The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane
By: Lisa See

As a busy wife, mother, elementary school teacher, and swim instructor it is pretty much impossible for me to get a lot of personal reading time in. But when a number of my tea friends recommended I read “The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane” by Lisa See due to my obsession with puerh teas, I decided I needed to find a way to get through it. I am a book lover. I love being able to physically turn the pages in my hands. Buying my first eReader broke my heart a little. Needless to say, it was really difficult to convince myself to purchase the book on CD. But, I have a 45 minute commute to and from work so it was my best bet to get through the story in less than 2-3 years. Just being real.

The Story

In the very beginning, it seems that we are in ancient China but you qickly realize that the story is happening in modern times. The novel follows a young girl, Li-yan, into adulthood. Li-yan is from one of China’s mountain tribes, one of the ethnic minorities, the Akha. As we follow Li-yan we learn about the Mountain Culture, Traditions, and of course- Tea. The beginning of the book gives a lot of information about the traditions, rituals, and beliefs of the Akha. It turns a bit dark during the birth of twins into the village. This event is a turning point for Li-yan, as she is only 10 when she witnesses the birth. From this point she struggles with the traditions of her family and her desire to see what else is out there.

The story also discusses mainstream Chinese culture and focuses a lot on the one child policy that was in place for over 20 years. While the minority cultures were essentially exempt from the policy, it became an important part of the story when Li-yan becomes pregnant out of wedlock and she and her mother secretly give the child up for adoption, leaving her at an orphanage with nothing except a blanket and a 50+ year old tea cake that will one day “lead the child home”. This opens a whole new world to the story as the child is adopted by an American family. Part of the story then follows Haley as she grows up and struggles with her identity as a Chinese American in a white family.

The story goes back and forth between Li-yan and Haley. We watch as Li-yan’s village meets an important tea connoisseur and life improves due to his generosity. Later, she gets accepted into a prestegious Tea Acadmey (thanks to him) and becomes successful in the puerh business. Even after finding succes, she struggles with the desire to find the child she gave up so many years ago. We follow Haley as she grows up from infancy, as a young girl, a teenager, and into adulthood.

We get to witness Li-yan fall in love with a Han Majority man, even though she is sure she never wants to be in love again. The two have ups and downs but end up happily married with a son. Her new husband tries to help her find her daughter but it seems futile. During this, Haley is beginning to discover her roots and is curious about the mother that gave her up. The two miss each other on multiple occasions and it isn’t until the VERY END that the two come face to face thanks to a mutual aquantance with his own interesting story to tell.

My Thoughts

First of all, I have been a tea drinker all my life. I have LOVED puerh teas for a very long time. But it wasn’t until listening to this story that I learned that I had been pronouncing puerh incorrectly for at least 10 years (face palm). I had been saying “poo-air” when it is really pronounced “pooh-r” (thats the best I can do without a voice clip). SO, to say that I learned A LOT is an understatement. You can tell that Lisa See did a lot of research on the history of puerh and Chinese culture for this novel.

I was enthralled by the novel from the moment I started listening. The story grabs you and keeps you wanting more. My only wish is that Li-yan and her daughter found each other a little sooner or that the story had gone on a little longer. I felt like the end was incredibly rushed and the build up to this incredible reunion just abruptly ended. I want to know what happened after Li-yan and Haley were reunited! There is so much that was left unsaid. I suppose that Ms. See could have done this purposefully. The story left me wanting more. I would like to wish there will be a sequel but Ms. See has made it clear that she is happy with the story as is:

So many people have been asking me about a sequel to The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane. I love the ending the way it is. I think it allows readers to continue the creative experience themselves by imagining what happens next.

Lisa See via goodreads.com

I’m a bit bummed I won’t get to learn more about Li-yan and Haley’s reunion and what happens now that they are together.

I highly recommend “The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane” for both tea lovers and non tea lovers. The story itself is wonderful and keeps you interested the entire way through. If you are looking for a realistic fiction novel that teaches you about Chinese culture and history this is a great read!

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