The new spring Oolongs arrived about three weeks ago and they are opening up beautifully. I have been very happy with this season's tea. A lot of them have very full flavors with an exquisite softness underneath. Many people have already tasted this season's teas with me and the feedback has been very positive.
Normally by this time, I would have been able to choose my favorite tea for the season, but it has been difficult for me to make a decision. I like the warm and full-bodied 2011 Muzha Tieguanyin. I like our Dong Ding Traditional that has a solid mouth feel, whereas our Dong Ding Select is very soft and gentle through many, many infusions. I like the boldness of the Buddha's Hand, which at the same time, feels so soft on the palate. The high mountain Oolongs are all unique, but wonderfully complex with creamy, buttery textures. If you haven't tried out this season's teas yet, please do!
I am also very excited to share these delicious new teas with some tea friends in Portland. I will be in Portland on June 29th and 30th to present four tastings: a Baozhong Tasting; a High Mountain Oolong Tasting; a Dong Ding Tasting, and an Aged Oolong Tasting. If you live in Portland or know friends who you think would like to join me, please pass on the information. For detailed information and to sign up, please contact:
David, Portland Tea Enthusiastis' Alliance (PDX TEA):
www.pdxtea.org
mail@pdxtea.org
971-258-2832.
Special thanks to Jan Ellis and David Galli for putting this event together in Portland.
Friday, June 22, 2012
Sunday, May 27, 2012
PingLin, May 23, 2012
Konghai and I went to YiLan for a couple of days before we headed over to PingLin. YiLan is in the northeastern part of Taiwan. It feels much quieter than Taipei and the beach area is gorgeous.
It only took us about 40 minutes to get from YiLan to PingLin. There is a freeway going through the mountains and we go through one of the longest tunnels in the world.
When we arrived, Mrs Chen was already waiting for us. Farmer Chen was weeding outside. Mrs Chen immediately prepared the tea table for us to sample tea. I was pretty happy with the Baozhongs I tasted. I think they're better than the previous winter's Baozhong. Farmer Chen came in to see us with a baby in his arms. He looked so happy! He told me it was his grandson who just turned one. Farmer Chen joined us for tea and Mrs Chen went to the back with the baby boy.
He asked me which Baozhong I liked. I pointed at two cups and told him I was still deciding which one I liked better. He told me one of them got left in the roaster longer than he intended to. I told him it turned out just fine. Then he took out a different tea and let me taste it. He said that was the same one without roasting. After tasting both, I told him I preferred the one that with the extra roasting.
Mrs Chen came out from the back and told us to have lunch. She amazes me. She probably left for only about an hour and in that short amount of time, she had prepared a table full of food for us. On the top of that, she was watching a baby boy!
After lunch, we continued to taste more tea. Farmer Chen would leave the table from time to time to play with his grandson and Konghai. It is clear from watching his face how much he loves children.
It's always nice to visit the Chen family. They are so kind and generous. I made the decision to choose one of the teas that I tasted as our Farmer's Choice Baozhong. I can't wait to share it with you.
It only took us about 40 minutes to get from YiLan to PingLin. There is a freeway going through the mountains and we go through one of the longest tunnels in the world.
When we arrived, Mrs Chen was already waiting for us. Farmer Chen was weeding outside. Mrs Chen immediately prepared the tea table for us to sample tea. I was pretty happy with the Baozhongs I tasted. I think they're better than the previous winter's Baozhong. Farmer Chen came in to see us with a baby in his arms. He looked so happy! He told me it was his grandson who just turned one. Farmer Chen joined us for tea and Mrs Chen went to the back with the baby boy.
He asked me which Baozhong I liked. I pointed at two cups and told him I was still deciding which one I liked better. He told me one of them got left in the roaster longer than he intended to. I told him it turned out just fine. Then he took out a different tea and let me taste it. He said that was the same one without roasting. After tasting both, I told him I preferred the one that with the extra roasting.
Mrs Chen came out from the back and told us to have lunch. She amazes me. She probably left for only about an hour and in that short amount of time, she had prepared a table full of food for us. On the top of that, she was watching a baby boy!
After lunch, we continued to taste more tea. Farmer Chen would leave the table from time to time to play with his grandson and Konghai. It is clear from watching his face how much he loves children.
It's always nice to visit the Chen family. They are so kind and generous. I made the decision to choose one of the teas that I tasted as our Farmer's Choice Baozhong. I can't wait to share it with you.
Saturday, May 26, 2012
A Wonderful Taiwan Trip
It has been a good trip in Taiwan and now it's time to return to Seattle.
