Not coming as a shock to many, our expedition has gained some fuel of the ancient green variety from my own co-founded ‘Jalamteas‘. Michael and I will sip of the tea trees of southern Yunnan with a variety of leaves while we are on our journey through the Himalayas.
One of the world’s most understated fuels, tea, and its pungent green power will be our daily liquid ritual and stimulant. It will also add some weight to my old mantra of ‘fuelled by tea’.
We’ll take a few of our signature cakes of Bada unfermented Puerh – one of this year’s vegetal best (which Jalamteas will be offering in September). It will be the afternoon blast of fresh green and after lunch ‘digestif’. We’ll also take a dose of Lao Banzhang unfermented Puerh (8 years old) from old trees as with age it has become more mild and will be the morning tea of choice.
Tea cakes, along with other ‘formed’ teas were once critical for their ease of transport. They will once again fill that happy role on our own journey. Here some 100 gram Bada cakes and what is left of a Lao Banzhang that will be jammed into a pack and ready for serving daily.