Vanatu

 Today we travel to Vanatu, a chain of islands east of the northern tip of Australia. There are 13 principal islands, and many smaller islands in a north-south area described as an irregular "y" shape covering 400 miles. They achieved their independence in 1980, and their name means "our land forever" in the local language. These are mountainous islands that include active volcanoes, and are subject to frequent earthquakes. About 3/4 of the population lives in rural areas, and 99% of the population is Melanesian. They have 3 official languages: Bislama, English, and French. Subsistence agriculture makes the base of the economy. Kava is listed as a popular tea. I also found mention of Chinese tea served in Vanatu. I used this as an opportunity to compare 2 Chinese black teas I have been wanting to compare for a while now. I don't know what type of Chinese tea the people of Vanatu drink, but I thank them for the excuse for a comparison post. 


Both of these teas are recommended for gongfu tea ceremonies. While they are said to brew well for several rounds, I have not always found this to be the case. I find I can get 3 maybe 4 rounds of brewing at most out of these leaves. 


Wuyi rock tea is an unsmoked lapsong souchong from the WuYi mountain of China's Fujian province. The flavor is said to be from the mineral rich soils of the limestone mountain. I find that this tea has a lighter color, and a sweeter, malty flavor.


Congou is also known as gong fu cha, also grown in Fujian province China. This is an early season small-leaf tea. I find that it makes a darker brew (which makes sense owing to the smaller leaves), and has a more astringent character. 


Brew number one, Congu is on the left Wuyi Rock on the right. 


Again, Congu on the left Wuyi Rock on the right. 


In my opinion, both types of leaves held up to brewing 3 times. You can see the difference in leaf character after brewing as well. In truth, both gaiwans did pretty well containing the leaves when the tea was poured off. I still poured both of them through a screen to catch the smaller bits of leaves, but both did well for a smaller number of brews. They would be good for what I would consider a shorter gongfu session. 

Comments

  1. Poppy CrockerFebruary 28, 2021 at 11:38 AM

    I'm glad everything worked out well.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Lace makerFebruary 28, 2021 at 1:41 PM

      More good news, a lot of snow melted this last week. We can actually see the ground in places! If only it were spring. I know more cold weather and storms will come before May, but I'll take the nice weather while it lasts.

      Delete

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