WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.680 --> 00:00:04.200 Welcome. This is Marcia for RADIOI and today I will 2 00:00:04.200 --> 00:00:08.160 be reading National Geographic Magazine dated January twenty twenty five. 3 00:00:08.800 --> 00:00:11.960 As a reminder, RADIOI is a reading service intended for 4 00:00:12.039 --> 00:00:15.199 people who are blind or have other disabilities that make 5 00:00:15.240 --> 00:00:18.480 it difficult to read printed material. Please join me now 6 00:00:18.480 --> 00:00:24.039 for the first article titled Tea by Justin Jin. Into 7 00:00:24.079 --> 00:00:28.559 the forests of the world's finest hi on China's jing 8 00:00:28.640 --> 00:00:33.119 Mai Mountain, indigenous tea growers are holding fast to ancient techniques, 9 00:00:33.439 --> 00:00:36.719 defying modern farming and producing a premium tea that has 10 00:00:36.799 --> 00:00:41.479 never been more popular. In a high elevation forest on 11 00:00:41.600 --> 00:00:46.000 jing Mai Mountain, dawn grope over a green peak bathing 12 00:00:46.039 --> 00:00:48.880 an ancient tea tree in warm light. A four foot 13 00:00:48.880 --> 00:00:52.000 wide trunk, along with enormous branches stretching up into a 14 00:00:52.039 --> 00:00:55.920 canopy of leaves, gave it an imposing bearing, nothing like 15 00:00:55.960 --> 00:00:59.479 the smaller tea shrubs often packed into tight rows on 16 00:00:59.479 --> 00:01:03.119 commercial farms throughout China. But this tree, deep within the 17 00:01:03.159 --> 00:01:07.519 southwestern Yunnan province was different, and it served a different 18 00:01:07.519 --> 00:01:12.359 purpose altogether. A married couple named Irong forty one and 19 00:01:13.000 --> 00:01:17.319 kat Lafang thirty six had gathered with their elderly parents 20 00:01:17.359 --> 00:01:19.599 in front of the tree, chanting a prayer in the 21 00:01:19.640 --> 00:01:24.319 Blong people's language spoken by the indigenous community throughout this 22 00:01:24.480 --> 00:01:28.200 region where five tea for us, collectively the oldest and 23 00:01:28.319 --> 00:01:33.000 largest on the planet, are cultivated. To the untrained eye, 24 00:01:33.000 --> 00:01:35.159 the tree might have been merely part of a forest, 25 00:01:35.480 --> 00:01:37.359 but for the family, it was the heart of a 26 00:01:37.439 --> 00:01:41.120 live shrine. They prayed to their tea spirit tree, asking 27 00:01:41.120 --> 00:01:45.239 an ancestor named ha ay Ling, now considered a deity, 28 00:01:45.319 --> 00:01:49.640 to deliver a strong harvest as one thousand years old, 29 00:01:49.719 --> 00:01:54.680 eyes said, proudly, pointing to the tree's large trunk. In 30 00:01:54.760 --> 00:01:58.120 recent years, however, his faith has seemed to be continually tested. 31 00:01:58.560 --> 00:02:02.280 At a time when the region's hily specialized tea has 32 00:02:02.319 --> 00:02:06.519 gained widespread attention, commanding impressive prices, there are ever more 33 00:02:06.560 --> 00:02:10.360 unpredictable natural forces to contend with. Tea is the world's 34 00:02:10.360 --> 00:02:14.719 most popular beverage after water. Globally, people drink an estimated 35 00:02:14.800 --> 00:02:17.479 forty five billion gallons of it each year in a 36 00:02:17.520 --> 00:02:20.479 wide range of styles, from green to black and ulong. 37 00:02:21.159 --> 00:02:25.039 While these varieties exist because of different processing techniques, they 38 00:02:25.080 --> 00:02:30.319 all originate from the same fundamentally ingredient. Amelia senensis, the 39 00:02:30.400 --> 00:02:34.319 species of flowering evergreen, has traveled the world, most notably 40 00:02:34.400 --> 00:02:37.199 when the colonial British brought it to India in the 41 00:02:37.240 --> 00:02:42.159 early nineteenth century, breaking China's monopoly. Today, however, one specific 42 00:02:42.199 --> 00:02:47.199 style remains imastricably tied to Jimai Mountain for more than 43 00:02:47.199 --> 00:02:50.960 a millennium. The Blong people, along with other indigenous group 44 00:02:51.080 --> 00:02:54.680 called the Dye, are believed to have continuously maintained these 45 00:02:54.719 --> 00:03:02.879 ancient groves of Familio senensis variation assimaca, a subtite that 46 00:03:03.199 --> 00:03:07.400 produces black tea, including the mountains dark rich huer chee. 47 00:03:07.800 --> 00:03:11.080 The coveted blend has been referred to as a drinkable 48 00:03:11.159 --> 00:03:15.240 gold among some tea connoisseurs, in part because many producers 49 00:03:15.240 --> 00:03:19.120 ferment it for immediate minimum of ten years, which creates 50 00:03:19.159 --> 00:03:22.840 a deeper flavor and increases its work among China's growing 51 00:03:22.919 --> 00:03:27.159 affluent