Taiwan Tea Trip- Muzha Part II

I have always enjoyed visiting Farmer Zhang up at Muzha. I love seeing his smile and his dedication to tea. He told us good tea starts with the right varietal, which is the Tieguanyin varietal Hong Xin Wai Wei Tao 紅心歪尾桃 that his ancestors brought over from China.

He also told us that tea plants need good care and he was very proud to show us a huge photo album of his Lupine flowers. He said they are great for fertilizing his tea plants and because of them, he doesn't need to use artificial fertilizers.

We were very lucky that one of the tour members, Jim Miller, knows a lot about plants. Jim explained how Lupine works: " Lupines, which are in the same family as the pea/legume(Fabaceae) are "Nitrogen-fixing." By that, I mean, they draw nitrogen from the air and store it in nodules on their roots. Therefore, they make great "green-manure." They are called " cover crops" and are grown to turn into the soil in which they grew. This can be done in two ways:
1. About a month before planting, a desired crop, the cover crop, may be dug and turned over to decompose in the soil. This adds the Nitrogen in the roots and the plants fibrous material to the soil. This improves the soil and feeds the plants.
2. Or, they can be cut at ground level, which leaves the roots with the nitrogen to feed the plants around them and the cut plants serve s a "mulch" which holds in water and prohibits weeds from germinating. The fibrous material which is added to the soil increase the organic level of the soil. As these substances decompose, they improve air and water-holding capacity to the soil. So by growing cover crops (Lupines), protects the soil from erosion during the winter, adds nutrients in the form of nitrogen, which all leafy plants need for foliage; tea leaves, and improves soil with organic material."

Taiwan Tea Trip - Muzha

We took the special cable car up to Muzha and the view was quite fantastic. It was very hot that day! The Tie Guan Yin farmer's wife was so thoughtful to prepare some cold brew tea for us so that we would have something refreshing to drink when we arrived. After the delicious cold tea, we proceeded to taste several different kinds of hot Muzha Tie Guan Yin. Farmer Zhang poured tea for us all afternoon and he was very proud to show us some Lupine flower photos. He told us that he used them as a fertilizer for his TGY tea plants.

After an afternoon of tea drinking and tea learning, Mrs. Zhang cooked a wonderful lunch for us made up of locally grown foods. I have to say she is a very good cook!

Tomorrow I will share more from our Muzha experience.

Shrimp cooked with tea

Tea fried rice

Farmer Zhang brews tea for us

Cold brewed tea

View of Taipei from the Maokong cable car

Cable cars to Maokong / Muzha

Muzha Tieguanyin

The brief sunny days left us and the threat of snow is here. Well, I should say it's actually already been snowing these past few days. I wear so much clothing now that I look like a teddy bear (10 years in Seattle and I am still not used to the cold weather).

I saw the postman opening his truck and knew there was a box of tea for me. Perfect timing! The second shipment of Muzha Tieguanyin has arrived. I heat up the water and put plenty of Tiequanyin leaves into a Yixing pot. Yum! Hearty, warm, and satisfying. We were able to get a really good price for a tea of this quality, so we can pass on the good price to you as well.

Also, please note that Floating Leaves Tea shop will be closed at 4pm from March 5th to March 8th.

Muzha Tieguanyin

The brief number of sunny winter days have already left Seattle and we are having its usual gray and cold days. I like to have a pot of robust roasted Oolong to start my day when it's cold.
Lately I have been drinking Muzha Tieguanyin. This tea was made in 2005 and has been roasted from time to time. The first time that I had this tea, I made it in a Gaiwan. The tea is wonderfully roasted and the dried fruit notes are very apparent. In later brews, the tea turns sweet and the signature "metallic" taste from Tieguanyin will show up.

I just tried this Muzha Tieguanyin in a Yixing tea pot and noticed the tea tasted much softer. It lost some of the dried fruit notes, however, a Chinese herbal taste showed up. I found it very interesting. I like having this tea in either of the brewing styles. If you have this tea, please try it out using various brewing methods and see what you notice and like better.