In the depths of spring, the air is filled with the aroma of Tea. In 2023, a new trend in tea culture swept across the nation – Roasting tea around a stove.
Tian Jun, my classmate and an unconventional character who lives in Hainan, uses a Stainless steel basin for his meals and a large, indiscernible jar for his tea. After graduating from university, Tian Jun was assigned as a teacher in Hainan before joining the police force. Some classmates recall him striding through the streets of Haikou, gun slung over his shoulder, with one pant leg higher than the other, driving a police tricycle. Although the story about the gun might be exaggerated, Tian Jun did indeed enjoy a few years of “glory” in Haikou. But he found such a life unfulfilling and chose to resign and “dive into the sea of entrepreneurship.” He reportedly made a fortune and even operated a famous outdoor family club in Hainan. Despite his wealth, Tian Jun still eats heartily from his stainless steel basin and drinks from his large jar. Unable to bear seeing him post pictures of his food in our class group chat, I had someone find him some large jars from Jingdezhen, Jiangxi, which seemed fitting for his hearty lifestyle. In short, my classmate Tian Jun is bold and uninhibited, not the type to delicately hold his fingers or speak in a soft voice.
At the beginning of 2023, Tian Jun shared a picture of a tea roasting event in our class group chat. There they were, several burly men sitting by a makeshift tea table made of bricks, earnestly roasting tea around a stove. The thought of them roasting tea in the damp and sultry climate of Hainan made me laugh until my stomach hurt.
Since then, the “tea roasting” lifestyle has spread throughout the country. This new trend is said to have originated from the “fire pit roasted tea” tradition in Yunnan, also known as “pot tea” in Western Yunnan. In the mountainous regions of Western Yunnan, where the terrain is high and forested, the temperature difference between day and night is significant. Local residents rely on the fire pits in their homes for warmth, cooking, and tea roasting. The fires in these fire pits never go out, serving as the center of family life. Elderly people who no longer work spend their days huddled by the fire pit, smoking their long pipes and roasting potatoes while brewing tea. A pot of corn porridge simmers over the fire, sometimes with a bit of cured meat added, and salted chili peppers mixed with Herbs like fish mint and water mint, along with various wild vegetables, make for the best accompaniment to the meal. If there's a bit of corn liquor available, it's a real treat. Days pass by in the warm glow of the fire pit. The fire is considered sacred and must never be extinguished. Children and women are taught from a young age not to step over the fire pit. The Mosuo people living near Lake Lugu regard the fire pit as the abode of the fire god, making it the center of family life. Rituals, meals, welcoming guests, conversations, births, deaths, and religious ceremonies all take place by the fire pit. One must not utter obscenities or spit into the fire pit, nor should one casually stir the firewood. These customs are widespread among local ethnic minorities. If the fire goes out, the locals use flint to reignite it, preserving the ancient techniques of fire-making used by Suiren, the legendary sage of fire.
The fire pit burns logs or tree roots, which we call “wood lumps,” hard and durable enough to smolder all day. Sitting by the stove is the favorite way for people in Western Yunnan to pass the time during winter. Even if the fire isn't lit during the day, a brazier is always lit at night, with the whole family gathered around. In the days before television and smartphones, parents and children would sit together, with boiling water heating up on the brazier and steam rising continuously from the teapot. The father's cup of strong tea would be eagerly sought after by everyone. As the Chinese New Year approaches, potatoes, rice cakes, and glutinous rice balls are roasted, dipped in fermented tofu, sipped with hot tea, and eaten with warm rice. The form is similar to today's tea roasting, not romantic but filled with the warmth of daily life and the hardships endured by those living deep in the mountains.
My memories of tea roasting are intertwined with my parents' life stories and imaginations.
My mother comes from the cultural hub of Heqing, Yunnan, a place renowned for its beautiful scenery and thriving Confucian temples and academies. She remains an elegant old lady, with high cheekbones, fair skin, and a talent for singing and dancing. My father, an only child, was immersed in music, chess, calligraphy, and painting from a young age. After graduating from teachers' college, he was assigned to a remote area in Bijiang District, Tongren City, Guizhou Province. During his youth, the twice-semester journey over the Nu River and to the county for meetings using a cable car was extremely painful. At that time, crossing the river could only be done via cable car, which was a major ordeal each time. I remember my father telling us that every time he finished the cable car ride, he felt a small sense of joy at having survived another six months. I sensed the pain and fear he experienced back then. He was just a teenage boy without parents, alone and full of misfortune and helplessness. Even if he had the luxury of tea roasting every day, it was not as carefree as today's tea roasting sessions.
Tea roasting provided both food and drink and protection against the cold nights in the Hengduan Mountains. Generations of people guarded a fire pit and a small pot, breaking off a piece of coarse tea brick, roasting it over the fire until fragrant, and then pouring boiling water over it. With the collision of water and fire, a thunderous hiss would rise, and the tea would immediately come to a boil. A cloud of white steam would cover the smoke from the wood and the face of the tea brewer. The tea would bubble merrily, and the white foam of the polyphenols would carry the invigorating aroma into everyone's nostrils. The hardships and fatigue of the day would dissipate with a sip of hot tea. For the mountain dwellers of that era, life was unimaginably difficult and impoverished, and the fire pit was the only source of warmth and comfort.
Although my parents' life was tough, it was not devoid of romance. They worked in different places, first separated by two rivers and a mountain – the Nu River, Lancang River, and Balo Snow Mountain – which later became just one river – the Lancang River – although it still took hours to travel between them. When I was old enough to remember, an iron suspension bridge had been built over the Lancang River, eliminating the need to use the cable car. On Sunday afternoons, my father would take his homing pigeons to school and release them upon arrival. My mother would know he had arrived when she saw the pigeon fly back home.
When I was young, my father's students carried me across that river many times, showing me bird eggs and feeding me roasted bird meat. Once, I asked my students what they think when they see a bird flying in the sky. They said beauty, romance, and freedom. I told them, “When I was a child, I saw a piece of meat flying in the sky.” They were first shocked, then burst into laughter. To those bird eggs and meat that I consumed, I apologize.
We were born and raised in this environment and left the towering Hengduan Mountains through the college entrance examination. Given the opportunity for freedom, the fire pit and tea roasting became a life we wished to escape.
The tea roasting tradition in Yunnan is closely related to the unique plateau climate and the customs of ethnic minorities. As the saying goes, the land nurtures the people. Although Tian Jun's tea roasting appears similar to the traditional fire pit tea roasting of ethnic minorities in the Hengduan Mountains, a closer look reveals the distinctiveness of Hainan. After all, Hainan is both hot and humid, lacking the natural conditions for tea roasting around a stove.
Unexpectedly, in 2023, the fire pit tea roasting that we played with as children suddenly became popular in the streets and alleys. Tea roasting has become a fashionable activity for many young people, dressed in Han clothing, their fingers delicately poised, setting up various tea snacks, sweet potatoes, potatoes, and bread slices on the tea table, connecting the humble folk tradition with refined tea gatherings.
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