class. The nutty, earthy, and slightly bitterer contraction has 52 00:03:27.159 --> 00:03:30.319 been compared to fine wine. It softens and becomes more 53 00:03:30.319 --> 00:03:34.439 complex and collectible with age. I and his family own 54 00:03:34.479 --> 00:03:37.400 a plot of about four thousand trees, but had spent 55 00:03:37.479 --> 00:03:40.639 years struggling to earn a profit than In twenty fifteen, 56 00:03:40.680 --> 00:03:43.479 they decided to partner with a premium brand that sells 57 00:03:43.840 --> 00:03:47.919 high end wheer. They now run a farming collective that 58 00:03:48.000 --> 00:03:51.360 employs workers throughout the area to how processed tea from 59 00:03:51.360 --> 00:03:55.919 thirty seven different households, yielding about once on the product annually. 60 00:03:56.560 --> 00:04:00.319 The blair is pressed into circulent cakes in age than 61 00:04:00.400 --> 00:04:03.840 packaged and sold from three hundred thirty dollars per twelve 62 00:04:03.879 --> 00:04:09.039 point six ounce cas k. Within GMAI, the average income 63 00:04:09.120 --> 00:04:11.960 is significant and higher than it was two decades ago. 64 00:04:12.479 --> 00:04:16.920 For I and K, such gains and their untrempreneurial success 65 00:04:17.000 --> 00:04:20.040 have led to a combined income of around forty thousand 66 00:04:20.040 --> 00:04:23.279 dollars a year, more than the average household in the 67 00:04:23.319 --> 00:04:28.040 nearby city of Humm. Two years ago, UNESCO formally recognized 68 00:04:28.120 --> 00:04:31.920 Jimi Mountain as a World Heritage Site and honor reserved 69 00:04:31.920 --> 00:04:35.560 for places that provide unique cultural value. It is the 70 00:04:35.600 --> 00:04:40.279 only site related to heap tea cultivation. Perhaps not coincidentally, 71 00:04:40.279 --> 00:04:43.519 the price of tea from Jai has roughly doubled since 72 00:04:43.560 --> 00:04:47.040 the idea of a certification was introduced more than a 73 00:04:47.079 --> 00:04:51.759 decade ago. The region's six thousand residents used natural practices 74 00:04:52.160 --> 00:04:55.480 to manage thirty nine hundred acres with over a million trees, 75 00:04:56.000 --> 00:04:59.360 but their model of sustainability is facing new stresses from 76 00:04:59.439 --> 00:05:03.360 climate chair. In spring of twenty twenty four, the region 77 00:05:03.439 --> 00:05:06.680 was coping with its most severe drought in sixty years, 78 00:05:06.720 --> 00:05:10.680 and an unusually warm winter had brought an unexpected worm 79 00:05:11.079 --> 00:05:14.120 vestination to the peak that IS's family was preying on, 80 00:05:14.439 --> 00:05:18.800 threatening the precious tea leaves just before harvest. The Blonde 81 00:05:18.800 --> 00:05:22.079 People's tea spirit is based on a real person. Around 82 00:05:22.079 --> 00:05:25.560 the tenth century, according to oral history, Pa eye Land 83 00:05:25.759 --> 00:05:29.199 led his people to settle in Jingmai, where he discovered 84 00:05:29.279 --> 00:05:33.279 the medicinal purpose properties of wild tea plants and began 85 00:05:33.399 --> 00:05:36.360 to domestigate them. Near the end of his life, Paw 86 00:05:36.439 --> 00:05:40.439 imparted wisdom that still recounted by farmers like I and K. 87 00:05:41.399 --> 00:05:43.959 I can give you cattle, but they might dive diseases. 88 00:05:44.079 --> 00:05:46.959 Pa is remembered to have said, I can give you gold, 89 00:05:47.040 --> 00:05:50.079 but you might squander it. So I am giving going 90 00:05:50.160 --> 00:05:53.959 to give you tea trees, which can provide riches for generations. 91 00:05:54.480 --> 00:05:58.319 King MAI's closely managed lands may appear untamed in contrast 92 00:05:58.680 --> 00:06:03.079 to terraced Moto culture tea plantations seen throughout the world. 93 00:06:03.639 --> 00:06:06.399 If the canopy of trees provides shelter for tea plants 94 00:06:06.399 --> 00:06:10.040 that grow best in shade, a vibrant thunderstory of ferns 95 00:06:10.079 --> 00:06:14.639 and her herbs carpets the forest floor, fostering a rich 96 00:06:14.680 --> 00:06:18.600 cavitat for fawnat while helping the soil retained vital moisture. 