Travels 2018: Central China with Francois

François travelled around China with a very special guest this year. From April 8th until the 26th, he had the special company of Leika, his 11-year-old daughter. If you haven't had the chance to follow some of their wacky photos and videos on our social media yet, here is an overview of their trip.

Some travel updates

François and Leika visited Mr. Pan for the first time, in She Xian County, located in a small mountain village (2 hours drive from Huangshan). They were impressed to see Mr. Pan still performs his own manual transformation over a wood fire, alongside his wife who takes care of the harvesting. A small but dedicated team, producing a maximum of 1kg per day.

His Ding Gu Da Fang caught their attention, and will be added it to the catalogue this year. A tea that will appeal to all Long Jing fans both in both its form and taste.

Playing Favourites

Wei Shan Mao Jian is back this year with its organic certification. Although Mr. Wang's garden has technically been organic for many years now, he had to get it re-approved following certification changes in China - a process that took over 2 years. We are very happy to make it official. A lovely tea with notes of green vegetables, butter and wildflowers. Sublime!

As Francois was doing some comparative tasting with the Wei Shan Mao Jian, he fell for the Grade 1 and bought a micro-lot, just this year.

Objects and Accessories

Francois and Leika then spent time with one of our favorite potters, Mrs. Zhang who is currently working on a two new teapots to arrive this fall. One is a as well as on a larger format that we all loved.

Fun fact: Mrs. Zhang did not study porcelain- it was following her advertising studies that she headed to Jingdezhen and chose to settle down there. She specializes in overseeing the design of the objects while her partner takes care of the technical side. She draws her inspiration from the shapes and colours of the natural world.

Camellia Sinensis Award for Excellence

Mr. Ye, our Tai Ping Hou Kui producer, was the proud recipient of the 'Camellia Sinensis Award for Excellence' this year. François and Leika had the pleasure of presenting it to him in person. They also had the pleasure of seeing his 10-year-old son, whom François has seen growing up over the years, ever since the day he was born.

Honorable Mentions

The Lu An Gua Pian and the Yong Xi Huo Qing are both exquisite this year!