After the Show . . .
After spending all day making tea, then packing up the stuff and hauling it back to the shop, we were all pretty tired and ready for a break. So, naturally, we sat down and had some tea! Of course, TKY wasn’t our first choice, as we’d been chugging it all day, but A-Liang had some ‘Tou Deng’ TKY that he wanted to try. (Tou Deng is the title given to the tea that is judged the best of the best at a tea competition – see Tea Competition for more details).
The tea had a dark, uniform color, with small, tightly rolled nuggets, and was exceptionally ‘clean’ – very little dust or small particles, and the leaf stems were all cut close to the leaf. I could tell just from looking at it that we were in for a real treat.
One of the great things about studying with A-Liang is that he’s a very ‘hands on’ type of teacher. Although we’re drinking a very expensive, limited-supply tea in one of his best gaiwans, he still has me make the tea. He says I’ll get a better feel for how to adjust my brewing techniques this way, and have a better appreciation for the
tea as well. The picture at left shows (one) correct grip for pouring out of the gaiwan. It seems like a simple technique, but if you don’t pay attention to the angle, the hot tea pours out over your thumb and you risk dropping your gaiwan (remember this tea tray is a stone slab-not the softest of landings for a porcelain cup!).
The aroma of the tea was much lighter and more delicate than I anticipated. It had a ripe, fruity smell, like walking through an orchard near the end of the season. As the scent wafted up from the warm gaiwan, we could feel the tension of our long day melt away. The color was a lighter, more yellowy orange, reminding me a little of oolong.
All in all, it was a great afternoon, and served to remind me once again why I love Chinese teas – the endless variety! Oolong, baojong, Tieh Kuan Yin, are not so much specific teas as they are families of teas, with a wide range of flavors in each one. For anyone out there who doesn’t care for these teas, I’d just like to say you probably haven’t found the right one for you yet!
August 1st, 2008 at 6:51 pm
Fauna Church Says:
TTG,
Your blog is very interesting. My first experience in a teahouse was in Jufien, Northern Taiwan. Now I’m in Korea and experiencing a different kind of teahouse. I’m thinking of opening a teahouse in Canada in about 6 years. Have you considered opening a Taiwanese teahouse in your home country? Do you think it’d be a hit?
Anyway it’s nice to read about tea and Taiwan.
Thank you
August 1st, 2008 at 9:35 pm
teaguy Says:
Thanks for the comments. I have a set of cups I purchased at Jiufen Old Teahouse (the only ‘cool’ teahouse there, in my opinion – hope it’s the oneyou visited) back in 1990 – unfortunately, they’ve over-developed the area in the past 18 years, and it’s lost a lot of it’s atmosphere (they have a Starbucks there now – ouch!).
Glad to hear from someone who’s had a great Taiwan tea experience. And yes, I’m thinking teahouse – that’s why I started this blog. We hope to get an online store running by the end of the year, and then springboard it into a US teahouse/shop/store after that. If you want to discuss setting up your own store, I’d love to chat with you and share ideas.