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