​ 2016China Spring Tea Tour

In April 2016, Tao Wu (Co-founder of Toronto Tea Festival and Tao Tea Leaf) will bring a small group with him to China for the annual wonderful tea tour. Base on past Tea Tours, The food will be great and the scenery will be breathtaking, resembling something out of National Geographic.

Tour cost includes: All local travel, all meals, all hotels, and all entry fees to events/museums.

Tour cost does not include: Airfare to and from Shanghai, local shopping, visas, immunizations, or tips.

The tour will begin when all guests meet in Shanghai. To register for the tour, please contact Tao Wu by Email: tao@taotealeaf.com or telephone: (647)868-9858

There are 2 different tea tours for 2016.

Tour 1 Details

Tour date: April 10 (Beijing Time) – April 20, 2016

Duration: 11 days in China

Tour cost: $ 3900 CAD

Single room supplement: $700

Minimum deposit: $1,500 (refundable until February 29, 2016)

During this tour, the group will meet tea masters and visit tea gardens of Black tea, Oolong tea, White tea, and Green tea; also we will meet Yixing Tea Pot master.

Day-By-Day Itinerary**Details are subject to change.

Day 1 (April 10):

To be on time for the beginning of this tour, you must arrive in Shanghai’s Pudong International Airport (airport code PVG) no later than April 10, 2016(Beijing Time). After having dinner together, we will take a night walk on Nanjing Road, one of the world’s busiest shopping streets, to The Bund (Wai Tan), from which we can enjoy the best view of the amazing night skyline of Shanghai.

Day 2-3 (April 11-12):

In the morning of April 11th, we will travel to Yixing in Jiangsu province.This county-level city is famous for its exclusive Yixing clay (also called Zisha - Purple Sand) used for making Yixing clay teapot. We will start by visiting the Dragon Kiln from Qing Dynasty and the old village; also we will have a chance to see how they make the stone to Yixing clay. In this city, we will taste the local black tea Yi Hong.

In the evening of April 12, we will travel by car to Dong Shan (East Mountain) in Jiangsu province.

Day 4 (April 13):

The green tea Bi Luo Chun from Dong Shan is considered the best. We will hiking the Bi Luo Chun tea mountain and watch the tea being processed. We will also get to explore the South Tea Culture Museum and the old village. On this day, we will taste the Bi Luo Chun with a local tea master.

In the evening of April 13, we will travel back to Shanghai.

Day 5 (April 14): From Shanghai, we will fly to Fujian province where we will stay in the Wuyi Mountains. Our oolong, black and white tea tour will start from here. The Wuyi Mountains are a mountain range located the north of Fujian province.Mount Wuyi was listed on UNESCO's list of World Heritage Sites, both natural and cultural. Numerous types of tea are produced around Mount Wuyi; it is the origin of the real Da Hong Pao tea and Lapsang souchong.

Day 6 (April 15): In the morning, we will ride a bamboo boat on the River of Nine Bends where we will view the lovely scenery of the Wuyi Mountains. Then, we will hike up Mount Wuyi where we will see three of the original Da Hong Pao tea bushes. The Wuyi Mountains are renowned for their high diversity of fauna, which includes many rare and unusual species. About halfway up the mountain, we will have tea in a traditional teahouse.

Day 7 (April 16): We will drive up to Tong Mu Village which is located in the Wuyi Mountain National Natural Reserve and is the home of Lasang Souchong. We will meet the local most famous tea master. We will learn about the whole process of producing smoked Lapsang Souchong. We will taste and learn about the most famous and expensive tea “Jinjunmei”.

Day 8 (April 17): We will visit two famous oolong tea manufactures, meet the famous tea masters, visit some tea gardens, and learn about the old and modern processing of Wuyi Oolong tea. We will see different bushes, different roasting techniques and experience the difference in taste for different grades oolong tea.

