If a picture tells a thousand words, will a thousand pictures tell the whole story? I hope my photos will inspire you to dig deeper into Taiwan teas. Enjoy!
Organizers: Thomas Shu, ABC Tea, San Marino, CA and Josephine Pan, Organic Teas Only, San Marino, CA
Participants: Kirsten Kristensen, Tea 4 U, LLC, Ocean, NJ; Robert Krul, CTC Brewt Corporation, Winnipeg, Manitoba Canada; Cory Krul, Cornelia Bean Ltd. Winnipeg, MB, Canada; Ken Rudee, Barnes & Watson Fine Teas, Mercer Island, WA; Richard and Richy Sakuma, Sakuma Bros. Farms Inc., Burlington, WA; Greg Smith, Student, Carrboro, NC; Elise Scott, Pearl Fine Teas, Washington D.C.
Sponsor: Taiwan Tea Manufacturers Association (TTMA) represented by Jackson Huang, Senior Advisor, TTMA, ABC Teas, Taiwan; Norman Shu, Chairman, TTMA; Ted Fan, Secretary General, TTMA; Professor David Liao
Saturday-Sunday, June 20-21, 2009
To join the Study Group I left Newark, NJ at 11:10 am and arrived in Tokyo (Narita), Japan the next day at 01:55 pm. After a 3 hour stop in Narita I left Japan at 4:50 pm and arrived in Taipei, Taiwan at 7:25 pm. Total travel time: 22 hrs. In Taipei Airport I was met by a limo driver who took me to Dong Wu Hotel in Taipei, Taiwan, Sunday evening where I joined my roommate Elise Scott from Pearl Fine Teas, excited to begin this exciting journey into the world of tea.
Monday, June 22, 2009
We left the hotel at 8 am to avoid the worst morning traffic. First stop was at the Wenshan Tea Garden teashop in Shenkeng, an old tea town in the Wenshan area famous for their Pouchong teas. We were served two Pouchong teas, the first an early spring, the second a later spring tea, and finally a GaBa tea (a non-oxigen tea) which is considered a medicinal tea, great for hangovers.
Wenshan Tea Garden teashop in Shenkeng old town, Wenshan area
Next stop was at TRES – the Taiwan Research and Extension Station, the Wenshan branch, where we were met by the crew ready to teach us how to make Pouchong tea. Processing the tea took more than eight hours, so while the tea withered we were lectured in the special Taiwan cultivars of Camellia sinensis including an extensive tea tasting. In the afternoon we were interviewed by a local TV station who inquired about our interests and backgrounds in tea. After a late dinner we returned to our hotel exhausted after a long day’s work in the hot and humid environment.
Pouchong (Baozhong) tea processing at TRES, Wenshan Branch in Pinglin
“Butt Tea”
Thomas told us how to make ‘butt tea’ and naturally I had to try it. Plucked a handful of ‘two-leaves-and-a-bud’s from the TRES organic tea garden during our visit after lunch and put them in my front pocket. Left them there for the rest of the day and ‘discovered’ them when we got back to the hotel in the evening. Made a cup with the ‘worn’ leaves that was surprisingly good! Oh, how I felt like Shen Nung, some 5,000 years ago!
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Leaving the hotel we were met by the Taipei morning traffic: hundreds of mopeds. As soon as we got out of Taipei the countryside showed a plethora of landscapes: spring onions, rice fields, temples, banana plantations, etc. We spent the morning at Ben Mountain Tea Garden in a little Hakka village near Yilan City enjoying prize winning teas and spectacular views of the high grown tea gardens.
The afternoon was spent at the National Center for Traditional Arts in Wujie Township, Yilan County. The cultural center featured many traditional arts and crafts from Taiwan’s history. I hadn’t had dragon beard candy since we lived in Hong Kong in the beginning of the 1990s. See here how it is made:
Tea at “19 Tea House”
The evening offered a visit to a local tea artist and teashop in the old part of Taipei called 19 Tea House. We had a great discussion of his unique concept of offering tea in a cup in the same size as the Yixing teapot compared to traditional Taiwan tea taking and teashops generally.
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
At 8 am we left Taipei with the 2-hour “Taroko Express” train to Hualien City. We were met by a tour bus ready to take us on a sightseeing trip to the spectacular Taroko Gorge marble mountain cliffs in Taroko National Park.
Visit at Taroko National Park
Heading south along the Pacific Ocean we stopped at the Pine Gardens which used to be a resort place for suicide bombing soldiers before heading towards Pearl Harbor during WWII. They enjoyed earthly pleasures with the help of Geishas. Young artist Lin Ren-hsin exhibited his interpretation of the suicide bombers through special butterflies.
Stop at Pine Gardens
Visit at the Dancing Crane Tea District in Rueisuei
Thursday, June 25, 2009
After spending the night at the beautiful natural hot spring hotel we left for another busy day in tea processing at TRES, Taitung Branch.
Luminous Hot Spring Resort & Spa
Visiting TRES, Taitung Branch
Processing of Honey Green Tea at TRES, Taitung
Lunch at nearby tea restaurant and visit to ‘Burgundy tea” house
How to make Tuo Cha – Pressed tea
Walking tour through TRES Organic Tea Garden
Five hour train trip from Luye to Taipei