The season when the Tea Plants Rest — Mountains, Music and Life in Nepal
A story about specialty tea and the rhythms of nature 🫖🌱🇳🇵
The autumn tea harvest is drawing to an end in Fikkal, in the beautiful hills of eastern Nepal. For months, the tea plants have produced fresh shoots, and the work of plucking, withering, rolling, oxidizing, and drying the leaves has followed the season.
This year, the monsoon lingered a little longer than usual. When I recently asked my friend and tea producer, Bibek Rai, how this affected his autumn harvest, he told me the weather had been somewhat unpredictable, but the leaves' quality remained good. In fact, the tea bushes were still growing vigorously towards the end of October.
So what does a tea maker do when the tea plants are resting?
Well, Bibek goes to the mountains and plays music!
Recently, Bibek traveled with a friend to the mountains, where they enjoyed magnificent views of Mount Everest and some of the other great Himalayan peaks. For many people in Nepal, the mountains are much more than spectacular scenery.
Mount Everest, known in Nepal as Sagarmatha (“Head of the Sky”) and in Tibetan as Chomolungma (“Goddess Mother of the World”), is perhaps the most famous of them all.
Everest is only one among many extraordinary peaks, each with its own place in the landscape and in the cultural and spiritual tradition. For Westerners, mountains have often been described as something to conquer—a summit to reach, a challenge to overcome, as part of an external personal achievement.
But the mountains are not there for us to conquer, at least not in an external way. Much more they can remind us of our own place in nature and to invite us on an inner journey. To teach us stability, humility, patience, and respect for forces much greater than ourselves. And sometimes it is even enough to simply to sit, admire the view from a distance, and to take in the scenery.
Tea and music — two expressions of the same sensitivity
There is another side to Bibek Rai - he loves music! He plays the guitar and sings beautifully, and one of the friends accompanying him into the mountains is actually his music teacher.
The connection between music and tea is fascinating
A musician learns to listen carefully to rhythm, harmony, tone, and the spaces between notes. Similarly, an artisan tea maker develops sensitivity by observing leaves, understanding aromas, feeling textures, and knowing when to proceed to the next processing stage. This knowledge stems from experience, attention, and intuition.
Like musicians, tea makers cannot create exceptional results by mechanically following instructions; they must "listen" to the notes/leaves/rhythm/transitions. Both crafts require technique, but beyond that, they require presence and sensitivity.
Following the rhythm of nature
I often think that we have much to learn from from nature and by following the natural seasons. Tea plants cannot be hurried if they are to give fine, speciality teas. There is a time for growth, a time for harvesting and a time for rest.
And the same is true for us
Rather than resisting the darker, colder days, we might embrace the opportunity to slow down a little ourselves. A warm meal, a beautiful cup of tea, an extra blanket, the soft glow of candles. And some good music.
Hope to see you at Långbrogård this final weekend of October! I will be in the store on Sunday, November 1st, and will have some really nice teas from Bibek Rai and Glen Nevis at extra good prices! Come stock up on some extraordinary specialty teas that will take you through this winter. And ask me questions about tea! The store is open Thursday through Sunday, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Lots of fun things will be happening! Check out Långbrogårds instagram for all the details! A warm welcome!
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