97 00:06:19.199 --> 00:06:23.079 The tea plant sanctuaries are also divided into distinct pockets, 98 00:06:23.399 --> 00:06:27.560 strategically petitioned by forests that separates one plot from another 99 00:06:27.959 --> 00:06:31.199 to stop the spread of diseases and pests. The Blonde 100 00:06:31.199 --> 00:06:35.160 people believe that everything has a soul or reminder to 101 00:06:35.240 --> 00:06:39.240 leave nature undisturbed, so intending to forests, they avoid pesticized 102 00:06:39.279 --> 00:06:43.040 and herbicides, as well as aggressive practices such as pruning 103 00:06:43.680 --> 00:06:46.600 hay cut's grass between the trees only twice a year 104 00:06:46.639 --> 00:06:49.839 and with a knife. New research shows the ag rill 105 00:06:49.920 --> 00:06:54.759 forestry techniques baptised in Gimi continue to be effective. A 106 00:06:54.839 --> 00:06:59.079 recent study by Minzu University of China found that tea 107 00:06:59.160 --> 00:07:02.800 produced from the Moulin's high altitude trees was less bitter 108 00:07:02.920 --> 00:07:06.680 than tea cultivated fo trees at lower altitude and the 109 00:07:06.720 --> 00:07:12.040 sustainable farming methods support the significantly higher biodiversity than commercial 110 00:07:12.120 --> 00:07:16.279 tea gardens. Jing Mai tea's current price is about six 111 00:07:16.319 --> 00:07:20.160 point five times higher than the typical plantations. Despite his 112 00:07:20.240 --> 00:07:23.759 families owning thousands of venerable tea trees, I lived in 113 00:07:23.839 --> 00:07:27.199 poverty during his childhood because demand for their product was 114 00:07:27.279 --> 00:07:30.480 non existent during the second half of the twentieth century. 115 00:07:30.800 --> 00:07:35.000 China's focus on mass production from high yield, large terrace 116 00:07:35.040 --> 00:07:39.399 plantations left little room for the old trees labor intensive harvests. 117 00:07:39.839 --> 00:07:44.399 While growers across other Yunan tea mountains raised their ancient 118 00:07:44.480 --> 00:07:47.680 roads to plant younger, more productive trees, the people of 119 00:07:47.759 --> 00:07:53.040 Jingai remained steadfast in protecting their arboreal treasure. Their commitment 120 00:07:53.199 --> 00:07:57.360 was reinforced by practical constraints. Without modern roads, their old 121 00:07:57.360 --> 00:08:01.240 trees were ill suited for mass production. The indigenous communities 122 00:08:01.319 --> 00:08:06.959 preserved with persevered with their seemingly unkempt forests. Jingi's fortunes 123 00:08:07.079 --> 00:08:11.319 chain changed around two thousand, when the Chinese government invested 124 00:08:11.360 --> 00:08:15.519 in new roads and electricity for rural areas. Slowly, new 125 00:08:15.600 --> 00:08:18.639 tea buyers began to arrive at the mountain. Even as 126 00:08:18.720 --> 00:08:22.959 increased access led to more challenges. Some villagers destroyed parts 127 00:08:23.000 --> 00:08:26.319 of the forest to harvest timber for new construction. Others 128 00:08:26.399 --> 00:08:30.839 applied harborful chemicals to their trees and prude aggressively to 129 00:08:31.199 --> 00:08:37.200 boosed profits. By two thousand three, Sioux Huawen, a retired 130 00:08:37.399 --> 00:08:40.120 primary school teacher who claims to be a descendant of 131 00:08:40.279 --> 00:08:43.960 Pa Eyelang, felt the need to act. At community meetings, 132 00:08:44.000 --> 00:08:47.919 he invoked paused purported instruction to protect the forests like 133 00:08:48.000 --> 00:08:51.440 your own eyes, arguing that the continued preservation of ancient 134 00:08:51.519 --> 00:08:56.000 practices and traditions would bring rowers long term benefits, even 135 00:08:56.039 --> 00:08:59.879 if they had to sacrifice short term field Village cheap 136 00:09:00.080 --> 00:09:03.279 I Send also rallied the dying people to protect their 137 00:09:04.320 --> 00:09:08.120 crafted biospheres. Both pushed for bands on clear cutting and 138 00:09:08.159 --> 00:09:12.000 chemical use. Around twenty ten, that movement gained more speed 139 00:09:12.360 --> 00:09:15.840 when village elders joined forces with the Chinese government to 140 00:09:15.879 --> 00:09:19.639 petition for World Heritage status. As part of the government's push, 141 00:09:19.960 --> 00:09:23.200 authorities put a checkpoint on the single road leading off 142 00:09:23.320 --> 00:09:27.000 Jingli Mountain to stop people from bringing in non native 143 00:09:27.159 --> 00:09:31.159 plants and animal species, built a road using stones rather 144 00:09:31.200 --> 00:09:34.039 than asphalt, which might disrupt the aromas of the tea 145 00:09:34.440 --> 00:09:39.919 and formally restricted construction and deforestation in the area. Zuo Jing, 146 00:09:40.480 --> 00:09:44.399 a professor at Anhui University, joined the effort to help 147 00:09:44.480 --> 00:09:48.639 document the area's distinct cultural heritage. His government funded team 148 00:09:48.759 --> 00:09:52.600 also built echo funding modeled homes to demonstrate how some 149 00:09:52.759 --> 00:09:58.080 modern technologies vastly improved sanitation, feeding, and power while preserving 150 00:09:58.159 --> 00:10:02.799 the ancient architecture. Something community could be adopted. Juli loudly 151 00:10:02.960 --> 00:10:05.039 is