teas, because you're throwing out the leaves after the first, way too long brew! I am thankful for your channel and amazed by the good work you do. Thumbs are flying in the air!
PS I stopped drinking coffe in favor of tea too! :) again - thank you!
PSS Maybe some videos about neutral herbs with aroma, which people who avoid caffeine can drink every day and how to infuse them? Like for example cold brewing and such?
Great that you got tea drunk! Thank you for always watching and commenting! We will do some herbal tisane videos.
Is that lady your interpreter? So cool! I'm planning a trip to your teahouse with my Mexican aunt that lives in Lancaster lord willing, she married a Brit in college .
Love this video. Was just wondering if you know of any good resources (blogs,websites,youtubes) for Indian teas. I also love Indian teas as well as Asian and would like to learn more on quality etc but finding it hard to get info... To be fair it was just a lucky day I stumbled across chinalife on a miserable day in Camden in desperate need of tea a few years ago and still on my better tea journey 💕 ☕️
We love it when people happen to find us in Camden and find a home to share their passion for tea. We don't know of any particular resource for Indian tea that we could recommend but maybe you could ask on one of the tea pages on Facebook?
Mei Leaf is #1!
wow, i cant belive you have tisza t-shirt :)
I want that ginger flower dancong...
We wanted it too and we will keep trying to get some in!
Good luck with your business!
Thank you :)
Nicest video you have done.
+Ben Sewell Thanks
Do you still have teas from this trip?
Does this process of picking teas differ when you come to Japan?
What an adventure! Looks like you had to endure many Bai Jiu's haha! We are planning a short trip to Yunnan province next year, and would love to know if you could recommend some places to visit please? I heard you talk in other videos about the southern areas of yunnan having great pu er. We are only new tea heads, but love to go away from the tourist places, and visit areas where we could taste some great pu erh and soak up some atmosphere. Would appreciate any tips or advice! Thanks again :)
Answered on FB thanks for sending the Yixing potters.
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Oh at 2.08 you have that "Tisza" pullover on you. One of my best friend made that in Hungary. How did you get that? Have you ever been to Hungary? By the way. Your videos are great! Don't stop them! Best Wishes!
Love Tisza and love Hungary. The Tisza designs are great but I haven't visited them for a while (I used to go and buy when I was in Budapest) and I have quite a few of their trainers. Congratulations to your best friend - when are they coming to London?!
Don, thank you for these videos. They are the reason I am getting serious when it comes to tea.
As for tea sourcing directly, do you simply buy the tea on the spot and bring it back with you on the plane? Or do you somehow ship after you've returned home? Also, are there any barriers to direct sourcing like this?
Thank you again for all of the info you provide!
+Josh Smith we do buy some to take back with us but most of the tea that we source is brought in by ship to the UK. The biggest restriction is dealing with small producers that do not have the experience to deal with international trading but we pretty much always get our tea somehow!
Mei Leaf Thank you for the response! Definitely going to take a closer look into trading/importing
It is funny to see that you are wearing Hungarian brand (Tisza) :))))
When will the Dan Chong you bought be available to buy on your website?
+paul casino Next week :)
Hi, i like your video. When are you going to make your second trip? I work in a tea factory in China and we produce many different kinds of Chinese tea. We really hope you can come to our factory and taste our tea.
Would a very high quality maucha (sp?) taste better or worse than a medium quality of the same finished tea?
Maocha tastes different to finished tea because it does not have as much of the body and smoothness which comes from roasting and finishing. It is like the difference between a raw nut and roasted nut but definitely the Maocha of a very high quality tea can taste better than a finished medium quality tea. One of our most prized teas is a Maocha Oriental Red but it would be incredible (and very expensive) if it is finished tea.
Is it easy to travel to these places? I would love to go one day and try tea
+gymgirl1010910 It requires quite a bit of planning to meet the right people and go to the right places but it is relatively simple to get a plane over there and explore.
Dang my dream of becoming a professional tea taster has been dashed on account of my no drinky drinky rule
You can get away with it if you declare a medical reason for not drinking from the very first handshake.
With love from India. What's your take on Darjeeling tea?
We love a good Darjeeling but the market is flooded and we are trying to source the highest quality which is not easy to secure deals for.
I recently ordered some great tea from you. I assume this is a high
quality type of tea. But how do you make sure that your tea contains no
pesticides or heavy metals?
