The Ultracrepidarian’s Notebook
Muzha Tie Guan Yin
Muzha This recounting of the story of Muzha tea is based on recollections and oral traditions related by Lin Wen Shin, a long-time grower and producer in the region. I have not verified the story against documents from the various periods for none exist; or at...
Dong Ding the Witch is Dead
The Tale of Lin Feng Chi In 1855, Lin Feng Chi set out for the Chinese mainland from his home in Nantou county on the island of Formosa (now the country of Taiwan.) He was off to write his provincial civil service examinations. As he was an impecunious scholar,...
Thea ex machina
“Hold on, I’m coming” Amongst avid tea consumers and many vendors, there is a bias against using machines to harvest tea leaves. This bias runs so deep that some use it as the primary indicator of quality. For example, consider the following observation: ...
Steeped in Delusions and Other Bits and Pieces
Excuses, Excuses This is a bloggers worst nightmare; I’ve run out of things to write about. Oh, I haven’t run out of ideas; I’ve plenty of those. I’ve just run out of up to date research. I write mainly about Taiwan and as I’ve noted previously, Taiwan is notoriously...
Stinky Tofu!
Epicurian delight Have you ever tried Taiwan’s “stinky tofu?” it’s usually deep-fried and is sold at night markets in most of Taiwan’s larger cities. It IS stinky and it IS an acquired taste; one that I have yet to master. Not certain I ever will; or really want to....
So I’ve Just Been Offered This Competition Grade Tea…
Making the Grade Happy New Year to all. May 2019 bring you prosperity, joy and, of course, much very fine tea. Speaking of fine tea, it does not take a great deal of online searching to find a host of vendors offering Taiwanese “competition” tea, or “competition...
Continuing Education: Reflections on a Trip to Taiwan
My general practice is to write on Taiwan tea history, or to babble on about some issue or other that I think is worthy of an opinion. This month however, I will focus on some of the things I have experienced on my just completed trip to Taiwan.A lesson learned anew:...
Of Green Hearts, Black Dragons and Soft Stems: A Look at “Qing Xin Wulong”
The Cultivar Qing xin wulong is the most widely planted cultivar in Taiwan and it is used in the production of some of that nation’s finest and most expensive teas. If you enjoy a good Lishan it will almost certainly be qing xin wulong. The same is true...
Counterfeit Tea and What You Can Do About It
Hey, can you change a hundred? That was a regular question back when I had a “brick and mortar” business. Happily I never did get stuck with a bad note but it certainly could have happened. Today so many things are counterfeited; money, of course, but...
Drinking Tea “Properly”
Tea is naught but this: First you heat the water, Then you make the tea. Then you drink it properly. That is all you need to know. Sen no Rikyu I recently came across the above lines immortalized by Sen no Rikyu, the great master of the Japanese tea...