Drinkers may not notice, but pickers care deeply,

striving to make the buds more uniform,

striving to craft a perfect cup of tea.

Perhaps you know how many buds are needed,

but have you considered the hardships these working hands endure?

 

 

How many buds are needed for a pound of good green tea?

Today, I conducted an experiment:

1 gram of green tea = 112 buds.

Each bud is picked individually,

1 pound of green tea = 500 grams × 112 = 56,000 buds.

Brewing 3 grams of tea requires these hands to pick 336 times,

while a pound of tea requires 56,000 picks.

 

 

A pound of good green tea requires 50,000 to 90,000 buds.

A pound of good red tea requires 50,000 to 90,000 buds.

A pound of good white tea requires 50,000 to 90,000 buds.

A pound of good yellow tea requires 50,000 to 90,000 buds.

 

 

Rough fingers,

covered in calluses,

skin cracked,

even if blood beads form,

they never dare to rest.

 

 

Tea pickers walk together through the dew,

tea baskets strapped to their waists as they spread across the green tea mountains,

their skilled hands dancing among the leaves,

placing each bud into the basket.

 

 

Picking tea is a painstaking task.

Each bud must be plucked intact,

not squeezed too tightly in the hand;

placed gently in the basket,

to avoid crushing the leaves;

and fingernails must not touch the tender buds,

to preserve the tea's appearance.

Even in old age,

they must continue working,

focusing intently on picking each bud.

The passage of time leaves wrinkles not only on their foreheads

but also on their fingertips.

 

 

There is only relentless toil,

hands young and old,

no poetry, no artistry,

just these tea-picking hands,

clutching the march of time,

all to preserve the fragrance of the buds.

 

 

Year after year,

how many pounds of tea are produced?

How many hands have picked how many times?

Who truly knows?

 

Brew a cup of fragrant tea,

let its aroma rise,

sip it slowly,

for within the tea's fragrance lies not just pleasure,

but also the pickers' perseverance and longing.

 

 

From the picking of these tiny leaves to their packaging,

how many people have poured their sweat and toil into them?

Do you remember these hardworking hands?

Cherish every cup of tea,

for all precious things

are never easily obtained.