The key to avoiding pesticide residues lies in selecting tea from the right farmers and from batches picked at the optimal time of year. Usually early spring green tea (like our tea) does not require pesticides as the bugs tend to be more of an issue with tea picked closer to summer. All tea has to meet the EU pesticides residue regulations.
Heavy metals is not really an issue as long as you select farms far enough away from big industrial areas. Even then, the amount of heavy metals which are extracted through hot water is very small. Matcha is an exception as you are eating the leaves and so you should ensure that it comes from a good source which is not too close to big industry.
Question: were someone to go to one of these towns, how non-Chinese-speaker or fresh-learner friendly would it be? I know I'd be at a disadvantage compared to someone who spoke Chinese, but how severe of a handicap would that be?
It is a handicap of course but arm yourself with a good translating app on you phone and people are quite willing to try to converse.
If I can ask, what is your job title that allows you to do this? I would love to have a career like this and to be able to explore tea plantations
+Andrew Lovely The job title would be a tea buyer. You can do it for other companies or your own ;)
+chinalife Tea House
Sorry for all the questions, but how would I do this on my own? is there a website that lists all of the farms and plantations that are willing to sell their tea? or would I just roll the dice, in the sense? meaning I would go to a country and meet with farmers asking them if they are willing to sell?
+Andrew Lovely Most farmers would be willing to sell but beware because there are many that will over inflate the prices. You would have to go and explore as there are no official resources although I am sure that going on some tea forums will get you some networking to find some farmers.
Hi I'm from the US and would love to know if in the future I can tag along on one of these trips! I'm into tea and looking to open up a small tea house locally. But I never traveled for tea, just leisure, and the idea is stressful! Mind a. It if company?
We have been getting a few requests for this and we are considering doing small tours but for our filming/sourcing trips we prefer to keep things in house.You shouldn't be stressed about traveling for tea. The passion that you have for the leaf means that you will generally be welcomed with generosity.
Hi, I am working at a tea factory in China. If you are interested in opening a small tea house, i can provide you some help. :)
Why is she trying to get rid of the bubbles at ~12:30
Bubbles can be formed when you first wash the tea from impurities which you often take away with the lid of the pot or gaiwan. It is worth saying that mostly bubbles are from the compounds in the tea and not an issue.
Mei Leaf thx Don
do local small producers make use of dangerous fertilizers for their teas? how to have a certain idea about that?
It is unusual for tea grown in the right terroirs to require fertilisers apart from natural nutrients.
Thanks!
Haha in 7:28 you look realy tea drnk
6:08 That tea cup is too big
+Jeff Cram Size is simply for tasting.
Paradoxically, it looks like tea tasting in China is not for teetotalers :-)
+FrF ;D definitely - to the farmers if you don't drink until you are drunk then you are suspicious and not to be trusted which is a pretty different cultural approach to alcohol!
+chinalife Tea House I don't drink alcohol and always have this problem when I visit China. I've learned that saying "alcohol hurts my stomach" is well accepted and widely understood. It seems to be the only excuse that works consistently in social settings.
+Callum Makkai We might use that one! :)
@@carolinesmercantile4290 it looks like cognac
Man, it's like you stole my idea(that I wrote down for a school task in 2014). It's one of my biggest worries, the TRACEBILITY of (mass) consumption goods.
When I was making that task I dreamt of "a seller/teatender" in my shop who would pationatly tell the costumers about the best teas in the world and would travel for a month once a year to the sources. It's important that the "tea-adventurer" and the teaseller are one and the same person(to bring the stories and the spirit of tea in the room with his presence)
THE WHOLE POINT of this is not to make money, ofcourse, you DESERVE a good pay/profit out of your(FAIR business), but it's important that the SMALL farmers(FAMILY/CULTURE traditions) stay ALIVE or WON't get bought up by the BIG industry like lipton or one of the other marginal cost seeking companies. SO PLZ don't be shy about the price, the price HAS to be RIGHT, that means THERES NO TEA EXPANSIVE ENOUGH in this world! :) (because you know you can't value a 1000 year old tree, in monetary terms)
Keep up the good("pioneering") work! :)
Thank you for your insightful comment. We agree completely. Instead of homogenising and exploiting tea culture we should all be celebrating the diversity of the leaf and rewarding the artistry of the producers.