2016 Winter Taiwan Tea Trip: Meishan

This is the first time I visited this tea farm at Meishan. The tea country at this part of the mountain is absolute beautiful. The farmer and his wife also run a bed and breakfast business. They showed us around and cooked us food. Besides tea farming, they run a bed and breakfast business too. If you ever come to this part of the tea world, make sure you check it out: http://zhulin.okgo.tw/

We spent two days visiting tea fields, taking walks, and drinking tea. We were surrounded in nature and kindness. I hope your 2017 will be filled with beauty, good tea and kind people too!

beautiful tea country

well-maintained tea field

bamboo forest right outside our cottage

we were surrounded by spetacular mountains

sunset with amazing "cloud sea"

A Short Video on Tea Rolling at Dong Ding Mountain

When we visited Dong Ding Mountain this past April, Jake took a short video of tea rolling at a tea rolling factory. Their job is to help tea farmers roll their Dong Ding Oolong.

Here is the video:

From the video, you can see a man tighting up tea in a cloth. I believe each ball has more than 40 pounds of tea. I tried to pick up one and it was heavy! On the left hand side of the video, you can see each tea ball between two serrated plates, being rolled. Behind the man, you can see big metal tubes. After the tea has been rolled, they loosen up the leaves and send them to the tubes to be lightly warmed up. They will repeat the process up to 8 times, depending on how round the farmers want their tea to look.

A traditional style Dong Ding Oolong focuses on a solid tea texture and a very clear throat feel. I am a big fan of this tea. Try it out and tell me what you think.

*this video is provided by Jake Knapp

2016 Spring Tea Trip: Muzha - Outdoor Oxidation

We were very lucky to catch Farmer Zhang doing outdoor oxidation/outdoor withering. That day's temperature was between 20C to 26C.

He told us it was a good day for outdoor oxidation because it was cloudy with sun coming out from time to time. He said tea made during this kind of weather is better than from during a bright, sunny day. "Tea leaves won't get 'hurt' by bright light and they don't soften rapidly. Moisture in the leaves will evaporate evenly."

He picked up a set of leaves for me to smell. "Leaves with proper outdoor withering will produce a very nice fragrance and one can smell that from the back of the leaves. With good outdoor withering, tea will taste more interesting and have more flavor, too."

I am a big fan of Farmer Zhang's traditional style Tieguanyin, very rich, and full of goodness. To be there and to watch him process tea means a lot to me. It helps me to understand the tea, and to appreciate the tea more.

He procceeded to stir the leaves. "The main purpose is to help the evaporation from every leaf happen at the same speed. When this happens, there will be no odd odor or taste in the tea."

He also talked about the moisture, air currents, and sunlight, and how they would help to make a good tea. Making a good tea is art and science!

When I drink a cup of his Tieguanyin, I get to relive these wonderful experiences. I hope that through these stories and pictures, you can also feel Farmer's Zhan's dedication and love for making excellent tea.

*Content is from a recording by David Galli. Photos are by Jake Knapp.

2016 Spring Taiwan Tea Trip: A Slide Show

Here is a slide show from my 2016 spring tea trip, full of beautiful scenes and tea people. Enjoy!

*slide show presented by Jake Knapp. 

2016 Spring Tea Trip: PingLin

I was very happy to be at PingLin. PingLin is very beautiful and it's a very relaxing place for me. We met Farmer Chen and his family and they were very busy harvesting and processing tea that day. It was one of the few days without rain in April!
Our new Spring Baozhong is expected to arrive in the end of May. I will be writing more to share my experiences from the April tea trip.

Here are some photos from PingLin. Enjoy!

picking tea

spreading tea for outdoor oxidation

outdoor oxidation

a feast!

