Reading the leaves leads to success

Unlike her other learning experiences, Liang was able to persevere with learning how to become a tea sommelier, from brewing and tasting different types of tea to learning about tea history and tea culture.

At university, she is head of a student tea culture society. She says the society has around 200 members, and about 10,000 students have participated in the society's activities, from lectures given by tea experts to field trips to plantations.

"During these trips to pick and roast tea, I became interested in processing. I felt that my previous understanding of tea was shallow and bookish," Liang says. "I found that I quite enjoy being up in the hills and close to nature. I can spend an entire day without my cellphone, and I feel that my soul is communicating with the tea."

Last year, Liang took society members on a field trip to Changxing, and met Zheng. Early this spring, she spent a month on his plantation, getting up in the early morning to pick leaves and spending the afternoons roasting them.

During her learning journey, she says she often encounters doubters, who say that young people cannot bear the hardship associated with the trade, or that the manual labor required makes it unsuited to women, when in fact a lot of young people are passionate about traditional culture, and that some tea processing masters are women.

"Whenever I encounter these doubters, Master Zheng backs me up, saying that I have the qualities necessary. He teaches me not only how to process tea, but also the principles of being a good person, both by precept and by example," Liang says.

After she completes her undergraduate studies next year, she plans to continue learning processing with Zheng, and also plans to learn tea theory. She has also created her own brand to promote Zisun tea and other niche varieties.

"I will continue to learn from Master Zheng and refine my skills processing Zisun tea. I also want to promote tea culture among the younger generation. For example, I can combine tea with trendy merchandise, or inspire more young people to learn the traditions, so that our tea industry becomes more youthful, professional and diverse."