More than “just” Oolong: a journey into the world of Taiwanese teas
Off to Taiwan!
In October I will be visiting the “Beautiful Island” for the first time. To get you in the travel mood by then, and at the same time share my passion for the variety of Taiwanese teas with you, this newsletter is (almost) entirely dedicated to the topic of Taiwanese tea.
Some of you will have noticed on Instagram or YouTube: Taiwan is currently pretty high on my list. So I’m all the more pleased that I’ll finally have the chance to travel there myself in October!
My travel plans are still in their early stages – but since I’ll probably be there for the tea harvest, it’s a no-brainer to attend. The fields and production facilities of two tea farms run by friends in the Lishan and Alishan regions are already on my list.
From white tea to oolong to black tea
Teas from Taiwan for everyone’s taste
To help you discover Taiwanese teas, I have added new recommendations to the Where to Buy Good Tea list on my website. Whether you are looking for Taiwanese white tea, a light or dark oolong – or a full-blown black tea: there should be something on my list for everybody’s taste.
Tea focus
«Ruby 18 Black» (台茶18號紅玉紅茶) • Black tea, Taiwan
Sun Moon Lake Ruby #18 Black Tea, also known as Sun Moon Lake Ruby Black, originates from the picturesque shores of Taiwan’s Sun Moon Lake. Its defining characteristic lies in the use of the Taiwanese “Ruby” cultivar, scientifically known as TRES #18.
This cultivar results from a fascinating hybridization: the large-leaved Burmese B-929 cultivar serves as the mother, while Taiwan’s native wild B-607 tea tree acts as the father. The name “ruby” aptly reflects the tea’s infusion colour: a rich ruby-red hue.
(*) This link will lead you to xianchatea.com, an online tea store based in Berlin, Germany that specialises in high quality Taiwanese teas. Thanks to my affiliate agreement with them, you will get 10% off on your first purchase on their online store by using my affiliate links or the check-out code THOMASTALKSTEA. I will receive a small commission on each sale made this way.
Online seminar: «Introduction to the World of Tea»
Welcome to my little “online tea school”: In order to be able to share my passion for tea with you at affordable prices regardless of location, I am now offering selected tea seminars as a special online format.
Let’s start with one of my most popular events: «Introduction to the world of tea». With this virtual format, I bring my Tea 101 seminar right to your kitchen table at home.
While the educational bits about tea production, tea culture, etc. are identical to the on-site «Basics: Journey into the world of tea», in this special format, instead of the usual tea tasting, I invite participants to “bring” their own teas and accessories and put them on the virtual table along with their questions about tea and tea preparation.
Highlights:
- Basic knowledge of cultivation, harvesting and processing
- Discussion of different varieties from white tea to Pu-Erh
- Preparation tips for enjoying tea in everyday life
Duration: 90 minutes
Location: virtual seminar space (via Zoom)
Mindfulness in the workplace: team events & workshops on tea in the office
New ideas from tried and tested rituals: In addition to my local tea seminars, I offer specially tailored workshops and team events that show how integrating tea into the workplace can contribute to a more mindful environment.
Tea is more than just a drink. How taking time to cherish a cup of tea can help you find a moment of reflective calm between a marathon meeting and to-do list – that’s what I report on in my tea workshops and team events with tips and tricks for tea drinking in hectic everyday life.
From entertaining tea workshops on the sidelines of your team event to more compact formats for your lunch break with exciting facts about the world of tea and inspiration for a little tea break with your colleagues: I would be happy to enrich your next team event with a tea workshop that will be as educational as it will be inspiring – or with an exclusive tea tasting.
Thank you for reading!
As always, I welcome feedback, suggestions and criticism of (almost) any kind. Otherwise, I look forward to seeing you again next time – be it here in the newsletter or on site in the tea seminar or team workshop.
This time I would like to end appropriately with my Chinese name: Lang Dexin (郎德信). Lang is of course simply the first syllable of my way-too-long surname; but Dexin … – as a first name, that doesn’t sound much like Thomas, does it? That’s right! I actually chose this specific name, since it is associated with some very special memories:
Wang Dexin (王德信) is the original name of the Chinese dramatist and playwright of the Yuan Dynasty, Wang Shifu (王實甫). His music drama The West Chamber was first staged in German almost 20 years ago by Prof. Jürgen Kühnel (†) and his Studiobühne project at the University of Siegen – and I was appeared, in a double role, as the antagonists Sun Feihu (孫⾶虎) and Zheng Heng (鄭恆).
And with that: thank you. Until next time. Bye! Or, in Mandarin: Xièxiè. Xiàcì jiàn. Bài!
謝謝。下次見。拜！
