The Harney's love to travel the world, looking for fine tea. By visiting the tea gardens themselves, they are able to ensure you will have a quality cup of tea. Michael Harney is currently visiting Japan and China.

• Mike's Trip to Japan and China, with Alex Harney Too! April-May 2005
• Mike's Trip to Japan and China, April-May 2004
• Michael's Travels in Japan, April 2002
• Paul's Travels in Darjeeling - April, May 2001
• Paul visits Kolkata and Assam - May 2001
• Michael's Trip to China 2000
• Our World Tea Map

Brigitte is going to China! April 2007
Brigitte will join me, her husband, on my trip to China. We are leaving earlier than other years, so as to catch the earlier teas. As the Chinese become more prosperous, it is very important to be the early bird. We must get that worm! Touchdown is in Shanghai. There, we will see the only restaurant in China that serves our tea. Also we will tour the tea house and teashops of that bustling metropolis. Then it is off to the country. First we will go to Anhui Province, up to the Huang Shan (Yellow Mountains). We will look at the early season Mao Feng Green teas. With luck, we may see the start of the season in Taiping. Some friends have been there and said it was worth the trip. We will definetly be early when we role in into Qimen (where Keemun) is made. That is made in a month or so. However we will get a sneak preview.

Then it is off to Zhejiang. The main attraction is Lung Chings in Hangzhou, however we will have other side trips. We are lucky to be in Hangzhou during the Ching Ming Festival. where we will see all the festivities. Or, maybe we will be unlucky to be in Hangzhou during Ching Ming, as all will be closed. We plan to visit the Tea Museum. I want to show my wife our tea (the only Western tea) in the Chinese National Tea Museum. Also the Chinese Tea Research Institute is in the plans... I am trying to increase my tea knowledge. Also we will spend some time at the West Lake Tea Village. I love that tea room along the shores of the West Lake (Xi Hu), and I think Brigitte will also.

Then we are off to Changsha in the central Hunan Province. I have not been there for many years, and it will be interesting to see how the Chinese boom has changed that city. We will go up to DongTing Lake to see the production of yellow teas. I have some theories about it and want to see how they really do it.

The final few days are to be spent in Hong Kong. We will be pampered at the Island Shangri La Hotel. Luckily they serve our tea. Like in Shanghai, we will tour tea rooms and shops. Our friend, Paulo, has opened a French Bistro. So I will bring a French critic to test it.

So my French girl is getting ready. She is getting quite nervous about the food, and the water, etc etc. That is fine, because as the saying goes, only the paranoid survive.

April 2005 -- I have been winding up things these last few days. Racing to get my wife, Brigitte, moved into her new shop. I can not have too many details left undone during my trip to Asia. Then there was the matter of getting some good First Flush Darjeelings. Pleased to say that is done. And the multitude of little details to complete before I departed. Now, I'm ready to unleash. With my oldest, Alex, I catch the first plane out on Monday. We will stop in Kakegawa and see how this years crop is going. Harvest starts in a few weeks. Then it is off to Kagoshima in the sunny southern isle of Kyshu. There, tea harvest will be in full swing. Next stop is Taiwan. We will go up in the mountains and figure out how long until this year's oolong is ready. Rumor has it, that the winter was long and hard, and the teas are delayed. Alex tried some Ali San oolong yesterday and loved it. So I think he will have a great time with Taiwan's oolongs. Then it is off to the Middle Kingdom. Cold weather has also affected the crop there . We will stop at the Chinese Tea Museum and present another tin of Queen Catherine. I think the original that is there might be getting old. We will see the end of this year's production of Lung Ching in Hangzhou. I am trying find some of the elusive Zisun made on the southern shores of the Tai Hu.It is a clear yellow green tea with a sweet aftertaste. With members of the Zhejiang Province tea bureau, we will venture around the lovely Tai Hu (lake). There is tea grown along in the mountains that surround the lake. One stop is Mt. Dongting which is the source of some great Pi Lo Chun. This green and white fluff is wonderful to look at and I love the hint of smoke in the flavor. This is going to be a great roadtrip with my big boy and our tea buddy Marcus. Sort of "Sideways" meets Shanghai. We will keep you informed!

