GU ZHU PURPLE BAMBOO
Gu Zhu Purple Bamboo, a.k.a. Gu Zhu Zi Sun 顾诸紫笋 is a green tea from Gu Zhu Mountain in Chang Xing County of Zhe Jiang, China. Carries the longest fame as a tribute tea and had been neglected for over three hundred years, new story continues now.
‘Gu Zhu’ is the name of the mountain, ‘Zi’ describes the purple color of the young shoots, and ‘bamboo’ represents the shape of the buds. Being surrounded by rolling hills of bamboo forests in the area, it is no coincidence that some think ‘bamboo’ also resembles part of its character comparable to the taste of the fresh bamboo all the locals favor. It delivers a light brew with a noticeable orchid aroma and sweetness. Its savory taste and lingering aftertaste make it more special to lovers of it.
Roadside tea tasting
Purple shoots of the Gu Zhu Zi Sun, the purple color will slowly disappear while the leave matures.
Branched out from Tian Mu Mountain in the eastern part of China, Tai Lake to its east, Gu Zhu Mountain is hugged on the other three sides by mountains, creating frequent clouds and fogs in the region, an ideal environment for tea with savory notes and less caffeine. The less fortunate part is that it has always been a target during power shifts due to its geographic location. Meanwhile, refugees, immigrants, literals, and hermits had found here a safe heaven though, at least temporarily, through the long narrow pathways between different mountains. Locals whose families have lived there since the 19th Century can still point out effortlessly where outside of the area the existing pathways lead. These pathways are called Ka and are used to identify the location of where the tea grows in the region by locals.
Among many who stayed, Lu Yu (733－804 AD) was one of them and it almost seems impossible not to give him credit when we talk about Gu Zhu Zi Sun. He is regarded as one of the tea saints in China and lived during the Tang Dynasty. Lu Yu moved here and spent more than two decades writing “The Classics of Tea”, the first known monograph on tea in the world.
Where exactly he moved to in 760 AD is debatable but he did spend a long time traveling and researching in Gu Zhu Mountain. Besides the Classics of Tea, he also wrote a journal about the Gu Zhu Mountain. In 766 AD, a local official introduced him to this tea from the monastery on the Gu Zhu Mountain. He liked the tea very much and named it Gu Zhu Zi Sun. He suggested this be sent to the court with Yang Xian Cha, which was already a Tribute Tea, from Yi Xing, now more known for its Yi Xing clay pot. In 770 AD, 30 huts were built to make sure the teas were processed to meet certain standards, which Lu Yu was in charge of monitoring for a while and Gu Zhu Mountain became the Royal Tea Garden…Gu Zhu Zi Sun was the tribute tea from then until 1375 AD when it was prohibited by the Ming Emperor.
The glorious time has been passed. The land almost went barren for the next 300 years due to constant wars and diseases.
I am very fortunate to have known Chen Ming Lou for 15 years since I started getting into tea in Shanghai. I enjoyed the tea every time I visited him at his hut. Regardless of how the tea trends shifted, he operates his cozy tea joint like in the old times, promoting the Purple Bamboo.
Chen was sharing Gu Zhu Zi Sun with visiting students from Germany.
In the early 1970s, there were state-owned tea shops in China where you could find all sorts of teas produced in China. He would get one jar of tea there, finish the whole thing, and then go back to get another jar of a different kind until one day, he got a gift of Purple Bamboo from a family friend.
Decades passed, Chan’s love for this tea only grew. He published a book recently on his journey of studying the Purple Bamboo. A nature lover who hikes countless trails around the area, Chen tried to identify the locations of the records in history while sharing his stories through the journey of tea. I went on a trip with him this summer, during which he introduced me to many of his tea friends in his favorite world of tea. Luo and Jin are two farmers he worked closely with.
Chen tried to cross the bamboo just fell down a couple of days ago.
Luo was the first local we met when we got to Chang Xing. In addition to tea, he grows seasonal vegetables like lily roots and kiwi. They were in season in the summer. When I met him, he just got home from a delivery to a nearby city, a couple hours’ drive away. He hiked with us into the mountain to locate his tea.
Luo showed us a couple of spots where his tea is growing. When I asked “How many times a year do you harvest your tea?” he laughed out loud. They only pluck the tea once a year simply because they don’t have time. He pointed out the teeth marks on the tea seeds. “Dried tea seeds attract mice. They chew on them, leave them around and some tea starts grow wildly too”. Aha…
The area Luo took us is covered with rocks in various shapes, small and large, and the foliages make it even trickier to move around, but this environment is just what the tea needs. Both the rocks and foliage prevent the loss of soil and maintain the level of the moisture and temperature in the soil.
We ended our time with Luo with a ‘farm-to-table’ meal prepared by Luo’s brother. With no famous chef nor fancy setting, yet it was truly tasteful.
Luo was telling us that he unconsciously lifted his feet high even walking in the city. A habit growing up in the mountain.
Jin runs a farm stay while she takes care of the teas, plum, and pear trees with her husband in the mountain… We had a little tea-tasting session in her backyard and were able to cool down a bit in the summer heat. She brought out tables and chairs, even fans. Her 90-year-old grandma and some guests joined us. The watermelon and locally grown dragon fruit went surprisingly well with the tea.
Getting down from her tea gardens. Jin was reminding me to watch my steps. The thick layers of bamboo leaves makes it super slippery and the dried bamboo sticks are pointy.
Jin’s tea is growing on the sloppy hills here. I didn’t have an easy time maneuvering around here. The thick layers of bamboo leaves were so slippery that I could barely stand still. Imagine picking up tea leaves here!
Most of the local tourists stop at the bottom of the mountain. We hiked for a while into the woods to check out the trails. There was only the sound of cicadas, birds, the waving bamboo leaves, and our footsteps…
I can connect with the experience of those who walked through the forest before our time. I can understand why Chan likes the tea, the people, and the forests here. There is a sense of peace instilled in me at that moment, knowing that many things of us humans change, but some things won’t.
Summer 2018