Ashley Lim, Mansa Tea
When she was younger, tea sommelier Ashley Lim would frequently watch her father make tea. He was an avid collector of pu’er tea, the most famous type of aged tea, one that can command extremely high prices not unlike single-malt whiskeys and fine wines. He’d make tea multiple times a day, sometimes multiple teas per session, and share many of these prized teas with Ashley.
And while she had an immense love for food and beverage, religiously reading the New York Times food section, savoring each recipe and keeping abreast of the hottest restaurants in town, Ashley ironically didn’t realize how special these teas were until she was served tea at a fine dining restaurant.
Ashley had already spent a considerable sum of money for an exquisite meal, and was looking forward to ending it with a nice cup of tea. However, she was shocked to find that the tea she was given was so lacking compared to the artisanal teas she had at home. It wasn’t because the restaurant didn’t care; it was more so that they didn’t understand tea. It was an epiphany that changed Ashley’s life: she decided that she wanted to do something that would change people’s perspective of tea.
And thus, Mansa Tea was born in 2018. Ashley started sourcing artisanal teas and then selling them to fine-dining restaurants and five-star hotels, educating them of the nuances of the teas--much like a sommelier does with wine--so that they in turn could teach consumers. Ashley’s passion for tea eventually led her to selling directly to customers and even holding tea educational classes (which still occurs virtually amidst the COVID pandemic).
We spoke at length with Ashley about tea:
On the difference between grocery store tea and artisanal tea.
Ashley says the two types of tea are as different from each other as night and day. In fact, she draws an analogy from the wine world: artisanal tea is much like grand cru wine whereas budget teas are like the two-dollar bottles of wine you can find at grocery stores. Essentially, everything from beginning to end, is done differently.
This starts with the growing of plants. For mass-produced teas, everything is about efficiency: tea plants are grown waist height so that the leaves are easy to pick, pesticides are used to maximize yields, processing and roasting is done via automated machines, and teas are blended to minimize variation between harvests.
On the other hand, artisanal teas have been allowed to grow into large trees that workers have to carefully climb to gather leaves. There are no pesticides involved and everything--from the plucking of leaves to the processing and roasting of the tea--is done by hand. It’s an extremely labor intensive process, but the artisans she works with also take immense pride in producing the highest quality teas possible.
In the end, much like fine wines, artisanal teas have a unique character that mass-produced teas lack.
Various teas from a Mansa Tea tasting.
On aged teas
Aged tea is thought to have originated from the transport of tea from Yunnan, China to Tibet. During the travel period, the teas fermented, mellowing out their flavors.
However, it wasn’t until the 1970s when people figured out how to speed up the fermentation process, making it more accessible to a greater amount of people. It’s also important to note that not all teas can be aged, just like how not all wines can be aged.
How to get into tea
The most obvious answer is to drink a lot of tea! However, if you are very serious about learning more about tea, Ashley thinks it’s more advantageous to take educational tea classes. Because the world of tea can be so complex, having a guide can help navigate the tea world.
Why are some teas so expensive?
When it comes to pu’er tea, there is a huge price range. Teas are usually graded on three characteristics: terroir (there can be even a 100-fold difference in the price of tea from village to village), the age of the tea tree (the most prized trees are upwards of 100 years old--some are even over 1000 years old!), and the age of the tea itself (some teas have been aged for 40 years).
That being said, just because a tea is expensive doesn’t necessarily mean it is the best tea to buy. There are many delicious and affordable aged tea options out there for people of all budgets and backgrounds.
I want to learn more. Now what?
Ashley has a detailed blog post about the six types of teas. It’s a great start. Ashley also offers classes via Mansa Tea and hosts a free Instagram Live tea hour every Friday at 5PM ET at @mansa_tea.