Tea 4 U

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Taiwan Tea Study Tour June 2009

2009-07-13T15:34:00.125-04:00

From June 20 - June 30th I participated in the Taiwan Tea Study Tour and invite you to join me virtually on this extraordinary journey into the beautiful tea fields in Taiwan and to the factories where we learned to process newly plucked tealeaves into wonderful oolong teas.

If a picture tells a thousand words, will a thousand pictures tell the whole story? I hope my photos will inspire you to dig deeper into Taiwan teas. Enjoy!

Organizers: Thomas Shu, ABC Tea, San Marino, CA and Josephine Pan, Organic Teas Only, San Marino, CA

Participants: Kirsten Kristensen, Tea 4 U, LLC, Ocean, NJ; Robert Krul, CTC Brewt Corporation, Winnipeg, Manitoba Canada; Cory Krul, Cornelia Bean Ltd. Winnipeg, MB, Canada; Ken Rudee, Barnes & Watson Fine Teas, Mercer Island, WA; Richard and Richy Sakuma, Sakuma Bros. Farms Inc., Burlington, WA; Greg Smith, Student, Carrboro, NC; Elise Scott, Pearl Fine Teas, Washington D.C.

Sponsor: Taiwan Tea Manufacturers Association (TTMA) represented by Jackson Huang, Senior Advisor, TTMA, ABC Teas, Taiwan; Norman Shu, Chairman, TTMA; Ted Fan, Secretary General, TTMA; Professor David Liao

Saturday-Sunday, June 20-21, 2009

To join the Study Group I left Newark, NJ at 11:10 am and arrived in Tokyo (Narita), Japan the next day at 01:55 pm. After a 3 hour stop in Narita I left Japan at 4:50 pm and arrived in Taipei, Taiwan at 7:25 pm. Total travel time: 22 hrs. In Taipei Airport I was met by a limo driver who took me to Dong Wu Hotel in Taipei, Taiwan, Sunday evening where I joined my roommate Elise Scott from Pearl Fine Teas, excited to begin this exciting journey into the world of tea.

Monday, June 22, 2009

We left the hotel at 8 am to avoid the worst morning traffic. First stop was at the Wenshan Tea Garden teashop in Shenkeng, an old tea town in the Wenshan area famous for their Pouchong teas. We were served two Pouchong teas, the first an early spring, the second a later spring tea, and finally a GaBa tea (a non-oxigen tea) which is considered a medicinal tea, great for hangovers.

Wenshan Tea Garden teashop in Shenkeng old town, Wenshan area

Next stop was at TRES – the Taiwan Research and Extension Station, the Wenshan branch, where we were met by the crew ready to teach us how to make Pouchong tea. Processing the tea took more than eight hours, so while the tea withered we were lectured in the special Taiwan cultivars of Camellia sinensis including an extensive tea tasting. In the afternoon we were interviewed by a local TV station who inquired about our interests and backgrounds in tea. After a late dinner we returned to our hotel exhausted after a long day’s work in the hot and humid environment.

Pouchong (Baozhong) tea processing at TRES, Wenshan Branch in Pinglin

“Butt Tea”

Thomas told us how to make ‘butt tea’ and naturally I had to try it. Plucked a handful of ‘two-leaves-and-a-bud’s from the TRES organic tea garden during our visit after lunch and put them in my front pocket. Left them there for the rest of the day and ‘discovered’ them when we got back to the hotel in the evening. Made a cup with the ‘worn’ leaves that was surprisingly good! Oh, how I felt like Shen Nung, some 5,000 years ago!

Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Leaving the hotel we were met by the Taipei morning traffic: hundreds of mopeds. As soon as we got out of Taipei the countryside showed a plethora of landscapes: spring onions, rice fields, temples, banana plantations, etc. We spent the morning at Ben Mountain Tea Garden in a little Hakka village near Yilan City enjoying prize winning teas and spectacular views of the high grown tea gardens.

The afternoon was spent at the National Center for Traditional Arts in Wujie Township, Yilan County. The cultural center featured many traditional arts and crafts from Taiwan’s history. I hadn’t had dragon beard candy since we lived in Hong Kong in the beginning of the 1990s. See here how it is made:

Tea at “19 Tea House”

The evening offered a visit to a local tea artist and teashop in the old part of Taipei called 19 Tea House. We had a great discussion of his unique concept of offering tea in a cup in the same size as the Yixing teapot compared to traditional Taiwan tea taking and teashops generally.

Wednesday, June 24, 2009

At 8 am we left Taipei with the 2-hour “Taroko Express” train to Hualien City. We were met by a tour bus ready to take us on a sightseeing trip to the spectacular Taroko Gorge marble mountain cliffs in Taroko National Park.