I am very happy that Konghai and I got to spend more time with our family in Tainan. My mother and other family members were very thrilled to see Konghai. We enjoyed going to the afternoon market with my mother and bought fresh fruit and vegetables every afternoon. And of course, the best thing was to eat my mother's cooking! We also visited some cool parks and historical sites while we were in Tainan.
It was also great to go up and visit some of the tea mountains. They are so green and lively. Drinking tea with tea farmers is one of the best parts of this business. They are so kind and so generous. I look forward to seeing them all again soon.
I am excited about the teas that I found on this trip. It is great to have our Dong Ding Traditional back in the tea lineup. For those of you who like Tieguanyin, you will like the one I found. It is full bodied and has great tea energy. We also have a good high mountain oolong selection for you, including Lishan, ShanLinXi, Alishan, and DaYuLing. The high mountain teas we selected this season have a really nice, soft tea broth. I think you will like them. I will be posting a review of our high mountain oolongs soon. There will also be a limited supply of aged Oolongs: Dong Ding; Baozhong; and an oolong from the MiaoLi region. I'll have a post about these aged Oolongs soon as well.
I am grateful to the tea farmers and tea people that I met on this trip. I am grateful to my friends and family who took the time to show us around. Special thanks to my friend Sunny and her family, who were very generous to offer their home to Konghai and me.
I will miss Taiwan a lot and now it's time to go back to my second home, Seattle.
I am very happy that Konghai and I got to spend more time with our family in Tainan. My mother and other family members were very thrilled to see Konghai. We enjoyed going to the afternoon market with my mother and bought fresh fruit and vegetables every afternoon. And of course, the best thing was to eat my mother's cooking! We also visited some cool parks and historical sites while we were in Tainan.
It was also great to go up and visit some of the tea mountains. They are so green and lively. Drinking tea with tea farmers is one of the best parts of this business. They are so kind and so generous. I look forward to seeing them all again soon.
I am excited about the teas that I found on this trip. It is great to have our Dong Ding Traditional back in the tea lineup. For those of you who like Tieguanyin, you will like the one I found. It is full bodied and has great tea energy. We also have a good high mountain oolong selection for you, including Lishan, ShanLinXi, Alishan, and DaYuLing. The high mountain teas we selected this season have a really nice, soft tea broth. I think you will like them. I will be posting a review of our high mountain oolongs soon. There will also be a limited supply of aged Oolongs: Dong Ding; Baozhong; and an oolong from the MiaoLi region. I'll have a post about these aged Oolongs soon as well.
I am grateful to the tea farmers and tea people that I met on this trip. I am grateful to my friends and family who took the time to show us around. Special thanks to my friend Sunny and her family, who were very generous to offer their home to Konghai and me.
I will miss Taiwan a lot and now it's time to go back to my second home, Seattle.
Thursday, May 24, 2012
Wistaria Teahouse, May 18th 2012
I used to visit Wistaria Teahouse when I attended university in Taipei. I remember it as peaceful and beautiful, a great space to get away from the hustle and bustle of Taipei.
For some people, Wistaria is more than just a teahouse. It has provided artists with a space to create and has provided political activists with a space to express their ideas.
Now when I return to Taiwan, I like to visit this beautiful teahouse. This year, I was grateful that the owner Mr. Zhou Yu spent some time with me when I visited (I noticed he also had two other tables to attend to). I enjoy Mr Zhou Yu's presence. He is very gentle and soft spoken. When we met, he was drinking an old loose leaf puer from his private reserve. I thanked him for sharing the tea with me. The tea was very soft and gentle. I asked him about the red label puer. He told me that among the 50's puer cakes, he thinks the red label is the best one. He talked a bit about brewing the tea and said that compared to the puer we were drinking, red label should have more flavor and the tea energy is stronger.
I am very excited to acquire a sample-size of this special red label tea and I look forward to sharing this rare puer with some of you.
For some people, Wistaria is more than just a teahouse. It has provided artists with a space to create and has provided political activists with a space to express their ideas.
Now when I return to Taiwan, I like to visit this beautiful teahouse. This year, I was grateful that the owner Mr. Zhou Yu spent some time with me when I visited (I noticed he also had two other tables to attend to). I enjoy Mr Zhou Yu's presence. He is very gentle and soft spoken. When we met, he was drinking an old loose leaf puer from his private reserve. I thanked him for sharing the tea with me. The tea was very soft and gentle. I asked him about the red label puer. He told me that among the 50's puer cakes, he thinks the red label is the best one. He talked a bit about brewing the tea and said that compared to the puer we were drinking, red label should have more flavor and the tea energy is stronger.
