I had a great trip to Taiwan and I am back to share the tea that I found.
For the unique varietals, I found a Buddha's Hand, a Taiwan Wuyi, and a Shei Shan. All of these teas have enough body, a nice mouth feel, and distinctive taste. For Baozhong, I purchased Farmer's Choice and Honorable Mention from Farmer Chen. There will be no first place this year, but you will get a chance to taste it at our Baozhong tea tastings.
There is also a selection of Dong Ding and Tieguanyin teas; some of them are very low in quantity. Both of these teas have full mouth feel.
For the high mountain teas, I chose a Shanlinxi, one Lishan, one Dayuling, and one Hehuanshan. This spring, the high mountain tea is gentler and has a softer body than previous winter teas. For the Alishan lovers, I'm sorry, but I couldn't t find one that was good enough to bring it back for you to drink. There is also an aged Buddha's Hand produced in 1991 and possibly an aged Tieguanyin.
In a couple of days, I will post some of these new teas on the website and offer you some tasting notes. Please keep an eye out for our upcoming newsletters for a series of tea tastings.
See you all very soon for new and age teas.
Showing posts with label tiquanyin. Show all posts
Showing posts with label tiquanyin. Show all posts
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Saturday, May 23, 2009
2009 Taiwan Tea Trip
I can't believe that I have to leave Taiwan in three days. It feels like I just got here and I am getting used to the rhythm of life. I am grateful to the people that I've met. They were helpful and generous. I will write more about this trip when I get back to Seattle. Here are some notes about the tea I have already tasted and that you will be able to try some soon.
I tasted 7 Dong Ding teas. Six of them are Spring teas and one of them is winter tea. This farmer is dedicated to producing tea the traditional way. A lot of attention and the best leaves that are actually from Dong Ding mountain go into making this tea so high in quality. All of his tea has very nice mouth feel and the flavor will stay in the mouth and throat for many hours. I chose one that I thought is the most balanced one. The farmer also gave me a small bag of aged Dong Ding. He didn't remember how old it is and told me not to sell that tea. If you can come by soon, I will share this with you when I am back.
My friend, Mr. Tsai, took me to Pinglin. We wanted to meet a farmer who has Xia Sha varietal. He told me that the farmer worked very hard and is dedicated to organic farming. Unfortunately, the farmer was not there that day. Mr. Tsai already ordered some tea for me. I will see if I can try it this Wednesday. Then we went to meet Farmer Chen and his wife. I probably tried 10 different Baozhongs. My favorite one was one that didn't win at the competition. I thought it has more weigh than the rest and it's very smooth. I also tried some aged oolongs. I chose one that was made from the Buddha's Hand varietal. This age Oolong has a very clear plum smell and it tastes very clean.
On the third day in Taipei, I went to meet farmer Zheng and his family in the Mu Zha area. He is dedicated in making Tieguanyin. They were very friendly and very eager to let me try their teas. I lost count of how many I tried. They wanted me to try more. I told them I couldn't drink any more tea. I was not completely satisfied with this year's Tieguanyin so I chose a couple of teas that are about three to five years old.
I also drank a lot of high mountain teas. So far, I am not too crazy about Alishan tea. I did like one ShanLinXi, which has a very smooth body. I will try more high mountain teas over two days and decide what I want to bring back to Seattle.
Friday, March 27, 2009
Rare Tea Tasting
In 2007, I was in Taiwan visiting a tea house with six customers, who were a part of my 2007 Taiwan Tea Tour. That was our first day in Taiwan so we decided to do something relaxing. We already had two pots of tea and I asked if they wanted more or if instead, they would want to go visit a temple. They all decided to have more tea because the tea house is so tranquil and nice. We saw a 25-year-old Dong Ding and they said they had never had an aged Oolong before, so we ordered that one. That was a good tea! It was very smooth and complex. And I paid $100 USD for that pot of tea!
This year, one of our tea buyers was in Taiwan and he was on a mission to find exclusive fine teas. He went to the same tea house that I had taken my customers to in 2007 and he tried the same 25 year old aged Dong Ding that I had tried for $100 per pot. As he sat with the owners, they ended up trying three more aged Dong Ding teas, each of which would sell for the same $100 per pot. The buyer brought back a sample of the one with the most complexity and smoothness. He also spent time in the Muzha region outside of Taipei, and was able to source some very high-end, full-bodied and richly-roasted Tieguanyins as well.
Having returned with these rare and high-end samples, we will be tasting these exciting teas with customers as part of our VIP tea tasting series. We will be offering 2 Dong Ding teas, 2 Tieguanyin, and one Puer. Most of these teas are aged and they all have an exceptional mouth feel. We don't have those teas for sale, but I thought it will be good to let people have a chance to taste some of the best tea anywhere in the world. The Dong Ding and Puer both retail for more than $1500 per pound, so this tasting is for the true tea lover looking for an exceptional tea. Good tea is for sharing, isn't it?