2016 Taiwan Tea Trip: Dong Ding

For those of you who have read my three posts about our Dong Ding farmer, you have probably got a pretty good idea that he is not an easy person to deal with. Well, good news, this spring trip at Dong Ding went smoothly! We saw some tea being processed, visited a sweet farmer couple, enjoyed astounding views in the mountains, and even got to do some sightseeing! Here are some photos to share:

collecting freshly picked tea

rolling tea

a beautiful tea field with mist

great view!

bamboo forest

beautiful waterfall

These photos might not capture the depth of the beautiful places and things that I actually saw. A photographer, Jake Knapp, went on this trip with me. I will be sharing his photos soon. Another travel companion on the trip, David Galli, recorded lots of our conversations with the farmers and tea people we met. I will be posting some interesting facts we learned on this trip after I receive the recordings.

2016 Spring Tea Trip: A Quick Tea Update

Due to the snow in February, and lower temperature after that, Taiwanese spring tea harvest is delayed for roughly two weeks.

I visited Muzha for Tieguanyin in April 12th, they were just starting to harvest the Si Ji Chuan( Four Season Spring). This cultivar grows faster than the majority of cultivars in Taiwan. The True Bush Tieguanyin was not ready for harvesting yet. Farmer Zhan told me that there was no sun for two weeks before this day.
I was at Dong Ding Mountain on the 14th and 15th, farmers were harvesting JinXuan( Tawan Tea #12). It was misty with sunshine breaking through here and there. Farmers were deciding if they had to pick Soft Stem varietal, because the weather was not looking good for the following week.
Same thing happened in PingLin. Farmers are waiting for Chin Xin varietal to get mature enough for harvesting.

I did bring back some amazing roasted Dong Ding and traditional Tieguanyin. For darker roasted style teas, I like them at least one year old, so that the roast can have time to intergrate. I will put them on my website as soon as possible.
For High Mountain Oolong and Baozhong, my two tea buyer friends will be sourcing them when the spring harvest is ready.

There will be more posts about this spring tea trip. Stay tuned.

2016 Taiwan Tea Trip: Muzha

I was very happy to see Farmer Zhan's smile and to taste his tea. Here are some photos to show a beautiful day at Muzha. I will write more after I return to Seattle.
*Tea harvest is delayed this season, due to the snow in Feburary and long rainy and overcast weather.

A very fun gondola ride to Muzha. 

Farmer Zhan working  on outdoor oxidation

picking tea

I got some very nice traditional Tieguanyin. Can't wait to share!

Mrs Zhan cooked us a delicious lunch!

2016 Taiwan Tea Trip: Ying-Ge, The Pottery Town

photo provided by David Galli

Ying-Ge is loaded with pottery. It's a very fun and yet challenging place. It's fun because it's like treasure hunting. It's challenging because time is limited. There are so many things to see!
We arrived when few stores were just getting ready to open for business and we left when stores were closed for the day. And we only got to see a small section of this town!
We left with serious tea drunk( we drank 8 different Puer) and bags of treasure to take home.

2016 Taiwan Tea Trip: Wistaria Tea House

I am so happy to be back in Taiwan: the humid air, warmer temperature, the food and of course the tea people and teas!

After 12 and half hours of flight, Wistaria Tea House is always a perfect place to relax. 

A pot of Yu Shan High Mountain Oolong, a pot of 70's Dong Ding, and a pot of 60's Aged Puer brought so much happiness and satisfaction.

the entrance of Wistaria Tea House

window display

beautiful tea menu, so many good tea to choose from!

60's loose leaf Puer

awesome tea snacks: roasted peanuts, mochi, and tea plum

Some Beautiful Tea Photos To Share

I have been going through some photos on my laptop and  came across some really nice photos taken by a 2013 Taiwan trip member. I thought you might enjoy viewing them, too.

Alishan

tea field at DingHu, Alishan

tea pickers handing in their tea

leaves after the "Big Stir"

Muzha

picking tea at Muzha

collecting tea after outdoor oxidation

beautiful Tieguanyin 

PingLin

I love being in PingLin

walking back to Farmer's Chen's  

three leaves and a bud

SheShui

SheShui is known for Black tea 

tea field at SheShui

after a wonderful hike

Taipei - Wistaria Tea House

I love drinking tea at this teahouse!

awesome Puer

enjoying tea

I miss being in Taiwan. Thank you, Matthew, for giving me these photos. They brought back good memories!