On Thursday, April 29, we drove early in the morning from Anxi about 500 km to the city of Chaozhou near Phoenix Mountain. Chaozhou is famous for its porcelain and unique cuisine. We were invited to enjoy a very delicious vegetarian lunch at Kai Yuan Si, a 1000-year-old temple from the Tang dynasty, along with the temple master Ye Han Zhong.
Later in the day, we visited Mr. Wu Rui Quan, the fourth generation of Chaozhou Zhuni teapot masters. Mr. Wu’s 24-year-old son, Wu Pei Liang, showed us how to make the rare Zhuni teapot from red clay. Of course, we bought pots to take home for our oolong teas.
The last stop before we had to drive the final 500 km back to Guangzhou was to look at porcelain, or Bone China, which we use at Simply Tea. I love pure white Bone China for drinking tea from. It retains heat, is very pleasant to drink from, encapsulates the aroma, and highlights the color. Zhuping had apparently seen a handmade plate with daffodil flowers on it, which she bought for me as a memento of the trip. Natascha got two white dragons, which are a sign of good luck. I spotted a Ti Guan Yin statue, known as the Goddess of Mercy. After all the trouble I had with traveling to China this time, I needed a bit of mercy. Ti Guan Yin will stand in the shop alongside my oolong teas.
We arrived in Guangzhou around 11 PM and had our last meal together. It has been an indescribable trip with our tea master Zhuping, Xiao Tang, and Leo, who did everything to help us learn, experience, and visit so many places in the 7 days we had available during our 16-day trip. During the journey, I ordered many first flush green and yellow teas, as well as oolong and black teas, which are expected to arrive at the end of the month. I also have a very limited amount of the teas we tasted, along with some very rare green, oolong, black, and puerh teas that are not for sale outside of China.
Stop by the shop if you want to taste these teas.