This year, one of our tea buyers was in Taiwan and he was on a mission to find exclusive fine teas. He went to the same tea house that I had taken my customers to in 2007 and he tried the same 25 year old aged Dong Ding that I had tried for $100 per pot. As he sat with the owners, they ended up trying three more aged Dong Ding teas, each of which would sell for the same $100 per pot. The buyer brought back a sample of the one with the most complexity and smoothness. He also spent time in the Muzha region outside of Taipei, and was able to source some very high-end, full-bodied and richly-roasted Tieguanyins as well.
Having returned with these rare and high-end samples, we will be tasting these exciting teas with customers as part of our VIP tea tasting series. We will be offering 2 Dong Ding teas, 2 Tieguanyin, and one Puer. Most of these teas are aged and they all have an exceptional mouth feel. We don't have those teas for sale, but I thought it will be good to let people have a chance to taste some of the best tea anywhere in the world. The Dong Ding and Puer both retail for more than $1500 per pound, so this tasting is for the true tea lover looking for an exceptional tea. Good tea is for sharing, isn't it?
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Dong Ding and Tieguanyin Tea Tastings
Last weekend, I did two tea tastings, one for Dong Ding凍頂 and one for Tieguanyin鐵觀音.
We tried a Dong Ding from Zhu Shan竹山, and two from Dong Ding mountain. Before the tastings start, I normally ask participants to pay attention to how the tea will feel in the mouths, what the tea tastes like, and what tastes and flavors come up after one swallows the tea. It turned out that all of the participants did a great job!
The Zhu Shan Dong Ding is a modern style tea, which means it's a very lightly oxidized Oolong. The mouth feel is good, but it does not have enough body. The fragrance of the tea is very nice. In the fourth infusion, the taste of the Zhu Shan Dong Ding was gone. Then we moved on to the Dong Ding 101. People immediately noticed the difference in the way it felt in the mouth. I told them that I was going to brew 5 infusions. I asked them to tell me if the taste was still there in the fifth infusion. After the first sip of the 5th infusion, they all agreed that the taste was still there. Then we moved on to Dong Ding 301. After the first sip of the first infusion, I was smiling. Some people said that the tea was so creamy. They were delighted to taste a tea like this. After the sixth infusion, we studied the open leaves closely. Dong Ding 301 has red color on the edges of the leaves. That's a more traditionally done Oolong. I was happy that people were able to notice the traditional style Oolong's amazingly creamy and smooth mouth feel. Of course, they walked away with bags of tea. And 301 is sold out now (I kept 2 ounces for myself to drink).
The Tieyuanyin tasting was very fun, too. We started the tasting with a modern lightly oxidized Tieguanyin from China. Once again, I reminded people to pay attention to mouth feel, taste, and such. The green TGY is a pleasant tea. It is light with a very bright bouquet. We continued with a 1995 Tieguanyin. I passed the Gaiwan around to let people smell the bouquet. Everyone was amazed by the way it smelled. We drank five infusions of the Tieguanyin. People were very intrigued by the taste and the smell since not many people have had aged Oolong before. We finished with a 10-year-old Tieguanyin. It was smooth, sweet and round. People were very thankful for this experience.
And I am very thankful for those farmers who made these fantastic teas.
Next month, I'll be doing a special tea tasting as part of a Connosieur's tea series. The teas are from private collections, and will include rare and superb examples of oolongs and a puerh. Please check on the Floating Leaves site for soon-to-appear event information and contact me to sign up, since space will be limited and the store will be closed for this special event.
We tried a Dong Ding from Zhu Shan竹山, and two from Dong Ding mountain. Before the tastings start, I normally ask participants to pay attention to how the tea will feel in the mouths, what the tea tastes like, and what tastes and flavors come up after one swallows the tea. It turned out that all of the participants did a great job!
The Zhu Shan Dong Ding is a modern style tea, which means it's a very lightly oxidized Oolong. The mouth feel is good, but it does not have enough body. The fragrance of the tea is very nice. In the fourth infusion, the taste of the Zhu Shan Dong Ding was gone. Then we moved on to the Dong Ding 101. People immediately noticed the difference in the way it felt in the mouth. I told them that I was going to brew 5 infusions. I asked them to tell me if the taste was still there in the fifth infusion. After the first sip of the 5th infusion, they all agreed that the taste was still there. Then we moved on to Dong Ding 301. After the first sip of the first infusion, I was smiling. Some people said that the tea was so creamy. They were delighted to taste a tea like this. After the sixth infusion, we studied the open leaves closely. Dong Ding 301 has red color on the edges of the leaves. That's a more traditionally done Oolong. I was happy that people were able to notice the traditional style Oolong's amazingly creamy and smooth mouth feel. Of course, they walked away with bags of tea. And 301 is sold out now (I kept 2 ounces for myself to drink).