Day 9 (April 18): We will drive up to Zhenghe, the home of white tea, jasmine tea, and the famous black tea Zhenghe Gongfu. We will visit the small old village, see some wild ancient white tea plants,we will meet some tea masters and visit the tea garden to learn how they process white, black, and jasmine tea. Of course, we will taste the fresh spring teas.

Day 10 (April 19): In the morning, we will visit the famous bamboo tea tray and accessories factory. We will see many different styles of tea related bamboo products. Afterwards, we will drive from Zhenghe to Mount Wuyi.

In the evening, we will fly from the Wuyi Mountain to Shanghai.

Day 11 (April 20):

We will fly from Shanghai back home.

Tour 2 Details

Tour date: April 20 (Beijing Time) – April 27, 2016 (exact dates subject to change)

Duration: 8 days in China

Tour cost: $ 3500 CAD

Single room supplement: $600

Minimum deposit: $1,500 (refundable until February 29, 2016)

During the tour, the group will meet tea masters and visit tea gardens of Puer tea, Black tea and Green tea.

Day-By-Day Itinerary**Details are subject to change.

Day 1 (April 20):

To be on time for the beginning of this tour, you must arrive in Shanghai’s Pudong International Airport (airport code PVG) no later than April 20, 2016(Beijing Time). After having dinner together, we will take a night walk on Nanjing Road, one of the world’s busiest shopping streets, to The Bund (Wai Tan), from which we can enjoy the best view of the amazing night skyline of Shanghai.

Day 2 (April 21): We will then fly to the city of Xishuanbanna (Jinghong Airpot) in Yunnan province where we will stay overnight. Our pu-er tea tour will start from here:Pu-er tea is produced in almost every county and prefecture in Yunnan province, but the most famous pu-er areas are known as the Six Famous Tea Mountains. These tea mountains are located in Xishuangbanna and are renowned for their climates and environments, which not only provide excellent growing conditions for pu-er tea, but also produce unique taste profiles in the produced pu-er tea. This is why we will start here.On our Pu-er tea trip, the local tea master will guide us to some tea village families and modern tea manufacturers, where we will observe the development of Pu-er tea, and learn about the difference between traditional and modern tea processing techniques. We will see more detail and more local culture while we will visit local ethnic minority villages to view their unique housing and building styles, and taste their food.

Day 3 (April 22): In the morning, we will drive to JingMai Mountain. Jing Mai Mountain and its' wild forest of ancient tea trees is located at the southern tip of Yunnan province. This forest is a national treasure made of trees 1,000 year old. We will taste the difference between New and Aged.

Day 4 (April 23): In the morning, we will drive to NanNuo Mountain. Nannuo Mountain lies along the sleepy eastbound route from Jinghong to Menghai. Rising up from both sides of the paved shoulders in ever increasing heights it seems spliced in half, cleaved by an offending paved road. Stronghold of the animistic Hani people, the mountains has hosted tea harvesting for a thousand years or more.

Day 5 (April 24): We will visit the Yunan Puer Research Garden, in this garden; we will see many different varieties of Pu-er tea plants and the Pu-er tea culture. After this we will drive to Puer city which is China’s tea town, where we will learn about the processing of Dian Hong (Yunnan black tea) with a tea master.

Day 6 (April 25): In Puer city, we will visit some tea manufacturers, learn about the modern processing techniques of pu-er tea and taste many different teas. We will taste the special "Cha Gao". It is pure pu-er tea essence that can be brewed on the go using either hot or cold water.

Day 7 (April 26): We will fly to Kunming. We will meet one very well-known puer tea people who will introduce you to the most famous Puer tea – BingDao Ancient Puer and her tea story. She is also the Vice President of The Yunnan Province Puer Tea Association.

In the evening, we will fly from the Kunming to Shanghai.

Day 8 (April 27):

We will fly from Shanghai back home.

Preparations

To register for the tour, please please contact Tao Wu by Email: tao@taotealeaf.com or telephone: (647)868-9858.

On this tour, be prepared to walk, hike, and travel by bus and bamboo boat.After register, you will receive a full list for your preparations.