Saturday, December 26, 2015

We do wedding favors!


Taiwan Oolong is such a wonderful choice for Wedding Favors project!

Josephine and her Giftea Team will make sure newly weds will be happy and proud to present their party favors at the Big Moments of theirs!

Besides Wedding Favors, Birthday Party Favors, Business Gifteas, and many Celebratory Occasions... We can work for your projects effectively!








Friday, December 25, 2015

Afternoon Tea of our Christmas 2015


Our afternoon tea of Christmas Day 2015 -
What do we have here ?

Paoli Tung-Ting 80458 that I baked 10 days ago...
paired with yummy Cream Puff that Karen made (*with custard & strawberry filling).





Wednesday, December 23, 2015

Oh! My PonFonCha! (Hakka Tea Song)




"Shouldering Buckets" is a popular Taiwan Hakka folk song, often to be happily sung while Hakka friends are working very hard...a typical Taiwan Hakka spirit!

I am shouldering buckets (Hey! Hey!)
with a bamboo pole (Ho He Hey!)
Carrying the bamboo pole from the middle (Hey! Hey!)
and both ends drop.
==================================

Just about two weeks ago at our Hakka Toastmasters Meeting, I changed the lyrics and use it to appreciate my favorite tea - "Oriental Beauty".
Here it is:

"Oh! My PonFonCha!"

It is tea time (Hey! Hey!)
I will like to have a cup of PonFonCha (Ho He Hey!)
One sprout and two tender leaves are floating...
Oh! I am fond of its unique taste!

Green leaf hoppers (Hey! Hey!)
visited our tea garden (Ho He Hey!)
Provided the natural honey touch in the cup,
so no other teas can compare to it.
It is my favorite...PonFonCha.

(sing in Hakka Taiwanese)
飲茶要飲囉 (Hey! Hey!)
膨風茶 呐 (Ho He Hey!)
一心兩葉來漂漂
飲落喉囉 介 著一驚 吶

綠色介浮塵子 (Hey! Hey!)
來訪問 吶 (Ho He Hey!)
留下特殊介蜜香
無得比啊 介 膨風茶 吶


Click on this youtube by TeaGuy on 2011 World Tea Expo



Friday, December 11, 2015

Taiwan Oolong Tea Songs

Over a very easy weekend (*which is indeed hard to get for us...), I have re-edited some of the following tea songs' lyrics.


1.) Wenshan Pouchong:


             ( Youtube link )

2.) Jade Oolong:

 
3.) Classic Tung-Ting:
           ( Youtube Link )

4.) Amber Oolong: TieGuanYin:
            ( Youtube Link  )

5.) Oriental Beauty:
            ( Youtube Link )

6.) Taitung Oolong:
           ( Youtube Link  )


7.) Formosa Bonita:
              ( Youtube Link )

Monday, October 19, 2015

New 'American Tea Room' in Down Town L.A.


10/8/2015 evening, Josephine and I arrived in downtown Los Angeles.
Congratulations to our friend, David Barenholtz, on his beautiful 'American Tea Room' grand opening!
Very nice tea bar and seating area, it is modern and cozy.... And good tea too!!

I will say this definitely is a new landmark for our tea industry!

 
 Tea information on the big touch screen


'Starbucks Reserve Roastery & Tasting Room' in Seattle's Capital Hills

After our presentations in 2015 Northwest Tea Festival, we decided to pay a visit to the legendary yet still quiet new 'Starbucks Reserve Roastery & Tasting Room' on Capital Hills. 
We are very impressed and also admire the idea... and who won't be?

For Taiwan Oolong, it is about time to have professional designed 'Oolong Tasting Room' with all sorts of DIY workshops, for the tea lovers to visit, having fine Oolongs plus fun learning.  I believe Tai3Route will be such a great tea district to launch.

I hope these photos will inspire some of our tea friends.

 



Thursday, October 15, 2015

Harmony tea mug and Harmony teapot

Enjoy fine Taiwan Oolong with Harmony tea mug., or serve with Harmony Teapot.
Please see this YouTube link for an overview.

 TE-012N  (Harmony tea mug, 12 oz)
TE-046 (Harmony teapot, 12 oz)

Wednesday, October 14, 2015

Finding the Harmony Codes

A few similar questions from our tea friends about Harmony Codes that I often mention, and why using these glass teapots in my cupping room?

We do standardized cupping with the traditional cupping sets for Black tea and Green tea.
We do Taiwan Oolong standardized cupping with TTMA standard cupping sets (*slightly larger than traditional cupping sets as Taiwan Oolong tends to unfurl with larger leaves.)

When standardized cupping- every one can has his/her set combination on amount of leaf, water temperature, steeping time - to do the cupping in consistency. So we can give a better evaluation on each tea we are cupping.

Yet, to define the best tasting and try to bring the best of each tea...We will need to make some experiments of infusion tests... With these glass teapots, 3 oz/5 oz/12 oz, which are so much easier for me to find the proper steeping time... That is how I usually write my Harmony Codes. Some lightly oxidized oolong I tend to add more amount and shorter the steeping time...on the contrary, some higher oxidized oolong, I will have less leaf and longer steeping...


 TE-005P  (3 oz)
 TE-035  (5 oz)
 TE-029    (12 oz)

Tuesday, September 1, 2015

Time to sharpen your skill!

I wish I were there for the big Party!
8/27/2015 at Sun Moon Lake.
(*thanks to my FB friend 李韋梆 for these two photos.)

 
Every farmer has his/her own tea sample to be cupped and to have comments from others... That is the most humble and effective way to sharpen the skill and making improvement. The details and tricks, from Garden to the Finish, time to be examined and to be open-minded to learn.  I believe this is a wonderful job training and will benefit all, including our consumers.

Hey, they are lucky to learn from the BEST. I think so and believe so as he is our TOST coach, too. Or, should I say ONE of the BEST !

 

Monday, August 31, 2015

Roots healthily, grows vigorously!

October 2014, Josephine and I visited Lishan tea district. Our good friend, Mr. Johnny Tu is very generous to lead us to see his tea factory, tea plantation...
On this photo, Johnny is sharing with us a tea-tip:
"How tall tea bushes are, 
expecting their healthy roots will penetrate the same depth under the ground."

"樹有多高,根就有多深。
根深入地底愈深,茶樹愈健康。
牠能吸收到更多的
茶氣與微量元素,根愈深氣愈強,乾旱時才能吸收地底下的水,深深抓住土壤,不讓牠流失。"   This is a feedback from a tea specialist, Master Lan, known as 南方嘉木.

Maybe, it is a humble suggestion to every tea professional.