I am very excited to acquire a sample-size of this special red label tea and I look forward to sharing this rare puer with some of you.
Sunday, May 20, 2012
Muzha, May 17th, 2012
I went to Muzha to visit Farmer Zhan today. He and his wife were busy working on remodeling their teahouse and I was grateful they took the time to drink some tea with me.
During the Japanese occupation era, it is believed two Zhan brothers brought the Tieguanyin tea plants from Anxi China and planted them in the Muzha area of Taiwan. Farmer Zhan said he is the fourth generation of this lineage. When asked when he started learning to make tea, he replied ,"At age 6, my father would give me some simple tasks. By age 9, I followed my father around when he was making tea. I remember my father would wake me up and ask me to start a fire for roasting tea. I would fall asleep from time to time when I fan the fire and my father would wake me up. Sometimes I would cry because I was very sleepy. One time my father told me I have to do my job, regardless of whether I cried or smiled. Since then, I have never cried."
Making a traditional style Tieguanyin takes days. Tieguanyin tea has a particular process that other oolongs don't have. Tieguanyin tea has to be rolled many times. For high mountain tea, this rolling happens close to be the end of the processing. The purpose is to squeeze some of the juice out to the surface and to shape the tea. For Tieguanyin, the rolling happens in the middle of the process and helps bring out the rich flavor and body. This process alone can take 2 1/2 days. Farmer Zhan told me it takes him four days to finish a batch of tea.
Farmer Zhan believes in tradition. He said Tieguanyin tea is very special and we are blessed with the tea processing skills from our ancestors. He said he has to do his best to keep this special gift. I love to listen to him talk. His face brightened up with one of the most beautiful smiles I have ever seen.
Farmer Zhan is also very proud of his organic farming. He said lots of farmers use chemicals to kill the grass on the fields to save time and money. He uses a wonderful natural fertilizer for his precious tea plants that enhance flavors and act as a natural pesticide.
I asked him what flavor and body I should be looking for when I drink a Tieguanyin. He said, "satisfying." I laughed and totally knew what he was talking about. I have met a lot of farmers and tea drinkers in Taiwan and notice that none of them describe tea flavors in details. He continued, "Tieguanyin is a long lasting tea. One can make a lot of infusions. When you drink a good Tieguanyin, the broth is rich and you should feel a warm energy reaching to the area below your belly button."
I drank some teas with him and chose one that I feel has good tea energy. The tea broth is rich and soft. I think some of you will really like this tea, just like I do.
During the Japanese occupation era, it is believed two Zhan brothers brought the Tieguanyin tea plants from Anxi China and planted them in the Muzha area of Taiwan. Farmer Zhan said he is the fourth generation of this lineage. When asked when he started learning to make tea, he replied ,"At age 6, my father would give me some simple tasks. By age 9, I followed my father around when he was making tea. I remember my father would wake me up and ask me to start a fire for roasting tea. I would fall asleep from time to time when I fan the fire and my father would wake me up. Sometimes I would cry because I was very sleepy. One time my father told me I have to do my job, regardless of whether I cried or smiled. Since then, I have never cried."
Making a traditional style Tieguanyin takes days. Tieguanyin tea has a particular process that other oolongs don't have. Tieguanyin tea has to be rolled many times. For high mountain tea, this rolling happens close to be the end of the processing. The purpose is to squeeze some of the juice out to the surface and to shape the tea. For Tieguanyin, the rolling happens in the middle of the process and helps bring out the rich flavor and body. This process alone can take 2 1/2 days. Farmer Zhan told me it takes him four days to finish a batch of tea.
Farmer Zhan believes in tradition. He said Tieguanyin tea is very special and we are blessed with the tea processing skills from our ancestors. He said he has to do his best to keep this special gift. I love to listen to him talk. His face brightened up with one of the most beautiful smiles I have ever seen.
Farmer Zhan is also very proud of his organic farming. He said lots of farmers use chemicals to kill the grass on the fields to save time and money. He uses a wonderful natural fertilizer for his precious tea plants that enhance flavors and act as a natural pesticide.
I asked him what flavor and body I should be looking for when I drink a Tieguanyin. He said, "satisfying." I laughed and totally knew what he was talking about. I have met a lot of farmers and tea drinkers in Taiwan and notice that none of them describe tea flavors in details. He continued, "Tieguanyin is a long lasting tea. One can make a lot of infusions. When you drink a good Tieguanyin, the broth is rich and you should feel a warm energy reaching to the area below your belly button."
I drank some teas with him and chose one that I feel has good tea energy. The tea broth is rich and soft. I think some of you will really like this tea, just like I do.
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