Visit at Taroko National Park

Heading south along the Pacific Ocean we stopped at the Pine Gardens which used to be a resort place for suicide bombing soldiers before heading towards Pearl Harbor during WWII. They enjoyed earthly pleasures with the help of Geishas. Young artist Lin Ren-hsin exhibited his interpretation of the suicide bombers through special butterflies.

Stop at Pine Gardens

Visit at the Dancing Crane Tea District in Rueisuei

Thursday, June 25, 2009

After spending the night at the beautiful natural hot spring hotel we left for another busy day in tea processing at TRES, Taitung Branch.

Luminous Hot Spring Resort & Spa

Visiting TRES, Taitung Branch

Processing of Honey Green Tea at TRES, Taitung

Lunch at nearby tea restaurant and visit to ‘Burgundy tea” house

How to make Tuo Cha – Pressed tea

Walking tour through TRES Organic Tea Garden

Five hour train trip from Luye to Taipei

Friday, June 26, 2009

Back again in Taipei we would only do a short trip this morning to the north-western part of Taiwan in Longtan, Hsinchu County to make the famous white tip oolong, also called “Oriental Beauty.”

Oriental Beauty – Step 1 – plucking of tea leaves

Oriental Beauty – Step 2 – outdoor withering

Lunch break and visit to Fu Yuan Tea Manufactory On our way to lunch we stopped by Josephine Pan’s grandmother’s place and paid her a quick visit. It seems that she holds the secret to a long and healthy life. Being well in her 90s she lives all by herself and even maintains her own vegetable garden.

Fu Yuan Tea Manufactory is owned by Ted Fan’s sister’s family. They make tea for the lower end domestic market, e.g. RTD and are specialists in pomello tea, a health drink great for treating colds (which I happened to suffer from that day).

Visit at TRES, Yangmei, Taoyuan Branch

Oriental Beauty – Step 3 – tea processing

Saturday, June 27, 2009

Today’s program was to visit the ceramics town Yingge. We visited two stores and did our shopping, enabling us to present a Taiwan Tea Ceremony in a proper Taiwan way. After a bus-lunch (Taiwanese MacDonald’s!) we reached Norman’s factory where an extensive tea tasting had been prepared for us. On the way back we stopped by the old Formosa Black Tea Co, which is now a museum run by Mr. Ching-Shih Lou. Mr Ching-Shih prepared an educational tour for us through his warehouse and showrooms including a tea tasting and tea covered rice cakes.

Visit to the ceramics town Yingge near Taoyuan City

Visit to and tea tastings at Sha Ken Tea Manufactory

Visit to the Formosa Black Tea Company and Tea Museum

Closing Ceremony

Sunday, June 28, 2009

Even though the official program ended Saturday evening, TTMA had arranged a special walking tour Sunday morning through the old streets of Taipei. Thomas’ brother Jackson Huang vividly explained how the tea used to be loaded from ships and transported to warehouses located at the first street in the old part of the town near the shipyard and the Tea Association’s mansion. In the afternoon Josephine took some of us shopping at the street markets in the newer part of Taipei and we all met in the sophisticated shopping center “Taipei 101” with the 101-storey tall sightseeing tower.

Walking tour in the old part of Taipei

Shopping tour and visit to “Taipei 101” in the new part of Taipei

Monday, June 29, 2009

Monday was departure day for most of us and we were picked up in limos to drop us off at our individual flights back to the U.S. Even the Taipei airport offered tea experiences. It truly shows how proud the Taiwanese are of their teas. The airport had several teashops with tea tastings and tempting tea flavored cakes/cookies. Japan offered only a minor kiosk with a few Japanese teas for sale, but had matcha-flavored KitKat chocolate.

This has been a significant trip in my life as a Tea Coach. It was a fantastic experience to get so close to the origin of tea and to meet the people behind the process. Our eight study tour participants made a great group with good interaction and valuable discussions. The arrangement of the tour by Thomas Shu and Josephine Pan was beyond expectations and imaginations. And without the support from TTMA (The Taiwanese Tea Manufacturers Association) we wouldn't have been able to enter the many doors that were opened to encourage our education in Taiwan Teas.

Hugs and thanks to all of you! Three hearts!

Kirsten

Inauguration Tea

2009-01-20T16:16:00.005-05:00

HAPPY INAUGURATION DAY!

While congratulating our new President Barack Obama we enjoy a wonderful cup of our new patriotic President's Blend. Ingredients: Black tea, Rooibos, red rose petals, blue corn flower petals, white almond flakes. Blended in honor of President Obama.

We hope you enjoy this historic day. Yours in Tea, Kirsten PS. Check out the plates that the president and his guests had their luncheon on this noon (so did we!): http://inaugural.senate.gov/luncheon/china.cfm

The Calm-A-Sutra of Tea MASTER

2009-01-08T16:57:00.009-05:00

HOW Do You Drink Tea?

