Chasing Fragrance
Reagan Tan converses with eighth-generation, Ms Dan Yan, who has dedicated the past 10 years to making quality tea.
M
s Dan Yan (但雁), 50, the owner of Wuhan Long Yi Tea PTE LTD (武汉龙壹茶有限公司), sold two houses just to keep her family’s tradition alive. She did so in the name of dedicating herself to the tea business.
10 years ago, Ms Dan found a scroll in her former home. Wanting to decipher its meaning, she brought it to an expert who found out that her family has been in the tea business for the past eight generations. Since 1860, the Dan family grows tea in the province of Ci Bi, which is famous for the rise of the three kingdoms in Chinese folklore.
As the second eldest child in her family, she felt that it was her responsibility to upkeep her family’s tradition.
With that motivation, Ms Dan who appears soft and gentle actually has the spirit of tenacity burning inside her that encourages the drive to want to produce quality tea.
“China is known for unsafe food, I wanted to create a tea that is safe, nutritious, and of quality,” said Ms Dan.
These factors must be achieved before she is willing to sell and spread the Chinese culture of tea appreciation to the world.
“ Quality supports the brand and only quality
keeps a brand for generations to come, ”
- Ms Dan, 50, owner of Wuhan Long Yi Tea PTE LTD.
The selling of the two houses in 2010 was to raise enough funds to purchase a piece of land to start a tea plantation in the Wuchang district.
However, the land was not in perfect condition. It was filled with harmful chemicals which took Ms Dan three years to painstakingly get rid of.
Today, Ms Dan produces a line of organic green, red and black tea in her plantation. The 1500-hectare Long Yi tea plantation in the suburbs produces over 10,000 Kilograms of tea a year. She takes pride in her teas being certified organic for the sixth year running by SGS, an independent consultant firm which tests for 103 different contaminants which may affect safety and quality.
Ms Dan’s teas are not only certified organic, but also carries the highest nutritional value, all while catering to the strictest of standards. She claims that her tea is 16 times more nutritious than teas produced by other boutique brands.
Ms Dan’s favourite tea is “Zhui Xiang” (追香), which translates to Chasing Fragrance, a name which she came up with by herself. With a lighter fragrance, this is a popular choice for her lady customers. In fact, her exquisite line of organic teas calls for an upmarket price, with 120 grams of tea fetching prices upwards of 999 yuan (SGD200).
“It does not matter whether the plantation is high up in the mountains, or in the lowest of valleys. What matters is how it is grown, how it is harvested, and how it is processed,” she said.
During the harvest season, Ms Dan makes frequent trips between her plantation and her tea house located in Hankou, to check on the quality of her crops. Her unwavering dedication to quality is greatly respected by the rest of her team.
“Ms Dan can be seen in the plantation every other day,” chimed the plantation manager, Mr Wang (王先生).
“She is a boss that looks out for her team and will not neglect anyone,” he added.
Ms Dan hopes to bring her brand forward to the rest of the world and has branched out into other countries such as France, Germany and Qatar.
Recently, she was awarded a contract to provide tea for the 7th CISM World Games in Wuhan. She has also partnered with local bakery and café chain Gong Jiang Mianbao (工匠面包) to provide tea in their thirteen outlets province-wide.
“Quality supports the brand and only quality keeps a brand for generations to come,” quipped Ms Dan.
The crops in Ms Dan's plantations are free of pesticide and harmful chemicals.
Ms Dan (centre) standing with the rest of her team at the Long Yi Tea plantation.
The Long Yi Tea plantation consists of over 1,500 hectares of land, producing green, red and black tea.
