2011 Spring Tea

It has been a great trip and it was great to see our tea farmers and wonderful tea-industry people again.

Due to a colder and longer winter, the tea is being harvested later in the season and production is low, too. It seems like everyone has been waiting impatiently and excitedly for the Spring tea to be finished and ready. I was deeply grateful that my tea friend saved me some good high mountain oolongs for me to taste; I went back home to southern Taiwan for a while and the Spring teas were selling quickly. Yes, tea sells really fast in Taiwan, especially at the beginning of a new season! I am pretty excited about the Lishan and DaYuLing, and can't wait to share it with you.

As for Baozhong, the Competition tea is not ready yet, so a tea friend that is a Baozhong expert will choose the tea and send it to me when it's ready. I personally chose Farmer's Choice Baozhong and will bring some back with me. I think this season's Baozhong tastes better than the previous season's.

I was very happy to meet up with Mr. Zhan, who is quite an expert at roasting Dong Ding with charcoal. He is such a gentle person and it feels really peaceful to drink tea with him. He doesn't have much charcoal roasted tea left. He told me that his health hasn't been too good these years so he can't roast too much tea. Before I left, I took hold of his hands and asked him to take care. I told him that we will continue to love his tea for many years to come.

A lot of new gaiwans have been sent out, so we should have them in stock sometime in June. I also found some yixing pots that should work especially well with Taiwanese Oolongs.

I am leaving for Seattle tomorrow. Floating Leaves Tea shop will be open again starting on Wednesday. See you soon, with some tasty new teas to try!