Mike's Ramblings, Late April 2005, plus a few words from Alex
Two down and one more area to go. Alex and I are not at each others throats. The kid has been with me for 20 years and I am still learning about him. I think he is picking up my fascination with Asia. A few hours in Kakegawa showed me that a cold Spring (like we're having back home) has slowed production. The leaves were quite small. The next day it was off to Kagoshima. The city is at sea level, like most ports. The tea fields were high above on large plateaus. Kagoshima makes over 30% percent of the Japan's tea. We observed their tea auction. It is one of the few areas that have an active auction. In fact there are fights over the tea lots (in a subtle Japanese way) Tasted some good teas. Found one that is sweet but lacks in body. Our friend Yoshi will blend in some other Kagoshima teas to overcome that. Alex took some great shots of the tea production. Then it was north to go south. North being Tokyo and South was Taipei in Taiwan. Here our hosts took us to the lovely LuKu area where Dong Ding Oolongs are made. The smell, as always, was delicious. The oolong smell starts after only 10 minutes and fills the air with its sweet scent. Our host practices organic farming but has not got the certification, so we could not sell it as Organic. He was full of Chinese entrepreneurship. Trading tea and tea plants back and forth across the Taiwan straits. Very interesting. Yesterday, we visited the Pi Lo Chun and Lung Ching areas. Finally, although tired, we took a private expressway (you can only use it if you know the right people) to lovely Pingling high above Taipei. It is here that the Wenshaw Baojiang is made. We have never carried this lightly oxidyzed tea, but have heard a cry demanding it. So we are looking to bring some in. Now we are off to Hangzhuo. And from Alex... Well I'm having fun. It's quite the experience and the photos and video that I'm shooting should make for some incredible material. Nothing at the tea company could have prepared me for this at all. The smell is incredible, the people very nice and hardworking, and the tea is magnificent. I'll have a full journal for you when I get back with photos and in time, a video. Cheers, Alex
(05/12/2004)Coming up for air in Shantou, before we start the final sprint in Guangdong province. It was a good thing that we did not know the details of our trip in Fujian province, or we might not have gone.

I am sure there is something we missed, as our guide Mr. Wang says he has 63 tea farms. Yet in four days we drove close to 2,000 kilometers (you do the conversion into miles) over some of the worst roads imaginable. Yet it was worth it. The Wuyi mountains are very pretty. They are a national treasure, and in fact we almost could not enter. We had to get a special permit to go up to the home of Lapsang Souchong. There we saw free range tea. They cannot plant the tea plants. Where the plants grow, they grow. The tea factory has been handed down generation to generation. I used to think I did not like Lapsang, until I tasted some of their top of the line Wuyi Hong Cha. Needless to say some of that is coming to us.

We went to Da Hong Pao, a Buddihist shrine that is dedicated to tea. There is a chasm of black rocks with tea growing in the middle. This temple of tranquility was perfect.

The next morning we went down the Min river on the Nine turns trips. It was a little touristic, but the river meanders past some stunning black bluffs. Soon I will send some pictures.

After the Nine Turns, we went on a dash across rural Fujian province. It was the not so famous Three Hills. 7 hours of up and down past field after field of tea. It was truly like the author Bob Gardella wrote about in his book "Harvesting Mountains" It culimnated in a hairaising descent down dark one lane roads into Fuan. There we met the inventor of Dragon Pearl Jasmine and many of the floral art teas - she has the government patents to prove it. It was amazing to see her staff hand-tie these teas. She has some very pretty creations that we will be getting.

The next morning we went to another Bai Mudan plant that also did a wonderful Green tea that is similar to Silver Needles, but more flavorful. The company has one of the few Organic Bai Mudan fields. It is also nice because you can see the sea from the fields. I asked if the coastal fogs made for better tea (like in Napa valley). Unfortunately it was lost in translation, so I will just guess that it greatly improves the quality.

