The Importance of Terroir in Chinese Tea and Tea Traditions
(Room N239)
14 Jun 17
8:30 AM
-
10:00 AM
Tracks:
Tea: Origins & Varietals
Tea is the wine of the East. To study Chinese tea, especially historical Chinese teas which commands the highest price in the market today, starts with learning and identifying tea's value through terroir. Preliminary Class Agenda: 1. Layout of major Chinese tea terroir and how they’ve been historically ranked 2. How terroir is reflected in the naming conventions of Chinese tea 3. The above-the-ground factors such as slope, direction, microclimate, sunlight impact the desirability of a terroir 4. The below-the-ground factors such as soil, geological formation, water influence the flavor and characteristics of tea 5. How terroir is central to developing and retaining tea making traditions 6. Age of tea trees and terroir 7. Varietals and terroir 8. How Chinese view terroir philosophically and the virtues of tea