The only really memorable, not to say stunning, Long Jing I've brewed was delivered unto us by an acquaintance with diplomatic ties. The precious pinch came from a secured harvest said not to exceed what a single supply officer could easily carry. I was impressed by the provenance; more by the savor.
An article in this week's New Yorker sheds some light, and whets the less-connected gweilo's appetite for access to such treasures.
Still, one is sobered somewhat in recalling that said gweilo hath not only ready access to at least the second- or third-best produce of a whole world of diverse tea-producing regions, each with its own many and special characteristics; but also, even "just" among those of Chinese origin, readier access to much of that empire's own output at levels of quality, price and freshness that may rise above what has historically been available to all but the most celestial ranks of the imperium.
Life is good, mostly. May you enjoy in good health and good company many a stimulating cup in the year to come.
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December 22, 2011 Is a Clue to China?s Future on Its Dinner Tables? Posted by Evan Osnos
... it was grim news last fall when Chinese reporters uncovered a network of ?special farms? dedicated to providing Party leaders with top-quality vegetables, chicken, pork, rice, beef, fish, and tea oil. In the province of Zhejiang, for instance, forty ?high-class eco-farms? were said to have been earmarked to supply the land-resource department, water conservancy, agricultural units, and other government offices. (What are we to make of the fact that the offices receiving special food are exactly the ones overseeing the public?s supply?)
Historically, the leaders of the People?s Republic maintained tegong?special supply?farms, but in the nineteen-nineties the irony became too much (or too public) to bear, and they were thought to be shut down. But it seems they are thriving ...