like an old tea tree that has both a 152 00:10:05.159 --> 00:10:09.799 unique history and a powerful contemporary lifeboards that continues to grow, 153 00:10:09.919 --> 00:10:14.200 he says. Around the time of their family's prayer ceremony, 154 00:10:14.559 --> 00:10:17.960 I and he joined the spring harvest performed with age 155 00:10:17.960 --> 00:10:21.600 bloodles to his attention, numbers of the blong dyeing in 156 00:10:21.679 --> 00:10:25.519 other groups wore lightweight shoes and curing large baskets gently 157 00:10:25.639 --> 00:10:29.240 swung across their shoulders as they carefully moved through their 158 00:10:29.320 --> 00:10:32.720 rugged parcels, scanning the asia trees for the most tender 159 00:10:32.759 --> 00:10:36.279 shoots before carefully stecking over a different branches to hand 160 00:10:36.320 --> 00:10:39.399 with them. This ensured nothing would be crushed from the 161 00:10:39.480 --> 00:10:43.799 dried leaves, put unfurrow into a beautiful shape when climbing brood. 162 00:10:44.360 --> 00:10:47.519 Once their basket brimmed with fresh leaves, I and Kay 163 00:10:47.559 --> 00:10:51.759 returned home to start the intricate transformation process. They set 164 00:10:51.799 --> 00:10:55.080 out leaves to wither slightly while they prepared firewood, with 165 00:10:55.240 --> 00:11:00.759 a crucial steaming or killing green step which would stop decomposition. 166 00:11:01.399 --> 00:11:04.720 I tossed the leaves in a hot walk, arresting oxidation, 167 00:11:04.960 --> 00:11:07.879 and the room filled with a pleasant nity of roma. 168 00:11:08.519 --> 00:11:11.399 As the leaves cooled down, they began the delicate stepth 169 00:11:11.440 --> 00:11:15.320 of hand rolling, gently twisting each leaf to rupture its 170 00:11:15.320 --> 00:11:18.919 cells and release more flavor. After the leaves were carefully 171 00:11:18.960 --> 00:11:22.679 set out to dry, the tea was ready for pressing, packaging, 172 00:11:23.080 --> 00:11:27.200 and aging. This process yields meaningful air of tea that 173 00:11:27.320 --> 00:11:30.759 still requires about a decade or more of naturation to 174 00:11:30.840 --> 00:11:34.879 reach its peak. The twenty twenty four harvest was significantly 175 00:11:34.960 --> 00:11:38.080 impacted by the drought, even though it had been saved 176 00:11:38.120 --> 00:11:42.360 by some labor intensive techniques. When the pest infestation broke out, 177 00:11:42.720 --> 00:11:47.320 I pay and helpless others weren't tirelessly pleating worms from 178 00:11:47.360 --> 00:11:51.240 the most important trees by hand for weeks. The infestation 179 00:11:51.360 --> 00:11:53.279 did not spread to other parts of the agent. For 180 00:11:53.440 --> 00:11:57.480 us lending credence to the effectiveness of the partitions planted 181 00:11:57.480 --> 00:12:02.000 by the ancestors. In recent years, I may have renovated 182 00:12:02.000 --> 00:12:04.440 the ground floor of their wooden home to host tea 183 00:12:04.480 --> 00:12:09.799 ceremonies for potential buyers, or engraceful, unbroken ribbons of ware 184 00:12:09.960 --> 00:12:13.519 into porcelain cups. But their story is just one example 185 00:12:13.559 --> 00:12:17.720 of how the market where Juli tea continues to flourish. Today, 186 00:12:17.879 --> 00:12:21.279 ninety percent of the region's income pumps from tea. The 187 00:12:21.320 --> 00:12:25.519 Yegger generation even live streams tea tastings to a growing 188 00:12:25.559 --> 00:12:29.639 audience of digital devotees across China, and residents in the 189 00:12:29.720 --> 00:12:35.200 villages of when j and Nuanggong, cited by UNESCO as 190 00:12:35.440 --> 00:12:40.039 architectural gems, have turned their traditional wooden houses into charming shops. 191 00:12:40.519 --> 00:12:45.120 Some have built temperature and humidity controlled warehouses to store teacakes, 192 00:12:45.320 --> 00:12:48.120 a nod to their increasing value and a bet that 193 00:12:48.279 --> 00:12:52.200 in time they might evolve into valuable antiques. As may 194 00:12:52.320 --> 00:12:55.360 a rare tea cake from the province, estimated to be 195 00:12:55.799 --> 00:13:00.000 from nineteen seventeen fetched and astonishing four hundred forty eight 196 00:13:00.080 --> 00:13:04.600 thousand and fifty seven dollars at auction in Hong Kong Meanwhile, 197 00:13:04.679 --> 00:13:07.279 it seemed as if the dry spell would continue, so 198 00:13:07.399 --> 00:13:12.000 growers leaned into traditional beliefs to strengthen the resolve. Long 199 00:13:12.120 --> 00:13:17.480 village elders tried to read chicken bones studded with toothpicks 200 00:13:17.480 --> 00:13:21.360 and ancient in the Nation ritual for climactic guidness. Members 201 00:13:21.399 --> 00:13:25.639 of