Taiwan Tea Questions

For general/other topics related to tea.


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Mar 26th, '14, 19:10
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Taiwan Tea Questions

by 茶藝-TeaArt08 » Mar 26th, '14, 19:10

Greetings friends!

On April 2nd I leave to Taiwan to spend five weeks sourcing tea, traveling the mountains, visiting family and friends, studying tea with my teacher, and visiting Tea Sage Hut, meeting with teaware artisans, amongst other things. I've noticed in the boards at certain times that various questions come up around Taiwan tea and the tea process.

In another thread there was a question about the safety of Taiwanese ceramics, something I've looked into deeply on my own since then, debunking, for my own standards, any unnecessary concerns there.

I will be in Taiwan for the Spring harvest, though I've heard cold weather has pushed some of the harvesting back two weeks. I'm curious if anyone has any questions that I can add to my own internal list of questions to discuss with my teacher, with Tea Sage Hut, and with tea producers that I meet. For this trip I will be traveling alone without my wife and son and will also be meeting up with Petr and with Daniel from Darjeeling.cz. I am really looking forward to the possibilities of the trip and will be checking back into the boards while I travel.

Blessings!

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Mar 27th, '14, 00:53
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Re: Taiwan Tea Questions

by Tead Off » Mar 27th, '14, 00:53

Give Petr and Daniel my regards, please. Have fun. :D

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Mar 27th, '14, 05:55
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Re: Taiwan Tea Questions

by William » Mar 27th, '14, 05:55

It will be a wonderful trip, TeaArt! :D

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Mar 27th, '14, 07:47
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Re: Taiwan Tea Questions

by bliss » Mar 27th, '14, 07:47

One question I have is regarding the safety of workers who pick the really high altitude gaoshan teas in Taiwan. I heard that above a certain altitude (was it ~1700m?) the risk of mud slides is really high. The tea vender who said this did not sell really high altitude gaoshan tea for this reason (although that might just be a convenient excuse for not being able to source it). Don't know what to make of it, so please enlighten me.

There is the thread about the documentary concerning Taiwan called Beyond Beauty, but so far no one has replied. It seems like it might be reinforcing what I mentioned hearing above.

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Mar 29th, '14, 03:54
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Re: Taiwan Tea Questions

by 茶藝-TeaArt08 » Mar 29th, '14, 03:54

Teadoff, indeed, I will.

William, I've been in the shop lately and will send you some photos if I can before I leave of the recent work.

Bliss,
I have talked by email with some producers in the Nantou region and am hoping to get up into Shanlinxi. I've also talked with Petr about taking the Central Island Hwy. and getting up into the Lishan area to visit the surrounding peaks. I have many questions about the process there in regards to the gaoshan harvest. For instance, a Taiwanese gentleman whom I connected with at last year's World Tea Expo, whose family are forth generation tea growers said that any true high peak gaoshan teas will have some pesticides on them at some point, no matter what, because the crop is too valuable to risk and the harvests too few. This is an example of something I'd like to look into and verify for myself.

I have purposely been holding off on seeing the movie and will buy the DVD when in Taiwan. My former training is in Deep Ecology and there is an ecological awakening taking place throughout the island evidenced in the many LOHAS spaces that sell and promote organic products and in a deepening Taiwanese consciousness awakening to the beauty and value of Isla Formosa. Even the Taiwanese Buddhist organization Tzu Chi really pushes an organic and sustainable approach to living. As well, there are professors writing on the ideas of island sustainability that are borrowing, ironically, from authors such as Gary Snyder, George Sessions, Wendell Berry and others. There is always talk of the destructiveness of various agricultural products on the land and the effect that erosion plays in the frequent mud/landslides that occur during fierce Typhoons. Taiwan, given its seismic activity and loose landscape seems prone to the effects of erosion and I am curious to walk some of the upper gardens myself. I have seen the slides myself when in Taiwan during Typhoon season. I have visited various mid-elevation gardens in the past around Alishan and other areas but never the high gardens.

I have many focused intentions around this trip and am grateful for any other thoughts or questions others might have that might enlarge my own inquiries while I sit with my teacher and others on this trip.

Blessings!

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Mar 29th, '14, 05:43
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Re: Taiwan Tea Questions

by William » Mar 29th, '14, 05:43

茶藝-TeaArt08 wrote: William, I've been in the shop lately and will send you some photos if I can before I leave of the recent work.
Great! Many thanks. :D

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