The Tieyuanyin tasting was very fun, too. We started the tasting with a modern lightly oxidized Tieguanyin from China. Once again, I reminded people to pay attention to mouth feel, taste, and such. The green TGY is a pleasant tea. It is light with a very bright bouquet. We continued with a 1995 Tieguanyin. I passed the Gaiwan around to let people smell the bouquet. Everyone was amazed by the way it smelled. We drank five infusions of the Tieguanyin. People were very intrigued by the taste and the smell since not many people have had aged Oolong before. We finished with a 10-year-old Tieguanyin. It was smooth, sweet and round. People were very thankful for this experience.
And I am very thankful for those farmers who made these fantastic teas.
Next month, I'll be doing a special tea tasting as part of a Connosieur's tea series. The teas are from private collections, and will include rare and superb examples of oolongs and a puerh. Please check on the Floating Leaves site for soon-to-appear event information and contact me to sign up, since space will be limited and the store will be closed for this special event.
Monday, February 09, 2009
Taiwanese Tea Varietals - Part III
In the previous tea varietal posts, we already talked about Chin Hsin Oolong (青心烏龍), Chin Hsin Da Pa (青心大Pa), Jin Xuan (金萱), Cui Yu (翠玉) and Four Season's Spring (四季春).
Here are more varietals that are still producing tea in Taiwan.
Tieguanyin (鐵觀音): This varietal is one of the four famous varietals (四大名樷) in China. An Xi (安溪) , China is known for this tea. In 1919, Tieguanyin varietal was brought to Taiwan.
Tieguanyin is grown mostly in the Mu Zha (木柵) area of Taiwan. This varietal has thicker branches and its leaves grow further apart. The young tea bud has a bit of red color to it. Tieguanyin's leaves are oval shaped and have clear serrations. This varietal yields much less compared to the rest of Taiwanese varietals.
Buddha's Hand (佛手): This varietal was orginally from Yong Chun (永春), China. The name came from that this varietal has a very distinct (佛手柑) flavor( This is a yellow citrus-like fruit. Google it and you can see what it looks like). A tea that is made from this varietal will offer you a nice flavor, full mouth-feel, and many infusions. If you ever go up to Pinglin (坪林), ask around, you might be able to find Buddha Hand.
Wuyi (武夷): Wuyi is known for its varietals. Wuyi was introduced to Taiwan probably around 300 years ago and it is very hard to trace back which exact varietal was brought into Taiwan. One can find Wuyi varietal tea in the Pinglin (坪林) or YiLan (宜蘭) regions. Or you can try our Taiwan Wuyi tea to see how it tastes.
White Hair Monkey (白毛猴): You can find this varietal in Pinglin (坪林), Shiding (石碇), and NanGang (南港). White Hair Monkey is normally used to make Bai Hao Oolong since it has a very clear tea bud. Sometimes, farmers use this varietal to blend with Bai Hao Oolong that is made from Chin Hsin Da Pa.
Taiwan Tea No. 18 台茶18號: This varietal is also known as Ruby Stone (紅玉 - Hong Yu). In 1999, it was given its name by the Tea Reform Institute, YuChi branch (茶葉改良場魚池分場). Taiwan Tea No. 18 is used to make black tea.
Here are more varietals that are still producing tea in Taiwan.
Tieguanyin (鐵觀音): This varietal is one of the four famous varietals (四大名樷) in China. An Xi (安溪) , China is known for this tea. In 1919, Tieguanyin varietal was brought to Taiwan.
Tieguanyin is grown mostly in the Mu Zha (木柵) area of Taiwan. This varietal has thicker branches and its leaves grow further apart. The young tea bud has a bit of red color to it. Tieguanyin's leaves are oval shaped and have clear serrations. This varietal yields much less compared to the rest of Taiwanese varietals.
Buddha's Hand (佛手): This varietal was orginally from Yong Chun (永春), China. The name came from that this varietal has a very distinct (佛手柑) flavor( This is a yellow citrus-like fruit. Google it and you can see what it looks like). A tea that is made from this varietal will offer you a nice flavor, full mouth-feel, and many infusions. If you ever go up to Pinglin (坪林), ask around, you might be able to find Buddha Hand.
Wuyi (武夷): Wuyi is known for its varietals. Wuyi was introduced to Taiwan probably around 300 years ago and it is very hard to trace back which exact varietal was brought into Taiwan. One can find Wuyi varietal tea in the Pinglin (坪林) or YiLan (宜蘭) regions. Or you can try our Taiwan Wuyi tea to see how it tastes.
White Hair Monkey (白毛猴): You can find this varietal in Pinglin (坪林), Shiding (石碇), and NanGang (南港). White Hair Monkey is normally used to make Bai Hao Oolong since it has a very clear tea bud. Sometimes, farmers use this varietal to blend with Bai Hao Oolong that is made from Chin Hsin Da Pa.
Taiwan Tea No. 18 台茶18號: This varietal is also known as Ruby Stone (紅玉 - Hong Yu). In 1999, it was given its name by the Tea Reform Institute, YuChi branch (茶葉改良場魚池分場). Taiwan Tea No. 18 is used to make black tea.
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