Finally we got on a decent road. There is an expressway that follows the coast (that is where all the money is spent). We took it south through tea fields and fishing villages. South of Fuzhou we turned inland to Nanan City, hometown of Mr. Wang. Here we were treated like royalty. Yet before that great meal we went to a tea finishing teas for a real treat. Mr. Wang had arranged (he should get a job as a tour director) for us to taste some very and I mean very special teas. There were several Ti Quan Yins. One was full of power, it reminded me of a great Montrachet wine from France. Mr. Wang said it was horribly expensive and so it was. Yet we had to have some, so I got thirty orders. I will be keeping a few for myself.

The next morning we went off to the home of Ti Quan Yin- Xi Ping. This was an idyllic village that has benefited from the Chinese obsession of paying a lot for Ti Quan Yin. After meeting his family (he has 25 generations in the tea business!), we went up to his house and and saw some of the production. It is the end of the season, so the quality was off. However, there we saw the origins of the tightly wrapped ball-oolongs also made in Taiwan.

That afternoon we left Fujian province for Shantou. In the morning, we went to Chao Zhou and met up with a wild man of tea. Dressed in a flamboyant black outfit, and shouting most of the time, we all thought he was a gangster. Later he gave us a tour of the Fenghaung (of Fenghuang Shuixian fame) area. He seemed to know everybody and he talked a lot about tea. The few words I know in Chinese are tea words. After a delicious meal of fried Tofu, fried sweet potatoes in honey, and a wonderful chicken, we went back to his tea shop in Chao Zhou. It was there that the layers were peeled back and he was revealed for being a tea lover. His shop is filled with tea antiques: both ancient pots and ancient teas. I figured out that Chao Zhou has a long tradition of tea. There were many tea shops that sell the greats teas of the Fenghuang area. Behind the dusty storefronts are many wonderful Chinese homes. It is one of the few cities that has preserved its outer defensive wall like so many charming European towns. Later on another layer was peeled away, the reason for all this respect for tradition was revealed … one of China's most famous Buddhist temples is there. Now people are locating there because of the charm and tradition. These people are bringing a renewed commitment to China's treasures. After further examination, this guy's outfit was actually based upon traditional Chinese clothes.

At his place we tasted some Fenghuangs - both this year's and some that were over 30 years old. They were great and we got some. Our wild man showed his sensitive side by giving a tour of the temple. It is over 1,000 years old, filled with large golden Buddhas. Then for our final dinner he took us to a vegetarian restaurant (remember Buddha wants no harm to animals) overlooking the temple. It was a modern restaurant, but one that respected China's past. It was something that I did not expect. However if there is one thing I have learned, it is that China and its people are wonderfully unpredictable. I shall miss them.

(5/4/2004) We have visited the Sencha region of Japan. I met with some of the best producers. It was the start of the season and it ends in a few days. Amazingly short. Japan's gardens are very pretty, going up the steep hills.

I bought some of the deep Steamed Sencha and a special Sencha from the Wazuka region. This Sencha is considered almost too sophisticated for Japanese.

In Taiwan, we visited a producer at 11 PM. he was just starting to wither (wilt) the leaf . After a half hour, it gets put in a bamboo shaker that starts the oxidation process. After another 1/2 hour they start to roll it (it smells so good!). Then into a turning oven. Later on they put into a a bag and tightly roll it and put it back into the oven. This is repeated up to 100 (yes 100) times to make the tight balls you find in our Ali San.

Speaking of which, we went to Ali San ( Ali Mountain) . I am please to say there is no exaggeration. It is up and and is a steep mountain covered with tea plants. They were out plucking today. Very Pretty.

We also visited Dong Ding mountain ( this is more of a high plateau) . We were being shown around by a young tea maker. While in Dong Ding we met with his grand father and found out that his family has been making tea in Dong Ding for over 150 years! So we bought some very nice Dong Ding and a special Li San Oolong.

Most of these teas will be sent to us later this month and we will have a special launch to celebrate fresh teas. So we are off to Hong Kong, and then to Fujian and Guangdong Province. Lots of sitting our tails in cars and planes, but worth it to see very special teas and bring some home to our customers.

