Pictures from He Xingyou's book: Voice of Heaven
GROWING TEA IN TIBET
The story of He Xingyou and All-The-Tea Company
Pictures from He Xingyou's book: Voice of Heaven
He Xingyou was born in Chongqing, China in 1956. Like many who lived through that time of China's turbulent history, he suffered the effects of the Cultural Revolution: at age 18, he was sent out to the countryside in the Educated Youth program of political "re-education." However, the re-education did not take. As soon as China got past the Maoist era, he started a business career. One of his pet projects was setting up a restaurant, decorated (for all those who suffered with him through the Cultural Revolution) with red books, Mao hats, and other paraphernalia of the now discredited regime.
He soon established the Chongqing Taiyang Corporation (taiyang in Chinese means sun) in the early 1980s, and one of its unique undertakings was to invest in and develop a previously established small government farm in Tibet for cultivating "Zhufeng Holy Tea," also called "Tibetan Mt. Everest Holy Tea." In Tibet, Everest is called Qomolangma, which is the name that appears on their packaging. He had a love for the high plains and their people and this gave him an opportunity to do something constructive with his business in that area. It provided good jobs for the people, and the organically grown tea was a good use of this remote environment. The soil is rich, the water is pure, and the air is clear, making this a nutritious and rich flavored tea.
In a 1996 issue of World Tibet Network News, this report about the tea project was filed:
Lhasa (July 2) - It has been a long, long wait for the tea-loving people of Tibet. But finally they are able to sip their very own locally grown tea.
Since the 7th century Tibetans have been partial to tea, but climate and prevailing conditions stopped them from growing their own tea.
Now Tibetans can drink tea produced from a local farm in Yigong, a beautiful place in west China's Tibet Autonomous Region. About 2,250 meters above the sea level on the north slope of the Himalayas, Yigong is an ideal place for growing tea. In the summer season the monsoon winds from the Indian Ocean bring plenty of rain to the farmland, filling the valley with mists and fog, and in winter, the Nyainqentangla Range blocks the cold wave from the north.
Tibetan people developed the habit of drinking tea in the 7th century. In the pastoral areas, herdsmen placed brick-shaped tea in bamboo bags outside their tents to express their wish for a wealthy life, and in rural areas, the farmers usually boil a pot of tea beside their fields to drink away their fatigue.
In spite of the Tibetans' attachment to tea, no tea trees had been planted in the region, and all the tea was brought from the interior areas of the country, until the new tea farm was established not long ago. Knowing the Tibetan's love of teas, the central government sent groups of scientists and technicians during the 1960s to carry out experiments on tea tree planting in southeast part of the region, which proved successful in Yigong.
Free from any industrial pollution, the farm has 140 hectares (600 acres) of planting area and can produce 200 tons of green tea and Tibetan tea a year. The tea trees can be plucked after 10 years of growing, longer than that in the interior areas. But the harvest season extends to five months a year in Yigong, and the per unit output is four times that of the farms in the interior areas.
The China Tibet Information Center described the project this way:
Qomolangma Sacred Tea is special product of the plateau, the tea trees are watered by snow water. Infuse a cup of tea in your free time, and taste it slowly: you will feel very comfortable.
The Tibetans' main foods are meat and milk, so they also like drinking tea very much. Since the ancient times, there were 'tea and horse markets' between the Tibetan and Hanna areas. Tibetan people exchanged tea with the Hanna or other nationalities for their good horses. Generation after generation, the market became a bridge between different nationalities.
The original name of Qomolangma Sacred Tea was Qomolangma Green Tea. After full investigation, the Chongqing Sun Corporation Ltd. determined that it was a product with a great potential, and that it was a rare tea, so it could become famous if it was fully developed and used. So they cooperated with the small Lingzi Yigong Tea Plantation, and established the Tibet Sun Agricultural Resources Developing Corporation, to produce the tea together.
The tea plantation is surrounded by green forest, and is covered with clouds and fog all the time. The air is fresh and clear; the snow melt waters the tea trees. Both the Himalaya and Nyaingqentanglha mountain ranges serve as natural barriers, so that the tea trees receive less direct sunshine and more diffused sunshine, and the warm and wet airstream goes up through the Yarlung Zangbo River valley from the Indian Ocean, forming a good weather suitable for the growing of the tea trees.
The Qomolangma Sacred Tea was welcomed by customers for its high quality. In 1997, at the International Tea Culture Festival held in Beijing and Shanghai, the Qomolangma Sacred Tea attracted attention from both domestic and overseas tea businessmen and specialists. Now, the Qomolanga tea has four national patents and five 'green food' certificates.
After living and working in Tibet and attaining success in business, He Xingyou turned his interest to photography and became a well-known photographer for this region. A book of his Tibet photographs (called Voice from Heaven) was published in 2000. He noted in his brief introduction, that:
In my opinion, a good photograph, apart from having an excellent combination of color and form, light and shadow, as well as motion and stillness, should express the understanding of humanity and the love for nature, instead of simply pursuing a novelty.
