Can you recall the aroma of yellow leaves? I bet you can to some degree. Take a mental walk with me down the street of a trendy shopping area, the city doesn’t matter. What matters is it’s cold outside, it recently rained, you can see your breathe. The air smells cold, yellow and wet. A little bell rings as we enter a shop to look around, really we just want to get out of the cold for a minute. What if I told you that such a scenario and everything it entails is a common occurrence in good Bai Mu Dan tea? Let me take you a step further, something tasting cold, wet and yellow isn’t difficult — creme anglaise is cold wet and yellow, so are bean sprouts. I digress, leave the city, good tea shouldn’t smell so metropolitan. Come with me to the mountains on a warm October afternoon, bring your hiking shoes, we need to go for a long and difficult walk, it’s worth it, trust me. We’ll take a wide trail scattered with fallen yellow leaves, perpetually wet on the bottom side, releasing their fragrance as we crush them beneath our feet. The air smells so revitalizing, the sun is filtering through the canopy of the birch trees above us. Would you come with me off the path for a bit? I have a special spot to show you. We step over some dead wood, the ground a patchwork of moss, bare rocks, yellow leaves, and head towards the blue sky in the distance. We’ve gained a lot of altitude, you haven’t noticed because you’re busy watching your steps. We arrive at a clearing, check this out, a beautiful open valley to stare into. Yellow Larches, Orange Poplars and Birch, Green Pines. You realize you haven’t had anything to drink since we got on the trail and reach for your water bottle. Your body is hot, you can feel the heat and sweat under your clothes, standing in the direct sunlight as we are isn’t helping cool down, but the sun does feel nice. I want you to believe me when I say the experience of you drinking that sip of water, in that moment, after everything you just went through can be realized in this Bai Mu Dan tea.

I don’t hike often, maybe once or twice a year. What I said above was a fantasy for me, a fantasy that I made reality a few years ago with my friends and family. This painting of birch trees wasn’t conceived that day or anything, I wanted something more than what I saw that day, something to become a symbol of my fantasy experience. I must have looked at thousands of autumn birch images to find this one. Something about its perspective, the color balance, the brightness. There is a phrase in french, it has a certain ‘je ne sais quoi’. I have quietly sat in front of this painting, stared into it and sipped this tea. Let my mind wander the mountainside. It was remarkable, now I want someone else to experience it. Thank you.

I recommend another video as well, it is about the tea caddy and the company that makes it. Kaikado. It was a very fascinating video for me to watch.