On November 22, it was too cold and there were no customers in the shop. Tea merchant Old Yang had steeped a pot of tea until it lost its flavor and was about to change it when a middle-aged man in his early forties suddenly came in. One look and you could tell he was a seasoned tea drinker with over ten years of experience.
There are some people who just give off a vibe that they are tea drinkers. This feeling is hard to describe but is usually accurate.
Old Yang set aside the Mangfei tea he had just pried open and instead served single-tree Bingdao Bawai from 2020. Although single-tree Bingdao Bawai is somewhat rare on the market, he makes sure to stay on the mountain every year to make tea and jointly lease the tea garden with a few tea-making friends, trying to negotiate lower prices with the local farmers.
Once truly produced, even a single-tree variety yields about twenty kilograms. Drinking 5-8 grams at a time doesn't make it feel particularly scarce. Treating customers with good tea is done wholeheartedly and in the spirit of friendship through tea.
Unexpectedly, the middle-aged gentleman turned out to be an expert tea taster. After two infusions, he asked Old Yang if he could try his hand at brewing a couple of pots, and Old Yang readily agreed.
Unexpectedly, the tea brewed by the middle-aged gentleman tasted much better than Old Yang's. The same tea leaves, the same utensils, the same water quality – the skill level of the person brewing the tea can indeed affect the taste of the cup.
The allure of Pu'er tea lies in the flavor of the tea itself, with aromas ranging from floral to honey and Orchid scents. Take a sip, and your palate resonates; the tea soup glides down your throat, leaving a continuous aftertaste. Among many teas, the top-notch quality is what makes Pu'er tea highly sought after.
But what truly captivates one is the element of surprise – not knowing what will happen next or what kind of flavor the next cup of tea will bring. Perhaps you'll never taste two cups of tea that are exactly the same, and the changes hidden within each cup of tea are another reason why Pu'er tea is so captivating.
And drinking tea itself is a delightful activity.
Drinking alone, one may muse, recall the past, and imagine the future. A pot of tea might only leave you remembering the taste of the first Infusion, but as you continue to Drink, you'll realize that time has slipped away cup by cup.
A group of three to five friends discussing tea together – the tea they drink pleases them, but more importantly, it nurtures a shared camaraderie.
Why do we drink tea? It's simply because we like it. We like the flavor of Pu'er tea itself, the feeling it evokes when we drink it, and the friendships formed through sharing tea.
Days spent with tea are days filled with happiness.