XOX

Mike

We are back from a fabulous trip to Japan. On the long flight over, an airline attendant could not believe that anyone would go to Japan for pleasure. I respectfully disagree! We were warmly received, it was both fascinating and enjoyable. Of course many Japanese speak little English ( and I don't speak Japanese), yet it is easy to get around and eat. Our business friends spoke enough English for me to understand the joys of Japanese Tea. Also there is the common language of tea tasting and production.

My family was treated like royalty. Our hosts showed us a Japan that few see. We stayed at an old style Japanese Inn high in the mountains at Hot Spring. We learned the obsession the Japanese have with baths. My son Bert loved spending time at these public baths. Any initial hesitancy was overcome. Later on we slept along the banks of the famous Uji river, looking across the rapids at the tranquil green hills, surrounded by famous temples. It was one of the best nights of my life. The food was always great. At the Inns, we ate many seasonal foods beautifully prepared. So it was a trip full of pleasure and few problems.

The object of our trip was to learn more about Japanese teas. I must report that the mission was accomplished. We saw and tasted numerous teas. Our hosts patiently explained the differences between different teas and production styles. In Tokyo we were recieved by a family that has been selling tea from the same corner for over 100 years. I learned much from their years of experience and greatly appreciated their arranging the trip to Shizuoka. To be accompanied by the President during the busy growing season was an honor. We saw this years crop growing. Then we tasted some of the first teas of this year. A rare occurence. We went Kakegawa, capital of Shizuoka teas. We toured the fields and saw the production plants that ensure great teas. Again it was a very busy time with the tea trading taking place at 3:30 in the morning. Luckily we arrived slightly early in the season, so we were able to spend some time with a very friendly family of tea . They made us feel very welcome.

In Uji, we attended the first auction of the this year. It was an honor to see the best teas of Uji. Later in the day, we saw the production of Matcha (powdered green tea). It was a wonderful site to see -- 60 of these machines grinding the teas into powder. Almost as good as the 1001 golden statues at Sangensando. We toured some the shaded fields of Gyokuro. My son Bert was impressed that our host had a tea garden right at his house. There were frank discussions of current tensions in the Japanese teas, of which I will explain later on.

I have learned much and know that I have much more to comprehend. I will give more details of this great trip later on.









We landed in Bagdogra Friday morning, and drove up into the mountains of Darjeeling. Our 1st stop was Okayti - the garden is busy making preparations to build a new factory. The current one has the honor of being the oldest tea factory in Darjeeling, but unfortunately it makes it most difficult to make the absolute greatest tea. After a snack with the Okayti garden manager it was back in the car for an evening drive to Chamong Tea Estate.

Chamong is a beautiful garden and we had the honor of sleeping in the Manager's bungalow that night. There is nothing quite like waking up on a tea estate. That soft sweet smell, which can only be Darjeeling.

Saturday morning we went on a wonderful tour of Chamong with the Group & Garden managers. Chamong is 100% Bio Organic and the teas they were producing represent just the end of the Banji (in between) period. As we drove through the garden we could see the start of the second flush leaves on the bushes. The factory was in top-flight condition with the new addition of a dehumidifying room which helps maintain their teas excellent quality. The room holds the tea before it is re-fired and packed. Reducing the percent of humidity from 2% to 1% A difference that helps make these teas stay fresh longer!

Sunday was a fantastic drive from Chamong to Lingia. We were lucky enough to be taken the back way, which gave a great feeling of the vertical nature of Darjeeling. The land is so steep it really is often amazing that they pick tea at all.

Lingia is a great garden. It is the one we selected for a First Flush. It is on its way to gaining its Bio Organic status, which takes 2 years to attain. Lingia is a great example of the steep angle of the terrain. The lowest section in the garden is approximately 3200 feet below their highest section. But they are striving to produce wonderfully consistent outstanding teas. We tasted some teas with the manager and it appears they are just about ready for the Second Flush. The teas were light in color and starting to soften in the cup. The professionalism and interest in producing the finest darjeelings was outstanding at all 3 estates. Sunday night we had a great dinner in Darjeeling and slept at the Planters Club in Darjeeling town.

