While the Taiwan tea crops in general were quite good this spring (we had a wet winter), Aliang only had 12 samples to submit for this year’s competition. For each submission, we have to provide 22kg of tea, and the entry fee for each one isn’t cheap. If any of our teas ‘place’, the 22kg will be bagged up and certified by the Farmer’s Association, and we can then sell it at higher prices (the prices are also set by the Association, and depend on the general quality of the harvest for each year – this prevents the winners from overcharging on the tea or inciting bidding wars).

Our job at this point was pretty straight forward: measure out 22kg of tea into the plastic bags provided by the Association, label them, and put them into the Landrover so that Aliang could drop them off in the morning. If you are wondering why Aliang has a Landrover, by the way, you can read Mystic Grove or Landrover Camping Trip and it shouldn’t be too hard to figure out! 

We also had to remix a couple of  our samples to boost the quality. It seems pretty simple, but it actually takes a bit of time to get it right. You have to make sure the tea is well-blended so that the sample taken by the judges is representative. You also have to keep your hands clean and dry so you don’t add any ‘soapy’ or ‘sweaty’ smells to the tea (which means – you guessed it dear reader –  that I couldn’t even pick my nose ONCE during the whole process!).

Fortunately I was able to control my more ‘primal urges’ and we successfully completed our bag-up and made it home before sunrise. Another job well done!

On the way home from our Landrover Camping Trip, we decided to make a short detour up into the bamboo groves for a visit to my favorite spot in all of Taiwan – we usually just refer to it as ‘the mountain’ – a dead-end farmer’s access in a natural bamboo forest that overlooks the valley I lived in before the 9/21 (1999) earthquake hit the area.

Since we were driving a Landrover Defender 110, I felt we could probably handle the road up to the grove. I hadn’t been back there for about a year and a half, and wasn’t even sure there would be a road anymore. Turns out I was pretty much right! The jungle takes over quickly, and it looked like the locals hadn’t been using this area for a couple of years. Despite the overgrowth and some deep potholes (caused by typhoon runoff),  we had a very easy ascent. After I scouted the route and returned to the vehicle, Mrs. Teaguy asked, “Can we just not drive up there?” I shook my head slowly and replied, “We’re driving a Defender, dear, so, no, it’s not possible for us to not drive up there!”

After getting to the halfway point where the trail cuts back to the right, the road was more visible and easier to navigate. I engaged the differential locks for extra traction in the wet foilage, but we didn’t really need them. The only real ‘roadblock’ was a bamboo cane that was growing horizontally across the road, but my Leatherman tool made a quick job of getting us through that!

It was great to see all of the new bamboo growth – the forest seems to be doing well. I found this spot on my first weekend living in Jiji. I was trying to find my way up to the top of the mountain (on my motorcycle) when I came to a fork in the road (it was much better maintained in those days, so there was less adventure driving around). My dog, Bojangles, who was running along in front of me, took the right hand fork and led me up to this spot. We ended up spending the rest of the day here, then heading home. It’s been my favorite spot ever since. When Bojangles was hit by a van 6 months later, I buried him here, and come back to drink tea with him as often as I can.

The road down the mountain is much better than it used to be – it’s been paved in recent years – but clearing the  jungle back to improve the roads leaves them prone to mudslides from the heavy typhoon rains. Luckily we were still able to pass through this section here. There’s also a tea farm down below the bamboo, that grows Jin Hsuen and Sz Ji Chwun (two kinds of oolong tea).

At A Liang’s recent Tea Lecture, we got to enjoy fresh air, lush mountain scenery, and of course, some gnarly nature! His friend’s farm is home to all sorts of interesting critters. Two that stood out are featured here – if you’re squeamish, skip this one!

I arrived at their place around 10:00am to set up the teaware, and noticed this little guy hanging around the main door into the coffee shop. It had a very large web (about 5ft. across) from the eaves of the house to a small tree. There is also a large hive of bees up under the eaves, and they seem to be this fellow’s main diet. Around 11, the bees started swarming for some reason, and 5 or 6 got caught in this web within a few minutes, so naturally I got the camera out! For size reference, the body is about the length of my thumb, and the legspan is about the same as my hand with fingers outstretched. They are poisonous, although I’m not sure how dangerous to people they are.

Our ‘special guest’ appeared in the early afternoon (around 1:00, when everyone was here for lunch, naturally). No doubt about this one – he’s called a ‘Bamboo Snake’, and is a kind of pit viper. One website I checked says this one most aggresively attacks people, although the poison is rarely fatal (Click HERE for more information on poisonous snakes in Taiwan). He was hanging around in the bushes right next to our lunch pavilion, and the owner said he’d probably been there all morning (note above where I mention I was setting up the teaware all morning right in front of this guy!). Fortunately he’s got a snake grabber (same as mine), and he said he gets at least 1 snake a week, and quite a few of these guys, so no big deal. He released it across the road in a small gully, and hopefully it won’t be back.

 (If you are a bit squeamish you may want to skip the rest of this – don’t say I didn’t warn you!)

WHAT THE ?????? Now what in the HECK am I supposed to do with THAT??? If you’ve ever travelled in Asia, you can probably appreciate my situation more readily. Fortunately, I’m fully qualified to operate one of these babies, so no worries mate! I won’t bore you with all the math – vector alignments, squat angles, drag coefficients, load ratios, etc. – I’ll just get down to the basics. The two key points to remember are 1: make sure you line up properly over the drop zone, and 2: keep loose clothing away from the edges at all times.

*Special tip: trousers should ALWAYS be maintained above the knees. Failure to do so may cause a misdrop, resulting in either a ‘catch and release’ (not pretty) or even more severe, turning your skivvies into a ‘take home bag’.

Actually, they are pretty efficient units once you get used to them, and the lack of contact with a toilet seat make them more sanitary than western style commodes. The bowl flushes itself (when enough weight is put on the trap – ahem) or can be activated by the black pump button on the floor next to it. The really amazing thing about this particular unit is the fact that it was stocked with toilet paper. Most public restrooms have vending machines for small packets of toilet paper, and people here generally always carry their own.

During the Ch’ing Dynasty,  the mother of one of the emperors fell ill. She couldn’t eat, had no energy, and seemed to be slowly dying. The court physicians tried everything they could, but to no avail. The Emperor searched everywhere for a curative, but  people were afraid they would be punished if a suggested remedy failed and so remained silent.

Finally, in desperation, the Emperor disguised himself and went out among the people. While traveling through the Wu Yi mountains of Fujian province, he met a local farmer revered for his knowledge of plants. He explained his need (without revealing who he was, of course) and the farmer took him to a place with three trees growing together on a hillside. They picked the leaves of the trees and made a tea from them. The farmer told the Emperor to have his mother drink the tea several times a day and she would get well.

Of course, the Emperor was very excited, and immediately returned home with the tea. His mother drank it and (naturally) quickly regained her appetite and made a full recovery. In gratitude to the farmer, the Emperor sent his imperial robe to Fujian, instructing his emmisary to tie it around the three trees as a symbol of their honor and the Emperor’s protection. From that time forward, “Da Hung Pao” (translates as ‘Big Red Cloak/Robe’) was the special tea drink of the royal court.

In more modern times, cuttings were taken from the trees and transplanted, thus increasing production so that more people could enjoy this unique tea. The samples given to A-Liang were said to be “Di Yi Dai”, meaning, “from the original trees” – not from the newer generations.  I have a review coming up soon in Tea Reports, with more photos and analysis. And of course, A-Liang being A-Liang, I ended up with my own sample box to take home, which I think I’ll save for the next time I get really sick!!