Formosa · 福 爾 摩 沙 · Anchor · 24°N · 121°E
The Land Held in the Hand.
手 中 之 島
The island that does not advertise. Its mountains drink mist before they are mountains. Its tea is grown by people who do not call themselves growers — they call themselves keepers. This is where the verse begins, because the verse cannot begin where there is shouting.
不自宣的島嶼。其山,先飲霧而後為山。其茶,由不自稱「種者」之人所養——他們自稱守者。序自此始;因為序,無法始於喧嘩之地。
No. I · Dawncrest · 芽 季
Sri Lanka · 錫 蘭 · Ceylon · 7°N · 80°E
The Land Where Orchids Are Whispered.
蘭 香 深 處
High in the central hills, where the rain rehearses every afternoon — there is a tea that learns to hold its breath until the rain has passed. The orchid that scents it is not picked; it is allowed to come and go, and the tea remembers it the way a room remembers a guest.
中央高山之上,雨於每午自演。一款茶,在此學會屏息——待雨停方吐。為其調香之蘭,不採;任其往返。茶記住它,如室記得來客。
No. II · 212 Queen’s Reserve · 女 王 專 屬
Japan · 日 本 · Kyoto Quarter · 35°N · 135°E
The Land of Returning Light.
光 之 折 返
An old neighbourhood near a small canal. The fourth day of every month, the wooden shutters are taken down for two hours. Inside that small open square of time, a memory tea — Fourth Day — is what was always being prepared. We did not invent it; we were allowed to listen.
小渠旁的老社區。每月第四日,木窗為兩個小時而卸。於此被開啟的時間方寸之內,一款記憶茶——「第四日」——一直在被準備。我們未發明它;我們僅被允許聆聽。
No. III · The Fourth Day · 第 四 日
France · 法 蘭 西 · Provençal · 43°N · 5°E
The Land of the Fifteenth Moon.
第 十 五 之 月
A southern coast that knows what to do with silver light. On nights when the moon is full for the fifteenth time of the year, a hidden cellar opens for one evening. We were given a single leaf, and the verse came back with us.
熟知銀光用法的南方海岸。年度滿月第十五度之夜,一處隱藏酒窖為一晚而啟。我們得贈一葉;序,隨之而歸。
No. IV · Moonlight No.15 · 月 光 十 五 號
Morocco · 摩 洛 哥 · Atlas Foothills · 31°N · 7°W
The Land Where Old Souls Walk.
老 靈 魂 之 徑
Below the Atlas, there is a road that has stopped pretending to lead anywhere. It is walked by people who already know the way. From this road comes Taylor No.5 — a tea named for someone who never asked to be named.
阿特拉斯山下,有一條已不再假裝引向何處的小徑——由早已識路之人所行。Taylor No.5 由此而出——為一位從未要求被命名之人而命名的茶。
No. V · Taylor No.5 · 泰 勒 五 號