Alishan Trip

We took the high speed train from Taipei to Chiayi. Farmer Zhan and his son in law were already at the station there waiting for us to arrive. It was very nice to see their smiles again!

Alishan high mountain tea was harvested 2 weeks earlier than usual this season, so we didn't get to see the harvesting. However, the farmers were very kind to show us how the harvesting, oxidizing and roasting are done.

We were also fed this delicious vegetarian meals!

Preparing the tea for roasting

Oxidizing the tea

An Alishan tea farm

Rolling the oolong balls

View from the train

Next stop: Pinglin and Baozhong tea. More stories and photos to come.

Taiwan Trip: Wistaria and Zhou Zu

The Floating Leaves Tea tour group has safely arrived in Taiwan! Today, we went to visit Mr. Zhou Yu and his wife Sophie at the famous Wisteria teahouse. I love having tea at Wisteria, it's a beautiful place. After walking in the heat and the busy energy of Taipei streets, sitting there brought some calm and quietness to us.

Mr. Zhou Yu did a special tea talk for us. When I discussed timing with him, he originally said the talk would be around 30 minutes and then we'd have an open questions session. After he talked for about 10 minutes, I knew he'd have much more to talk about. He really got into it and we had a special opportunity to hear a tea expert give us a thorough education! You know the feeling when you sit down, have tea, and start some conversations. You know when you are going to have a good time and then time no longer controls the agenda; the subject flows freely.

Mr. Zhou Yu touched on the subject of tea and culture, how he does gongfu cha, organic tea and more. I will share with you some of what he said when I have more time. At the end, a participant asked what tea he drinks every day, and he said either an aged Dong Ding or an aged Puer. He said when he drinks a tea, he is not looking for a particular flavor. He is looking for how he feels after he drinks a tea. He said a good aged puer can make him feel calm. Then the participant continued by asking why a good aged puer is so expensive. We really can't afford to drink such a tea on a daily basis. Zhou Yu smiled and took out a canister of a loose puer that he had purchased in Hong Kong in 1994. We all felt very grateful that he shared that with us. The tea was very clean and soft and it made me perspire after three cups. He told us we don't need to buy super expensive aged puer right now. Start to buy some good quality raw puer and age it. Then we will have good and inexpensive aged puer to drink later!

I thanked him and his wife for spending so much time with the group. They said that since we had come all the way from the states, that's what a host should do. That's one of the things I like most about Taiwan, the people's sincerity and generosity....

Tomorrow, we head out to Alishan to visit with some farmers up there and to see how this season's Alishan high mountain oolong has turned out. I'll be out of contact for a few days, but expect more updates and some pictures soon! Don't forget that I'll be out of the teashop for this month, but Floating Leaves is still open on the weekends. We will continue to fill and ship your online and phone orders once a week as well.

Spring Oolong

I talked to some tea friends in Taiwan this week and I was quite happy to hear that they all think this spring's tea quality will generally be higher than this past winter's. Last season, I was not able to carry several types of high mountain teas, including Shanlinxi or Dayuling, because their quality wasn't what I expected from those teas.

I asked the farmers about the temperature variations that have been happening frequently over the past month and if that would affect the quality of the tea. They said at least there wasn't a drought (like in SW China) and the tea plants are yielding more than last season. They expect a strong harvest.

That's good news. I am optimistic that I will find some great Oolongs during next month's trip!

Floating Leaves Tea - May Schedule

The Taiwan Tea Tour is coming up very soon and I am really excited about it! We will have a lot of fun together and we will be sure to take a lot of pictures and to share our new tea knowledge with everyone. If you have any special tea questions, please remember to email them to me soon. After the tour, I will be staying in Taiwan to do this Spring season's tea purchases. I will do my best to update you on Taiwanese tea news while I am there.

While I am in Taiwan during the month of May, the Floating Leaves Tea shop will be open on Saturdays and Sundays only, from 11am to 7pm. Your internet tea orders will be shipped once a week. Thank you for your understanding and I look forward to sharing some delicious Spring Oolongs with you after I return.

Cooking with Tea

Here is one of the cooking with tea recipes that I promised to give you in my last post. If you get a chance to try it, please let me know how it turns out. Enjoy!

Braised Pork Belly infused with Muzha Tieguanyin and Savoy Cabbage

-Cabbage, take out the core and separate the leaves. Blanch them in tea (use the tea after you make 3 cups for the braised liquid with salt). Set aside when it's done

-Pork belly or side pork 1 pound (long and flat)

-6 Tb soy sauce

-2 star anise

-2 Tb rice wine

-2 tspn sugar

-1/3 cup and 2 Tb Muzha Tieguanyin tea leaves

Steps:

1) Cut pork into 3 pieces, placed them on a plate and marinate in soy sauce with broken-up star anise (flavor will easily release after they're broken) for about 30 minutes

2) Pat dry the pork and put the rest of the soy sauce and star anise into a sauce pan. Add rice wine, sugar, and tea (brew the tea with 3 cups of hot water first for 3-5 minutes, need strong tea, but try not to make it bitter)

3) Pan fry the pork in hot oil with medium-heat. Fry until it is crispy and has a nice, brown color. Pat dry and then add to the sauce pan. Bring to a boil and then simmer for 50 minutes uncovered. Turn the meat once a while. The sauce will also reduce when the meat is done. The sauce should have the consistency of syrup. If not just add cornstarch to thicken it.

4) Slice the pork about 1/4 inches thick (try to fan it out). Arrange cabbage leaves on the plate and then place the pork on top of it. Drizzle the yummy sauce on top of the meat and leaves. Serve warm or at room temperature.