On to Kolkata ...
Kolkata … such an active city with so much excitement. It is India's most populated city and these is an energy you can feel. We walked through the local markets and saw the largest tea tasting room in the world at J Thomas (auction house). It was a great day of walking around the city and getting used to the street sellers working the passer bys for every type of road side snack. From Chai to Grilled Corn on the Cob to Fresh Mangos … oh the Mangos. I could go on about the Mangos in India for hours. I think I have eaten at least ten since this trip began. On to Assam… We are now in Assam .. the difference between Darjeeling and Assam is as striking as the landscape. From the vertical mountains of Darjeeling to the lush tropical flatlands of Assam. Assam again threw a slight wrench into our plans but due to the persistence of Mr. Wulf we continued on in spite of the ban on travel in all of Assam. The organization that called the ban was the United Liberation Front of Assam. The day before we left they had shot the leader of the ruling party in Assam … so we were in for some excitement. Upon arriving in a Dibrugarh Airport in Assam, there was a sense of tension at the military airport with more soldiers milling around. But we were met by one of the older Assam families and Garden owner of Diksam Estate and others… K.K. Sharaia was there to meet us and put us into an ambulance car for the quick ride through the barricades to his wonderful palace. There was a temple on grounds and we had a great time talking tea and politics in Assam. This morning we awoke and headed for Boisahabi Tea Estate on the Southern Banks of the Brahmaputra River. The Estate is located in the North Eastern region of Assam. It was about a 3 hour drive across the deep green fields of the region. In the distance to the South East you could see the Mountains that rise up from the lush plains. And just over those mountains is Burma.

We arrived at the end of the production day at the estate, but were able to see the CTC and select Orthodox teas being produced. The smells were somehow different than Darjeeling, more of a malty flavor in the factory. The factory produces about 22,000 lbs of Green Leaf per day, making 4,500 lbs of tea per day. Annual production is 1.4 million lbs. It is a beautifully situated garden with top class tea plants. The second flush leaves are just today starting to show up on the bushes, so perhaps by the time we return samples will be on their way home for us to taste.

Mr. Ashok Trivedi is the garden manager. He is a great man who has been in business for the past 27 years. He has managed this estate for the past 8 years. As he said today when we talked … "tea is not a job but a way of life." And the teas we tasted today were excellent for the Banji period. ... Paul has now returned from his travels. While we wait for a more detailed description of his travels in Vietnam, we know only that he visited just one garden, but he did learn quite a bit. We look forward to his bestowing his knowledge upon us.






We arrived to the organized chaos that is Shanghai; a huge city with a new skyscraper each week. There, in the middle of that muddle, we had tea at the Tea Garden.

The next morning we escaped to the garden city of Hangzhou. In the highlands above the city we toured the Lung Ching gardens. I gave a feeble attempt at making some of that fabulous tea. Be assured that we did not buy any of my tea.

In Hangzhou, we visited the Tea Museum. While viewing the splendid history of Chinese Tea, we were pleased and proud to see some tins of our own Queen Catherine tea. It is an honor to be the only Western tea in the Tea Museum.

Later we did a whirlwind tour of the famous Anhui province gardens. We started in the south, at the HuangShan (Yellow Mountains) which are well known teas in their own right, we drove down country lanes to Keemun. It was a restricted area (although no one knew why). There was a sign above the streets that states "Keemun is the most famous town of tea". The only city that might compete would be Darjeeling. We were amazed at the small scale of gardens and tea factories. No wonder Keemun Hao Ya A is so expensive.

After Keemun, we traversed several mountain ranges and landed at the tiny village of Red Peach. With the steep mountains and artisanal lifestyle, we felt that we had been transported to the Alps. We fell in love with the people and their organic tea, so we brought some of the tea back with us.

After that bucolic respite, it was back to the cities and the broiling heat. It was the life of a trade delegate: meetings, lunches and lots of toasts to eternal friendship. Luckily, the last day we visited the Tea Research Institute of Hunan and stumbled upon a great green tea: Ying Feng.

It was a great trip. Chinese was easy to learn, but impossible to remember. I look forward to returning to the Middle Kingdom.