Taiwan Tea Guy

No visit to the Mystic Grove is complete without a tea session, even if it is a short one. Having Aliang along on this trip made it an absolute necessity! (Actually, having tea was the point of making the 30-minute drive up from Jiji). There’s something indescribeable about being in a bamboo forest - there is more light penetration and less ground foilage than in the traditional pine forests of the western US, and the wind rustling through the leaves create a light, airy feeling that is extremely soothing and relaxing. This particular spot also seems to have very good ‘energy’ and has always been my #1 spot for ‘getting away from it all’, either on my own or with a few select friends.

My usual custom is to drink Dong Ting Oolong tea here, because Dong Ting mountain is about 10 miles south and I have friends that sell tea in Luku, the local town there. However, in honor of Aliang’s first visit, we naturally brewed Tie Kuan Yin. We set out my trusty Ultimate Travel Set, and put some water on to boil.

If you are just a casual tea drinker, or are skeptical that atmosphere can affect the quality of the brew, then I invite you to visit Taiwan and check it out. The tea is always better here on the mountain - partly because of the clean air & refreshing climate, partly from the good feng shui of the area, and partly from the effort needed to reach the spot. Being in the bamboo is naturally soothing and meditative, and puts one in a very relaxed, calm state of mind, which is essential for high-quality tea brewing.

It’s also fun to add some ‘nature’ to the occasion by incorporating some local flora into the session. I’d seen someone use a leaf like this as a tea tray at an exhibition, and decided to give it a try.

Of course, the Master had to take a turn as well, so we traded off and I manned the camera for awhile. It’s interesting to see how the same tea prepared with the same equipment in the same environment can turn out so different depending on who is brewing it. I’m always on alert when I get to watch an expert in action, so that I can pick up little tricks or techniques that might improve my own brewing style.

We also cut some bamboo branches to take back and turn into tea utensils. I’ll post pics of those if they turn out useable!

This entry was posted on Thursday, November 27th, 2008 at 3:54 pm and is filed under My Tea Life. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.