the dying community, which has different religious practices, implored 202 00:13:25.759 --> 00:13:29.879 a Buddha to intervene. The first downpourt finally began in May, 203 00:13:30.320 --> 00:13:34.399 saturating the soil beneath machine canopy. The rain swelled into 204 00:13:34.399 --> 00:13:39.000 a deluge as summer began, Gimi remained resilient, as if 205 00:13:39.000 --> 00:13:43.639 by some larger design where tea begins. Aside from water, 206 00:13:43.720 --> 00:13:46.120 tea is far and away the most popular drink in 207 00:13:46.120 --> 00:13:49.720 the world. Some estimates suggest we consume more than two 208 00:13:49.799 --> 00:13:52.759 billion puffs of it every day, but not all of 209 00:13:52.799 --> 00:13:55.879 what's labeled as tea is actually that beverage. True tea 210 00:13:55.960 --> 00:13:59.919 is derived from a single plant, Amelia senensis, which is 211 00:14:00.039 --> 00:14:03.120 grown in more than forty five countries and is processed 212 00:14:03.120 --> 00:14:07.519 to create six foundational varieties, each with its own flavor 213 00:14:07.600 --> 00:14:15.799 profile and characteristics. Blare green, yellow, white, boolong flap. When 214 00:14:15.840 --> 00:14:18.240 a tea is not a team around the world. A 215 00:14:18.360 --> 00:14:22.080 huge number of non traditional teas like cannonmill, mint and 216 00:14:23.279 --> 00:14:27.840 ribos collectively called to saints, are created by infusing plants 217 00:14:27.840 --> 00:14:32.360 such as herbs and roots. How tea works for the uninitiated. 218 00:14:32.399 --> 00:14:35.759 It can be easy to lump all caffeinated beverages together, 219 00:14:36.159 --> 00:14:39.279 but the differences between tea and coffee are massed. Both 220 00:14:39.399 --> 00:14:42.279 can increase alertness, but tea can also induce a sense 221 00:14:42.320 --> 00:14:45.519 of calm. Each of the six foundational styles of tea 222 00:14:45.879 --> 00:14:49.320 offers a different flavor in chemical characteristics that have been 223 00:14:49.360 --> 00:14:57.320 associated with potential health benefits. Promotes alertness, relaxation, and increased focus. 224 00:14:58.039 --> 00:15:02.919 The minimal processing of green tea, including lacha, helps retain hattachins, 225 00:15:03.320 --> 00:15:07.000 the most abundant compounds in fresh leaves, yielding a light 226 00:15:07.200 --> 00:15:11.000 colored infusion. The two palest and rarest of teas have 227 00:15:11.039 --> 00:15:15.559 a subtle flavor. Yellow tea requires intensive processing. White teas 228 00:15:15.679 --> 00:15:20.519 delicate young buds and beaves are hand pinned, enhancing taste 229 00:15:20.559 --> 00:15:25.000 and aroma. Powder water brings out caffeine and a stridency 230 00:15:25.159 --> 00:15:30.360 of ptychins. Longer steeping returns a more savory infusion from 231 00:15:30.399 --> 00:15:37.240 the higher extraction of lathionine. Kid ingredients. Tea can contain 232 00:15:37.360 --> 00:15:41.080 traces of iron, chluoride, vitamin C, as well as insect 233 00:15:41.279 --> 00:15:46.559 genetic material, all often originated from the plants growing environment. 234 00:15:47.519 --> 00:15:51.320 Moulon's golden to amber color and black teas red come 235 00:15:51.399 --> 00:15:55.200 from the conversion of compounds during a controlled oxidation process, 236 00:15:55.559 --> 00:16:00.320 which reduces l pianine levels. Rare is the only tea 237 00:16:00.399 --> 00:16:03.960 that's fermented. The ancient process helps it retain the thousand 238 00:16:04.039 --> 00:16:07.080 plus compounds that give it a deep color and mellow, 239 00:16:07.159 --> 00:16:13.000 berthy flavor. From one leaf six styles, A remarkable diversity 240 00:16:13.000 --> 00:16:15.799 of flavors and chemical properties can be poaxed from the 241 00:16:15.840 --> 00:16:19.519 single plant depending on how it is processed. In addition 242 00:16:19.600 --> 00:16:23.399 to the refining steps shown, flavor can be modified by 243 00:16:23.679 --> 00:16:28.080 using flowers, spices, or fruit to create variations like chai 244 00:16:28.279 --> 00:16:33.519 and earl. Gray gering leaves are spread out, losing moisture 245 00:16:33.559 --> 00:16:36.559 and becoming soft and leathery. Taste and aroma begin to 246 00:16:36.639 --> 00:16:41.679 change as proteins start breaking down de enzyming. Heating by 247 00:16:41.799 --> 00:16:46.679 pan roasting or steaming deactivates the enzymes responsible for decomposing 248 00:16:46.720 --> 00:16:52.080 the leaves. The natural process of oxidation is pulted oxidizing, degrading, 249 00:16:52.159 --> 00:16:56.919 cells By tumbling and crushing leaves increases surface contact with oxygen. 