This is the era of big data. There was more digital data created, stored and shared in the past 2 years than all of the digital data existing before that.  What used to be a computer thing is now a watch and fridge and spy-camera thing. Lots more ones and zeroes flying around.    Yes, but this 2-year rule has been true for far longer than 2 years. The “big data” term is 800 bytes, which has somehow survived that exponential data churn unharmed, used by humans for decades, most continually...

I wrote last month about glossy teas; teas with a polished appearance, mostly from Japan. I also mentioned a pea-green variety from Sichuan’s Emei mountain range called Bamboo Leaf Tea . Now, let’s be honest. Sichuan is less famous for growing tea than it is for pandas, bamboo and spicy snacks. Were Sichuan and tea are ever connected in people’s minds, it is the tea houses and the tea-drinking culture that stand out rather than native varieties of leaf. Possibly that is just how Sichuan people like it. Local tea...

Let me state that The Nanjinger has not paid for me to be here. Nanjing is far too far away and the expenses for such a glamorous patch could easily spiral beyond control. I write from Juan Les Pines on the French Riviera. You can almost skip a stone to Cannes in the west and Monaco to the East. Every town along here has significance to the grand tour, the lost generation or the jet set, but also to a contented local populace. This is still more French than...

“Thank you for your tea.” “I just tried it.” “It has a very good taste and smell.” As a proper tea nut, this is the kind of WeChat message I’m used to sending and receiving.  But this was odd. I hadn’t given any tea to my colleague’s girlfriend. So her message made no sense. Then I remembered. Yes, I had given them some curry leaves earlier in the week.  With the huge minimum order of curry leaves purchasable on Taobao, I had given half to the only other person I know nearby who loves Indian...