2007 Taiwan Coffee, Tea & Wine Expo
Last November I had the chance to work a booth at the Expo with my newest mentor and ‘tea buddy’, Ah-Liang. I could only go on Sunday this year, as I had to work (yes, on Saturday!), but I had a great time and look forward to next year. His booth was set up on a corner, so there was good foot traffic on two sides. My main function was to prepare tea samples for customers and promote the different gift sets and specials we had on hand. I was a bit nervous at first (remember, everyone is speaking Chinese, including me!) because I wanted to make a good impression for the customers and for Ah-Liang as well. I have only known him for about six months, and was concerned that he put too much faith in my abilities. Fortunately, we were using gaiwans, and I’d been working on my technique pretty seriously around that time. Gaiwans are better suited to quick steepings and frequent tea changes (the porcelain doesn’t absorb tea characteristics, so you can just rinse it out and start a new cup), and you can better present the wet leaves to the customers. I was also lucky that he mostly had me alternating between his signature Tieh Kuan Yin tea and Jin Hsuen Oolong, a lighter roasted tea with a slight milky mouthfeel that I often prepare at home, so I didn’t embarrass myself on the brewing end of things. Once I got into the flow of things, it was actually a lot of fun to interact with customers and see the frequent double-takes as people passed by and noticed a foreigner pouring samples. I would slow people down or draw them over for a sample, and Ah-Liang would close the deals. It was a great learning experience for me, and I look forward to working with him in the future.
March 3rd, 2008 at 5:44 pm
Norm Reynolds Says:
I have a quick querie for you. It might be due to the fact that I’m not too familiar with the entire tea breweing process, but what is a ‘Gaiwan’?
Thanks Tea-dude.
March 3rd, 2008 at 8:18 pm
M.T. Says:
Where’s the Expo you work for?
March 3rd, 2008 at 8:43 pm
teaguy Says:
A gaiwan or gaibei is (usually) a porcelain tea cup with a lid that can be used for serving large individual cups of tea, or for brewing tea much like you would with a teapot. The advantage of a gaiwan is that it doesn’t absorb odors or flavors from the tea, so you can use it to make any kind of tea without affecting the flavor of your brew. Also, the wide mouth makes it easier to study the tea while brewing, and is commonly used in Taiwan when showing customers tea (brewing samples).
March 3rd, 2008 at 8:47 pm
teaguy Says:
The Expo is just a trade show that lasted about 5 days. The tea shop I was working for at the show is in Mucha, near Jen Da University. I study tea with several different masters in Taipei, and can introduce their teas and products to you if you are interested.
March 4th, 2008 at 2:30 pm
M.T. Says:
When you launch the online store later in the year, I’ll surely be your customer, please keep me updated. Thanks
March 7th, 2008 at 6:55 am
Eric Says:
Hey tea guy! It’s Eric! I’m glad to see that you’ve gotten your site up and running — it looks really good. I hear that the Mucha line has been extended such that a small tram will lead up to Maokeng now for access to all of the tea houses there. I wish it had been around while I was there.
March 7th, 2008 at 9:13 am
teaguy Says:
Hi Eric. Glad you like the site. The Maokong Gondola is actually pretty nice. It runs from the zoo up to the tea area, with a stop at Chih Nan Temple. It’s about 20 minutes 1-way, and has good views of the city (such as they are) when the weather is clear. I’m thinking about doing an article on that area, so check back in a week or 2.