250 00:16:57.360 --> 00:17:00.879 The controlled reaction alters the flavor and turns breath into 251 00:17:00.960 --> 00:17:06.559 darker shades smothering. In this processing step unique to yellow tea, 252 00:17:06.640 --> 00:17:09.680 the warm and damp leaves are covered lately, causing green 253 00:17:09.759 --> 00:17:14.759 leaves to turn yellow and taste sweeter. Shaping machines that kneed, 254 00:17:14.880 --> 00:17:20.240 twist or roll leaves turn them from lenkled strips into twisted, curly, spherical, 255 00:17:20.440 --> 00:17:24.680 or flat shapes. Shaping is also done by hand drying. 256 00:17:24.799 --> 00:17:27.599 This step aims to reduce water contact until no more 257 00:17:27.640 --> 00:17:31.200 than a fraction of the total weight remains hydrated, which 258 00:17:31.240 --> 00:17:36.799 improves transportation and shelf life. Fermenting controlled fermentation by naturally 259 00:17:36.839 --> 00:17:42.039 occurring or introduced fungi takes place while leaves piled or 260 00:17:42.119 --> 00:17:45.519 pressed into bricks are left to age, sometimes for decades. 261 00:17:46.759 --> 00:17:49.519 A living shrine to tea. For over a thousand years, 262 00:17:49.559 --> 00:17:52.200 tea pulpivation has been central to life in the nine 263 00:17:52.240 --> 00:17:56.160 villages surrounding Juni Mountain. Today, the region and its tea 264 00:17:56.200 --> 00:17:58.960 are more globally renowned than ever, thanks in part to 265 00:17:59.000 --> 00:18:01.880 the area's designation in twenty twenty three as a World 266 00:18:01.960 --> 00:18:07.599 heritage site ancient tree forests, Tea trees are allowed to 267 00:18:07.640 --> 00:18:10.359 grow to their full height, sharing space with shade given 268 00:18:10.400 --> 00:18:15.920 taller species. The protective forest ecosystem provides natural fertilizer and 269 00:18:15.960 --> 00:18:21.519 past control partition areas. These divisions, implemented centuries ago, isolate 270 00:18:21.559 --> 00:18:24.079 the tea forests from each other, so that disease and 271 00:18:24.240 --> 00:18:28.720 pests that affect one tea area are not easily transferred 272 00:18:28.799 --> 00:18:33.079 between the cultidated groves. Modern plantations in the nineteen eighties, 273 00:18:33.400 --> 00:18:38.240 tea plantations on open terraced landscapes to introduced to increase 274 00:18:38.279 --> 00:18:41.680 the economic output of the region. Some now embrace elements 275 00:18:41.799 --> 00:18:47.920 of traditional practices. Next, how historic monasteries became modern destinations 276 00:18:48.680 --> 00:18:53.279 by Julia Buckley. Across the Italian countryside, once sacred religious 277 00:18:53.279 --> 00:18:57.240 spots are offering tranquility to a new generation of travelers. 278 00:18:57.640 --> 00:19:02.400 David Archieks first set eyes on the Italian sanctuary of 279 00:19:02.559 --> 00:19:05.799 Laverna on a school trip in nineteen ninety four. Raised 280 00:19:05.839 --> 00:19:11.079 in Croatia to an Italian Croatian family, Faracci was just 281 00:19:11.160 --> 00:19:13.400 fourteen years old at the time that it was there. 282 00:19:13.519 --> 00:19:16.200 At this friary nestled in the mountains of Tuscany and 283 00:19:16.279 --> 00:19:19.519 his life changed forever. It filled my heart and says, 284 00:19:19.839 --> 00:19:22.440 the scent of the wood inside is always stayed with me. 285 00:19:22.640 --> 00:19:27.400 God spoke to me. Racchi felt a calling inspired by Laverna. 286 00:19:27.559 --> 00:19:30.000 He took Thousan as a Franciscan friar and spent a 287 00:19:30.119 --> 00:19:33.079 year in training at the sanctuary. In two thousand one, 288 00:19:33.480 --> 00:19:37.319 after two decades of postings to friaries around Tuscany and 289 00:19:37.400 --> 00:19:40.559 a year in Jerusalem, he returned to the mountains Brother David, 290 00:19:40.880 --> 00:19:45.000 a Franciscan friar and vicar of Laverna, founded by early 291 00:19:45.079 --> 00:19:48.599 followers of Saint Francis in twelve sixty. The sanctuary is 292 00:19:48.640 --> 00:19:52.200 one of hundreds of monasteries and friaries in Italy open 293 00:19:52.400 --> 00:19:55.759 to the public. These monasteries are up in part of 294 00:19:55.799 --> 00:20:00.680 the Chenobitic tradition, based on the concept of life in common. 