Springtime

I'm going to say it : it's finally really spring. After a few weeks of stable 50 degree weather (which actually wasn't that enjoyable because it was so wet), and now 60 and 70 and even 80 degree weather, I'm finally feeling comfortable with the temperature. Unfortunately, in another month or two it will be nearing 100 degree weather, with 100% humidity. So I'll try to soak up the good weather while I can.
Flowers have been blooming here. Two weeks ago marked the opening up of cherry blossoms, which the Chinese say are here one week and gone the next - they're mostly gone now. And last week the peach trees were in bloom. Most of the magnolias bloomed 3 or 4 weeks ago, although it seems the purple ones are just finishing up. Also red-buds are in bloom or finishing up - this reminds me of home. Finally the great sycamore trees that line almost every street in Shanghai are finally budding out. To me this is most significant, as they have been a looming naked presence, reminding me that it was in fact still not quite spring. So since they're willing to open up I will too.
It's also tea season and the first crop of tea came out two weeks ago in SuZhou and HongZhou (the two cities near Shanghai). I have a small bit of what is called qingming tea - the cream of the crop - or the smallest leaves that have just shucked thier outer buds. On Sunday I got to witness and play a part in this whole process. Two friends an I traveled first by train to Suzhou, and then climbed onto a packed bus where we spent the next two hours jostling for space and some sort of handle to keep ourselves upright amid unannounced stops and sharp turns. We finally arrived on the third of three islands that skip out into Tai lake - which is an extremely large lake that a number of cities feed off of. We found the farmer that had been recommended to us by a local we met at the train station and then sat down for lunch at a large inn that hosted both men, women and animals. The chickens were mostly kept in a caged area. The food actually wasn't the best, even though it was extremely fresh and locally grown - he liked his oil and sugar just a bit too much.
Afterward we headed to the tea fields where we we're instructed on how to quickly pick with our forefinger and thumb. The owner came with us, and showed off his lightening fast picking style which he had cultivated over the last 30 years. He had what I call the 'black thumb' because of it - a blackening just below the face of the thumb that is caused by the natural dyes in the tea leaves. I imagine they probably have some sort of tea owner's guild and the black thumb is a prerequisite for entering.
After we labored, for an hour or so in the fields we went back to roast the tea in a huge wok especially made for the tea. There are three steps - the first is to just roast the tea in the pan while churning with your hands (wearing gloves), this step is actually called 'kill green' because it gets rid of the really fresh green look... as a side the green actually returns when you brew your tea and magically the tea leaves look almost the same as when you picked them!!! The second step is actually very similar to kneading of bread and it rolls the tea while also pushing our moisture. Finally the last step is more rolling between your two hands to give the tea a wirey look ... at this last stage the hair of the tea become apparent. The tea from Suzhou is know for its hair which is really just natural fibers in the tea which only become really visible when it dries to a certain degree.
so that's Suzhou tea..... Other tea's like LongJing or DragonWell in HongZhou require a different process and therefore taste completely different. Pretty amazing.