I attended a lecture by  hiking buddy Bill Burke last week. On May 23 of this year he became the oldest man to climb Mount Everest. You can track his three attempts and past ascents of the tallest mountains on all of the seven continents in the world at his web site: http://www.eightsummits.com.  Bill is 67 years old.

Bill went up the south side of Everest, which is the side of the mountain in the country of Nepal. Nepal has fine, fine teas. The teas are every bit as good as a Darjeeling, and are  grown in  similar mountain ranges only several hours away. In fact there is such a demand for Darjeeling tea that tea from Nepal is occasionally blended into the Darjeeling tea. Many of us think it improves the taste and the complexity of Darjeeling tea to be blended with the tea from Nepal!  Historically,  these teas of Nepal remain undiscovered to the world at large due to the difficulty of transportation and a lack of tea factories in the area. But that is changing.  I am working with a young Canadian friend to bring in some of these beautiful teas. Interestingly, there are four seasons of teas in Nepal and the autumanal flush may be the most interesting-and rare. I digress; this really is about Bill’s rare accomplishment and the equally rare tea of Nepal.

Bill said that every morning while they were in base camp they were served tea in bed. Well, OK,  actually they were served tea while they were huddled in their  sleeping bags, inside the wind-whipped tent, fully dressed and wondering about the weather, avalanches and where the oxygen was at the 17,600 foot elevation.  Those adventurous conditions made the Nepalese tea an even more  fabulous treat.

Bill is a regular looking grandfather. He was not good enough to play sports in high school or college. When he turned 60 years old he took up mountain climbing. The rest has been documented on his website, and also on television interviews and radio interviews.

When you sip a cup of tea from Nepal or a Darjeeling tea, think of Bill and his quiet accomplishment. The message at his talk was to keep working towards your dreams. One step at a time. Or as the tea family says, “Keep working towards your dreams, one cup of tea at a time.”

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