The inspiration for this post began when we first tasted our spring batches of tea this year. Especially for the three teas that we'll take a look at here, we immediately thought upon tasting each of them, they are noticeably different from last winter's batch. So first, let's list the main points to observe in comparing seasonal batches from the same source of tea.
Dana Ter, freelance writer and staff reporter for the Features section of the Taipei Times, recently approached Eco-Cha to be a subject of a piece she wrote on Taiwan's artisanal tea culture. We happily cooperated, and responded to her request to visit tea farms in the Taipei area by taking her to meet two tea farmers whom we've befriended in recent years. It turned out to be just what Dana was looking for — tea producers who represent the boutique artisan tea culture in Taiwan.
This past year has been an exciting adventure for our Eco-Cha Tea Club members and there have been a lot of great rare teas and fun extras. Here are a few that really stand out for us.
We spent several days over the last couple weeks filming in tea country (Lugu) and in Taichung City with the Buddhist-based Da Ai Television station. It will a while before the program is aired, but for now we can share some behind the scene shots. Here we are at Tony and Lisa Lin's tea table playing with tea design ideas.
June 2nd was the fifth day of the fifth month in the lunar calendar - Dragon Boat Festival - a national holiday here in Taiwan. I rode up to tea country and visited my friend and Dong Ding Oolong artisan who invited me to come and eat “zhongzi”.
This story was originally posted on the T Ching tea blog site.
There was an unpublicized occasion provided by the Farners' Association for local participants in the competition and a few select guests to sample the spectrum of this spring's competition teas
The weather this spring continues to be ideal during harvest season. Almost no rain has allowed farmers to remain on schedule and not have to postpone the timing of their harvest.
The weather this spring started out cold and dry – basically an extended winter season. This delayed the growing season of spring tea, particularly at higher elevations and in more northern areas.