With Typhoon Doksuri approaching, high-mountain fruit farmers have been on edge these past few days, terrified that a single slip-up could wipe out a whole year’s worth of hard work. By contrast, tea farmers seem remarkably calm and composed. 😊
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Tea plants are naturally more resilient to strong winds, and high-mountain tea can be harvested three seasons a year—if this season’s crop is lost, you can still look forward to the next. Most fruits, however, can only be harvested once a year, so a single natural disaster can wipe out an entire year’s income. That’s why fruit farmers lose sleep the moment they hear a typhoon is coming.
I once heard a tea farmer say that when he was young and foolish, he tried growing peaches and pears 😂, and frequently lost a huge chunk of his harvest whenever a typhoon rolled through. After switching to tea farming, his life became much more colorful—not only are yields stable and his quality of life vastly improved, but best of all, he no longer has to live in anxiety when a typhoon approaches.
Many tea farmers also grow fruit—some portion of their land is dedicated to tea and another to fruit. July and August are peak season for peaches, followed by pears in September, apples in October, and sweet persimmons in November. Looking at their Facebook feeds right now, they’re a bit caught off guard; after all, it’s been several years since a typhoon hit, and now a big one suddenly showed up, leaving everyone scrambling. 😵💫
Still, we’re hoping Typhoon Doksuri doesn’t cause too much damage, and ideally just passes by like last year’s typhoon to help refill the reservoirs.🙂