295 00:20:01.039 --> 00:20:04.079 But as these ancient Christian communities work to stay relevant 296 00:20:04.079 --> 00:20:07.920 in the modern world, their traditions are also evolving. The 297 00:20:07.960 --> 00:20:12.839 buildings and sights overseen by those like paraccik are now 298 00:20:13.039 --> 00:20:17.240 destinations themselves, welcoming travelers of all religious backgrounds seeking the 299 00:20:17.319 --> 00:20:21.680 serenity of Italy's countryside and mountains away from the bustling 300 00:20:21.799 --> 00:20:27.480 urban tourist hubs promised. Fifteen centuries, monasteries, briaries and sanctuaries 301 00:20:27.720 --> 00:20:30.920 have welcomed visitors to worship, eats, stay the night, or 302 00:20:30.960 --> 00:20:34.160 simply enjoy the views. The practice dates back to the 303 00:20:34.200 --> 00:20:37.680 medieval period, when Italy was the home of countless permits 304 00:20:37.720 --> 00:20:42.920 and groups of monachi, monks and frati brothers or friars 305 00:20:43.319 --> 00:20:48.279 who sought God through community. Medieval monasteries regularly hosted overnight guests, 306 00:20:48.599 --> 00:20:52.359 providing a safe place to stay for all. Saint Benedict 307 00:20:52.400 --> 00:20:56.799 said to welcome guests as Christ himself, says Don Maurizio Villeria, 308 00:20:57.759 --> 00:21:01.680 Priory of the Sanctuary of the Sie pro Speco Foley Cave, 309 00:21:02.200 --> 00:21:05.000 a monastery grafted into the rock face in the central 310 00:21:05.039 --> 00:21:08.480 mountains of Blazio, where the saint lived as a hermit 311 00:21:08.599 --> 00:21:12.880 in the early sixth century. Saint Benedict's directive rivera ads 312 00:21:13.160 --> 00:21:16.079 applies to everyone, including people who come to the monastery 313 00:21:16.400 --> 00:21:19.640 solely for the beauty. He said that a hello is enough. 314 00:21:19.720 --> 00:21:22.400 You have to give them everything you can. That became 315 00:21:22.480 --> 00:21:27.759 the cardinal point of the Benedictine Order. Visitors looking for contemplation, art, 316 00:21:27.839 --> 00:21:31.200 and food in dry pipe and in the case of Laverna, 317 00:21:31.359 --> 00:21:36.240 even snowshoe toward an encountering with modern spirituality. Found in 318 00:21:36.279 --> 00:21:43.319 Tuscanese National Park of the Cascentinasi Forests, Mount Balzorona and Campina, 319 00:21:43.559 --> 00:21:49.000 Laverna welcomes around six hundred thousand visitors each year. The 320 00:21:49.119 --> 00:21:53.000 rogic estimates and is indelibly linked to Saint Francis, who 321 00:21:53.079 --> 00:21:55.920 was gifted this mountain as a place of retreat by 322 00:21:55.960 --> 00:21:59.240 a noble in twelve thirteen. The saint would come to 323 00:21:59.240 --> 00:22:02.759 the area to run the mountain, meditating in caves and 324 00:22:02.960 --> 00:22:05.559 on rocks. It is where in twelve twenty four he 325 00:22:05.599 --> 00:22:08.200 is said to have received the stigmata, the wounds of 326 00:22:08.279 --> 00:22:12.079 Christ's crucifixion, marked on his hands, feet, and sighed the 327 00:22:12.119 --> 00:22:15.200 centuries rolled back on the seven minute stroll from the 328 00:22:15.200 --> 00:22:19.119 parking area, as rippling mountains furred with a thick canopy 329 00:22:19.279 --> 00:22:22.640 of silver purrs and huges listened in goal of each fall. 330 00:22:23.440 --> 00:22:26.240 By the time visitors reached the monastery, which clings to 331 00:22:26.279 --> 00:22:29.359 the cliff side the abyss falling beneath it, it's as 332 00:22:29.400 --> 00:22:32.480 if they have arrived in the thirteenth century, when Francis's 333 00:22:32.599 --> 00:22:37.519 followers started construction after his death. Descending the cliff down 334 00:22:37.599 --> 00:22:42.880 eighty nine precipitous steps, visitors will reach a liminal space 335 00:22:42.920 --> 00:22:46.240 of moss slick boulders, among the same that Francis commune 336 00:22:46.359 --> 00:22:48.880 with in the twelve twenties. He is said to have 337 00:22:48.920 --> 00:22:52.200 preferred one rock cleaved down the middle and echo of 338 00:22:52.240 --> 00:22:55.400 the heavens rending when Christ died on the cross, to 339 00:22:55.519 --> 00:22:59.920 prayon for gratchik Bysiia not the monastery above is Lavere 340 00:23:00.079 --> 00:23:04.720 knows true sanctuary. Many common in search of something spiritual. 341 00:23:04.839 --> 00:23:07.759 In a generic sense, there are a lot of people 342 00:23:07.799 --> 00:23:11.480 looking for something who says at Laverna, says Garaci. Our 343 00:23:11.519 --> 00:23:14.039 mission is moving from the church to the guest house. 