JTH's Guizhou Tea Series
Written by Huahua
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Hello Tea Friends,
Last year, we traveled to the mountains of southwest China, to the province of Guizhou. While we were there, we visited tea farms, spoke with local tea farmers, and of course, brought back some amazing teas from Guizhou for you!
The team visits Guizhou tea fields!
If you haven't heard much about Guizhou, here's what you should know; The province has been gaining more and more attention in recent years. Its culture has been featured in Chinese films, and Guizhou cuisine has become increasingly popular for its bold flavors and distinctive, "provocative" seasonings.
The same can be said for its tea as Guizhou offers a remarkable variety of teas with rich, complex flavors!
So what makes Guizhou unique as a tea cultivation region?
Bordering Yunnan and Sichuan, Guizhou is known for its predominantly hilly landscapes. The mountains altitude and humid subtropical climate create the perfect environment for plants to thrive, including tea trees.
Some photos of the hilly landscapes!
The misty mountains and mild climate slow the growth of the tea plants, giving the leaves more time to develop and accumulate flavor compounds. The result is a tea with a richer, more complex taste.
For this Guizhou regional single-source series, we picked four distinctive teas from Guizhou:
Mao Hongyi’s Gold Medal Red Tea
The floral fragrance of Red Peony, the fruity sweetness of Gold Medal Red Tea, the fresh, nutty depth of Jade Pearl Green Tea, and the mellow smoothness of Red Pearl Red Tea. Four distinct tastes, for a variety of moods and palates!
Or you can go for our Guizhou Province Single Source Regional Tea Sampler to get a full taste of our curated selection of Guizhou teas.
We also offer a Guizhou Embroidered Butterfly Tea Coaster, designed to complement the tea series.
Guizhou isn’t just rich in natural resources, but also a culturally diverse and fascinating region. Because Guizhou is so mountainous, railways and other infrastructure arrived later than many other parts of China. That meant the local economy developed more slowly, but in a way it also helped preserve the region's unique culture, traditions, and way of life.
Guizhou is home to more than 40 ethnic minority groups, each with its own distinct culture and traditions. Among them is the Miao people, whose art adorns our Guizhou series tea boxes!
The Miao has a rich history, their own language, rituals, and beliefs. Today, more than 4 million Miao people in China live in Guizhou, making it the province with the largest Miao population.
They are especially known for their vibrant traditional clothing and intricate embroidery, as well as their love of silver ornaments. On weddings and special occasions, Miao women often wear elaborate silver headpieces, necklaces, and bracelets layered across their outfits. Some of these ornate accessories can weigh up to 10 kilograms.
Photo by L-Bit, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
On our Guizhou tea boxes we feature an embroidered butterfly motif, as the butterfly is an important totem in Miao folklore.
According to Miao legend, “Mother Butterfly” was born in the heart of a fallen maple tree. She laid twelve eggs that hatched into twelve brothers: Jiang Yang, Lei Gong, Dragon King, Elephant, Ox, Sheep, Chicken, Snake, Centipede, Lynx, Tiger, and Dog. They are honored as the Twelve Ancestral Gods by the Miao people. Jiang Yang, the head of the twelve brothers, is regarded as Miao people’s ancestor.
The butterfly motif appears in many forms throughout Miao craftsmanship. It may take the shape of a simple symmetrical design, a detailed and realistic butterfly, or be blended with other figures and patterns. It is a beautiful and powerful symbol of motherhood, blessings, fertility, and the ancestry of the Miao people.
The design of our Guizhou Tea Boxes is embossed with a 3D effect to resemble traditional embroidered textures. We also chose an indigo blue for our sampler box, inspired by the traditional fabric-dyeing techniques of the Miao people.
Miao people use indigenous plants such as indigowoad root to dye the fabric and create patterns with batik\wax to resist dying. These techniques give the Miao traditional fabric an elegant blue decorated with remarkable patterns. For a people with no written language, batik, embroidery and silver crafts are some of the important media that carry Miao people’s myths, legends, and history.
There is much more to be said about Guizhou tea and culture. For now, we hope you enjoy our selection of Guizhou teas.
Happy steeping!
- Huahua