The Governor of the Tibet Autonomous Region, Lie Que, wrote in a preface to the book:
He Xingyou has observed and experienced the magnificent scenery and unique customs, and his works provide us with a new angle to completely understand Tibet.
He continues to be a major force in Chinese photographic arts. His exhibition "Impression of Yesterday" captures people in places that will soon be removed as a result of modern progress, many of them in his native Chongqing.
His Tibet Tea project has been a great success and the tea products are used both locally and throughout China; in particular, visitors from China to Tibet often bring the tea back as a gift to friends and relatives. An early attempt to develop the tea for America, by the Himalayan Tea Company, was halted when difficulties in getting a large enough order of product became evident. Later, a businessman from China now living in Portland, Oregon, Li Yong, contacted He Xingyou about the teas in 2002, and struck an arrangement to have them relabeled for import into the U.S. The teas, are now distributed by All-The-Tea Company, which Li Yong established. These are much appreciated by tea connoisseurs for their excellent taste. The packaging, adapted from the original, displays the Potala Palace and one of its famous Buddha statues, as well as scenes from the tea growing area.
The Tibetan Tea is provided in several varieties. There are teabags of green tea alone or combined with one of the following Tibetan herbs that provide a mild flavor.
Snow lotus: a harmonizing herb used in traditional medicine to promote metabolism, increase vitality, and alleviate stiffness in the joints. The snow lotus (Saussurea laniceps) is a high altitude plant with brilliant white flowers appearing over dark green leaves which grow through the rocks of mountain peaks.
Rhodiola: one of the most popular adaptogenic herbs. Recently, rhodiola preparations have been shown to have the following effects: reinforce physical strength, enhance body endurance, compensate for low oxygen, relieve tiredness and weakness, and improve efficiency of physical and mental work. The combination of green tea and rhodiola is of potential value in normalizing the blood content of lipids, glucose, and hemoglobin, and calming nervousness, while helping to overcome fatigue.
Cordyceps: a rare and wonderful leaf-like fungus, long revered as a tonic for people suffering from weakness for various reasons, including prolonged illness, overwork, and aging. It is considered a sexual tonic and a therapy for weakness of the lungs leading to frequent bronchitis or to asthma. Recent applications include improving sports performance, adjusting to high altitude, lowering blood lipids, and promoting immune functions.
Saffron: the world's most expensive spice. Saffron has been used as a medicinal herb to promote blood circulation, remove toxins, and to alleviate fever and inflammation. In Tibet, saffron (called gur-gum) is often an ingredient in medicinal incenses; it is considered a tonic for the heart and the nervous system. Saffron is well known as a mild spice with pleasant sweet flavor that has been widely used in Indian cooking.
Silverweed: is a popular herb among women. The common name silverweed or, silvery cinquefoil (Potentilla anserina), refers to the silvery appearance of the bottom side of the leaves. In Europe, it has been used to treat menstrual cramps; its high tannin content makes it useful for sore throat, oral ulcerations, and diarrhea. The herb contains antioxidant phenols, including flavonoids, simple tannins, and proanthocyanidins (condensed tannins).
In addition, there is black tea. Made from the green tea leaves by fermentation, black tea is also rich in healthful polyphenols. Black tea offers a nice taste difference from the green teas, especially fine for an early morning breakfast accompaniment or for an afternoon tea break.
Aside from tea bags, there is loose tea in packets: green tea (same as in the teabags, but whole leaves), premium maofeng tea (highly prized by connoisseurs of tea), and maofeng scented with Tibetan jasmine.
All-The-Tea Company president Li Yong is also head of China Herbs and Natural Products, Incorporated (CHNPI). He has more than 10 years experience importing natural products from China and distributing them in the U.S. and Canada. His knowledge of Chinese green teas is extensive, and some of his friends and relatives in China are involved in the domestic tea business there. He also has established People's Herb Company in Portland to distribute herb products to health professionals. All-The-Tea Company vice president, Subhuti Dharmananda, Ph.D. (the current author) is from the U.S., and is Director of the Institute for Traditional Medicine (ITM), with nearly 30 years experience in the field of natural medicines and health products. He has been a supporter of Tibetan refugees, especially the Drepung Gomang Monastery in Karnataka, and has visited Tibet as a guest of the government. The company sales manager, Daniel Guerrero, has more than 15 years experience in sales, with special focus on products from native cultures. During its first year, Daniel introduced Tibet Teas into nearly 100 outlets in the Northwest area from California to Washington. The tea is also distributed by Strand Tea Company (of Sandy, Oregon), Snow Lion (Ithaca, New York), and Mitra (Belgium). All-The-Tea Company donates a portion of its revenues from selling the tea to the Tibetan refugees in India; in 2004, its first full year of selling the tea, it donated $2,000.
| The tea plantation. It is in a designated "ecological zone," where the natural conditions are protected. |
| A Buddhist monastery near the tea plantation |
| Yigong lake, reflecting the mountains. |