A Hand in the Cookie Jar . . .
I had an interesting experience tonight. Thursday is my ‘tea lesson’ with A-Liang, and we usually end up hanging out at his shop until 11:00 - midnight (yes, I work on Fridays, and no, don’t ask how I manage it!). I was picking up some dinner on my way there, a little after 7:00pm, when he called me and said he was on his way back from Miaoli and would be at the shop in about an hour. I was going to suggest we arrange a different day when he offered to have his neighbor open the shop for me so I could wait for him. Of course that’s too good an opportunity to pass up!
After putting some 70s rock on his computer (this is a GREAT site if you just want to play music on the computer while you’re doing other stuff: http://www.tropicalglen.com/index.html), I filled up the kettle and started going through the open tea samples available. Talk about temptation! It’s hard enough sometimes to figure out what I’m in the mood for at home, but having a whole store to myself really makes the choice difficult. Being a tea shop ‘laoban’ (translates as boss or owner) isn’t as easy as it looks!
I finally settled on a new Tie Kuan Yin he had out. He’s in the process of roasting it, so it’s not yet mature, but it was interesting to try it. While it did have that signature smoky mouthfeel, it was a bit too dry on the tongue, and actually left me feeling parched after a few cups. This quality is common with fresh-roasted tea, and it’s usually better to let the tea ‘rest’ for a few weeks or more before drinking it in large amounts. 
Here’s a picture for reference. Notice how dark the leaves look in the gaiwan, and how they’re not yet fully opened (this is the 4th round I think), and how the tea has an orangey tint to it. It will be fun to try it again in a few weeks and compare how the flavor is developing.
