A far too long gap of absence from posting, but life burbles onwards in no particular order and that often dictates moredoing than anything else. In these months past, my son, Sebastian, finally decided that it was time to ‘own’ his tea pot. Ithad sat amidst other pots awaiting the time and the leaves that Baz would gravitate and decide to take it (either by his ownaccord or by coaxing). The pot’s deep ‘Da Hong Pao’ clay had teased and tempted but I left it to itself and only used it acouple of times, with only minimal interest from Baz.
The setup is set up
One day I simply loaded the pot up one day with some raw ‘Sheng’ Puerh leaves and poured myself a tea, leaving another empty tea cup beside him. Up until this point Baz had been stymied in past attempts by the fact that the entire pot was blazingly hot. This time, he delicately took the the one part of the pot that wasn’t a scalding hot bit of danger, the handle, and then did the unthinkable (but dreamt of).
Baz gets ready
He poured a steady bit of tea into his own cup without burning himself, slopping the tea everywhere, or dropping the pot. It was done just like that with a reasonable measure of calm and skill and he even waited for the nectar to cool a bit before taking the cup in two hands and sipping like he’d watched me sip for the first two years of his life.
Baz does his first little dance with his tea pot
It was a kind of beginning for him and regardless of the tea actual tea that was served (in this case a gentle Jing Mai), it became a new beginning for the entire household. It was to set off a number of tea sessions where he would just imbue himself into his own versions.
And then, he accepts a pour
This series of ‘happenings’ set the mind back to so many tea sources, mentors, pots, and leaves of the past decades of my living, and ultimately seems to connect a huge circle. Now, another circle of tea begins with Sebastian, his pot, and our collective tea times that we share together.
That big of Jing Mai cake that fuelled a bit of tea pot activity
Far from being any kind of milestone, I realized that this was simply how tea flowed into one’s life.
About JeffFuchs
Bio
Having lived for most of the past decade in Asia, Fuchs’ work has centered on indigenous mountain cultures, oral histories with an obsessive interest in tea. His photos and stories have appeared on three continents in award-winning publications Kyoto Journal, TRVL, and Outpost Magazine, as well as The Spanish Expedition Society, The Earth, Silkroad Foundation, The China Post Newspaper, The Toronto Star, The South China Morning Post and Traveler amongst others. Various pieces of his work are part of private collections in Europe, North America and Asia and he serves as the Asian Editor at Large for Canada’s award-winning Outpost magazine.
Fuchs is the Wild China Explorer of the Year for 2011 for sustainable exploration of the Himalayan Trade Routes. He recently completed a month long expedition a previously undocumented ancient nomadic salt route at 4,000 metres becoming the first westerner to travel the Tsa’lam ‘salt road’ through Qinghai.
Fuchs has written on indigenous perspectives for UNESCO, and has having consulted for National Geographic. Fuchs is a member of the fabled Explorers Club, which supports sustainable exploration and research.
Jeff has worked with schools and universities, giving talks on both the importance of oral traditions, tea and mountain cultures. He has spoken to the prestigious Spanish Geographic Society in Madrid on culture and trade through the Himalayas and his sold out talk at the Museum of Nature in Canada focused on the enduring importance of oral narratives and the Himalayan trade routes.
His recently released book ‘The Ancient Tea Horse Road’ (Penguin-Viking Publishers) details his 8-month groundbreaking journey traveling and chronicling one of the world’s great trade routes, The Tea Horse Road. Fuchs is the first westerner to have completed the entire route stretching almost six thousand kilometers through the Himalayas a dozen cultures.
He makes his home in ‘Shangrila’, northwestern Yunnan upon the eastern extension of the Himalayan range where tea and mountains abound; and where he leads expeditions the award winning ‘Tea Horse Road Journey’ with Wild China along portions of the Ancient Tea Horse Road.
To keep fueled up for life Fuchs co-founded JalamTeas which keeps him deep in the green while high in the hills.
