I had a question the other day about the types of tea sets common in Taiwan. Here are some photos I took at a couple of teashops lately that provide good examples. Some people go for basic sets with a pot and cups, others like full matching sets, and hard-core fans usually by separate components [...]
I recently got a new ride (see picture) and needed to take it for a test ride, so I decided to head out to the Baojong tea capital of Taiwan, Pinglin. This is the town that held the Baojong Tea Festival, and also has ‘the largest tea museum in the world’, or at least Taiwan. [...]
Pinglin is the baojong tea center of Taiwan, and I recently rode through there on a bike trip (see Pinglin Road Trip). I plan to do a more in-depth report on the town in the future, but here are a few pictures for now. The town is a lot like small rural town in the US. [...]
On my recent Pinglin Road Trip, I was lucky enough to drive by some locals drying some fresh-picked oolong leaves in front of their home. I stopped and chatted with them a little, and they agreed to let me take some pictures of their tea.
In addition to warm hospitality, interesting conversation, and great tea on my recent trip to Miaoli (click HERE), I also came away with a new teapot. Aaron felt that since I’ve been getting into Tie Kuan Yin teas, he let me bring home a pot he used exclusively to brew this type of tea. For [...]
I’ve mentioned in other posts about the benefits of setting up a space to have tea at home, and how preparing ‘gung-fu’ tea in a relaxing atmosphere is a great way to unwind at the end of a long day. However, it’s also very rewarding to enjoy your tea while camping in the mountains, hanging [...]
When I meet Taiwanese people and we talk about tea, I often hear things like, ”Why do you drink tea - don’t foreigners all like coffee?”, “You’re so special because you know about tea,” or “You’re more ‘Chinese’ than us,” etc, etc. Well, last week, I found out I’m not quite so special, and that I’m [...]
Last week, A-Liang said he wanted to take me to dinner as a thank-you for my help at the tea show. Master Tsai had just returned from his month-long trip to China, and so we decided to go to his Tea Restaurant to eat.
We recently attended the 2008 Baojong Tea Festival in Pinling, Taipei County. This year’s show wasn’t as big as last year’s but the events were spread out over two weekends. We ended only staying for an hour or so, and then going for a drive in the hills west of Pinling afterwards.
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 [...]