Chapter VIII · The Producing Regions: Modern tea science — In Lingnan, teas of Fuzhou, Jianzhou, Shaozhou, and Xiangzhou are…

Photo: Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0

The passage

“In Lingnan, teas of Fuzhou, Jianzhou, Shaozhou, and Xiangzhou are occasionally obtained, and their flavor is excellent.”

Modern tea science

A modern tea-science reading of “In Lingnan, teas of Fuzhou, Jianzhou, Shaozhou, and Xiangzhou are…” separates four layers: ecology, cultivar, processing, and brewing.

Soil drainage, light, temperature, and cultivar shape the amino acids, catechins, and aromatics in the leaf. Those compounds then meet water, heat, and time.

Science can explain why an old observation often works, but it does not make the observation universal. Context still matters.

Reading note

Read the passage once for the image, once for the judgment, and once for the practice it implies.

Practice

• Name one thing the passage asks you to notice.
• Compare it with a tea you know.
• Keep the question open.