344 00:23:14.440 --> 00:23:17.200 Once the monastery gates close for the evening, amid the 345 00:23:17.200 --> 00:23:20.079 boots of owls and the songs of birds beloved by 346 00:23:20.079 --> 00:23:24.000 Saint Francis. Overnight guests can connect from your own version 347 00:23:24.160 --> 00:23:29.279 of the divine. The Cassentinaisy forests are often dubbed the 348 00:23:29.279 --> 00:23:33.200 Sacred Forests because of their centuries long monastic presence. Not 349 00:23:33.279 --> 00:23:37.240 all Italian monasteries allow overnighting. Not all have monks or 350 00:23:37.279 --> 00:23:42.160 friars either. The Sapraa. The san Kile floats above the clouds, 351 00:23:42.160 --> 00:23:45.559 and the piedmont alps, an airing over the Sussa Valley 352 00:23:45.880 --> 00:23:49.960 thirty one hundred and fifty feet below. Its sinuous battlements 353 00:23:50.039 --> 00:23:52.640 melt into the mountain as if wrapping their landscape in 354 00:23:52.759 --> 00:23:56.599 and a grace, an architectural symbol that echoes ancient depictions 355 00:23:56.599 --> 00:23:59.960 of the Madonna of Mercy sweeping her cloak around the face. 356 00:24:01.200 --> 00:24:04.799 The monastery was dissolved in sixteen twenty two, but priests 357 00:24:04.799 --> 00:24:09.319 from the Rasmiu Rasminian order moved back in the nineteenth 358 00:24:09.319 --> 00:24:14.359 century to relight the spiritual spark, says Elisa Ralberino, a 359 00:24:14.480 --> 00:24:18.039 guide at the site. Today's pilgrims are joined by travelers 360 00:24:18.119 --> 00:24:22.319 intrigued by the spectacular location and hikers who slog up 361 00:24:22.319 --> 00:24:26.400 from the Dalia Medieval for beast, as Don Lorizio says, 362 00:24:26.960 --> 00:24:31.599 Benedictine monasteries are perhaps the most experienced at welcoming outsiders. 363 00:24:32.119 --> 00:24:35.880 Each must have a foresteria pest house, but there are 364 00:24:35.880 --> 00:24:41.039 some modern interpretations. At the abbey of Monte Oliveto Majoaree, 365 00:24:41.559 --> 00:24:44.960 in the famous dimpled hill south of Siena, guests can 366 00:24:45.000 --> 00:24:48.799 seep in converted barnings of the organic farm. Our order's 367 00:24:48.799 --> 00:24:53.599 motto is ora et labora pray and work, says dom 368 00:24:53.720 --> 00:24:58.599 Andrea Sanchos. We've produced wine, oil and everything else uninterrupted 369 00:24:58.640 --> 00:25:02.400 for seven hundred years. The monastery is also famous for 370 00:25:02.720 --> 00:25:05.720 its art, a cloister as frescoed with scenes from the 371 00:25:05.759 --> 00:25:11.559 life of Saint Benedict by Renaissance masters Luca Singorani and Ilsidoma, 372 00:25:12.039 --> 00:25:15.039 as well as the Gregorian chant sung throughout the day 373 00:25:15.400 --> 00:25:17.640 the for summer. I came here. I was astonished by 374 00:25:17.640 --> 00:25:20.680 the beauty, the richness of the art in the presence 375 00:25:20.720 --> 00:25:23.599 of these men who lived in this very particular style, 376 00:25:24.000 --> 00:25:27.279 says father Andrea. There are more than a thousand years 377 00:25:27.279 --> 00:25:30.759 of history in their rituals. That sense of spectacle and 378 00:25:30.839 --> 00:25:36.119 serenity initially overwhelmed MICHAELI Usillo, a tour guide who arrived 379 00:25:36.119 --> 00:25:40.039 at Monte Alivetto Lajade as an art history student. A 380 00:25:40.200 --> 00:25:45.400 lapsed Catholic, Ussilo nonetheless found a special energy on the grounds. 381 00:25:45.839 --> 00:25:49.400 For the first time. Sodoma's paintings worked a futurana page. 382 00:25:49.599 --> 00:25:52.119 I saw every things surrounded by the landscape in which 383 00:25:52.119 --> 00:25:56.720 he painted them, he says. He passed through a wood cypresses, 384 00:25:56.759 --> 00:25:59.839 and when you emerge your soul's spirit, whatever you believe 385 00:25:59.839 --> 00:26:02.480 in becomes more than last. You can have a kind 386 00:26:02.519 --> 00:26:07.839 of reconciliation with your soul. While monasteries across Europe faced 387 00:26:07.880 --> 00:26:11.920 a diminishing number of recruits, together in the sanctuaries form 388 00:26:12.039 --> 00:26:15.559 an Italy wide network of places of reflection and portals 389 00:26:15.599 --> 00:26:18.319 to the past. And whether it's the art of Monte 390 00:26:18.400 --> 00:26:22.759 Olivetto Majorree or the unspoiled forests of Saint Francis, they 391 00:26:22.759 --> 00:26:26.640 offer a quieter, more spiritual experience than most visitors will 392 00:26:26.680 --> 00:26:31.279 find in Italy's great city churches and cathedrals. For thous 393 00:26:31.319 --> 00:26:34.440 seeking a religious experience, head to the abbey of Monte 394 00:26:34.480 --> 00:26:37.839 Olivetto Majorree, an hour and a half drive south of Florence. 395 00:26:38.279 --> 00:26:40.640 At morning Mass held at seven thirty a m. And 396 00:26:40.759 --> 00:26:44.599 at evening vespers at six thirty pm, President monks partake 397 00:26:44.960 --> 00:26:49.440 in an enrapturing nebroi chant. If an evening of meditative 398 00:26:49.480 --> 00:26:52.440 reflection is needed, book and overnight study of laver and 399 00:26:52.440 --> 00:26:57.799 the sanctuary and under the grounds set within the Pasantinesi forests. 400 00:26:59.400 --> 00:27:02.039 It is in an sam woods in Saint Francis, commune 401 00:27:02.119 --> 00:27:04.640