This is the question students were asked to compete for a prestigeous $20,000 scholarship sponsored by Tea USA. According to the official site "The Calm-A-Sutra of Tea is a nationwide search for the most unique and creative way to drink tea and and to further educate the public on the health benefits of drinking tea, specifically black, green, white and oolong tea, which are all from the Camellia sinensis plant." I encourage you to enjoy the best of the diverse and creative 2 min. U-tubes by the next generation of tea drinkers: http://www.teausa.org/calmasutra/index.cfm Yours in Tea!

Kirsten

Tea and Fish - a healthy mouthful!

2008-10-29T09:16:00.006-04:00

I just found this interesting new research on the good relationship between fish and tea. If you drink tea (black or green) while you eat fish that may contain mercury, research indicates that the tea may positively inhibit the absorption of mercury.

And then add slices of lemon to the fish (and/or the tea) and enhance the bioavailability of the healthy benefits of tea!

This should encourage cooking with fish, tea, and citrus fruits. What a healthy mouthful!

Yours in Tea!

Kirsten

Here is the abstract:

Impact of phytochemical-rich foods on bioaccessibility of mercury from fish, Food Chemistry, Volume 112, Issue 1, 1 January 2009, Pages 46-50Soon-Mi Shim, Mario G. Ferruzzi, Young-Cheul Kim, Elsa M. Janle, Charles R. Santerre

The effects of phytochemical-rich foods on bioaccessibility of mercury in fish tissue (the amount of mercury that is released from fish into gastrointestinal tract fluid following a simulated digestion) were investigated using an in vitro digestion. Total mercury in the aqueous phase following a simulated digestion of fish with added food treatments was used to measure mercury bioaccessibility. Green tea extract (31–2000 mg), black tea extract (31–2000 mg), and soy protein (50–100 mg) significantly reduced mercury bioaccessibility by 82–92%, 88–91%, and 44–87%, respectively. Grapefruit juice (0.5–10 ml) did not reduce mercury in the aqueous phase. Wheat bran (50–1000 mg) decreased mercury bioaccessibility (84%); oat bran and psyllium reduced bioaccessibility (by 59–75%, 15–31%, respectively) at amounts greater than 500 mg. We therefore suggest that co-consumption of foods containing phytochemicals at the same time as fish that contains mercury may potentially reduce mercury absorption compared to eating fish alone.

Excellent educational tea movies online

2008-10-21T13:19:00.002-04:00

I invite you to tune in for an amazing experience online – but make yourself a good cup of tea first (you will crave it), and be prepared to spend at least an hour in this great company.

http://www.samovartea.com/html/lounge/teatv.cfm (start from the bottom, that’s the introduction – and move upwards).

These movies are amazing! Very well made, educational and beautiful. Enjoy and share them – and tea - with your friends and family. Yours in Tea! Kirsten http://www.tea4u.com/

2-year College Project "Three Cups of Tea" COMPLETED!

2008-06-26T20:15:00.003-04:00

I am so happy to announce that TODAY we - the students and alumni at Brookdale - have reached our goal: raised $35,000 towards a school in Pakistan/Afghanistan through Central Asia Institute! Jesse Beutell, the new President of PTK and I just went to Commercebank and emptied 32 c-banks to finalize the "Spare Your Change for Change" campaign! This completed the project and we have now raised $35,008.26 to be exact! A check will be sent to Central Asia Institute so they can begin scheduling our school project. It is a great day, exactly two years since we had our initial luncheon with Brookdale's President Dr. Peter Burnham who questioned if we would be able to go through with a project of this kind. WE DID IT! THANKS to a lot of students in Phi Theta Kappa, Alumni members, and wonderful people at Brookdale and in our community. "Knowledge is Power - Three Cups of Tea" is truly a project where we have proven that every penny counts. And we are showing that students and alumni together can make a difference – and leave a legacy: A school will be built in Central Asia in the name of Brookdale College. THANKS, THANKS, THANKS for all your efforts. Asalaam Alaikum – Peace be with you – and the children we will make sure get an education for many years to come.

Kirsten Kristensen - Service Project Coordinator, 1st Vice President, Brookdale Alumni Association

The Elegant Eccentric Teapot

2008-06-26T12:00:00.005-04:00

Are you into teapots? If so, you may enjoy "The Elegant Eccentric Teapot" juried art exhibition at the Barron Arts Center, 582 Rahway Ave. in Woodbridge, NJ. The exhibition runs from June 13th - July 3rd, 2008 and is open Mon-Fri 11 am - 4 pm, Sat-Sun 2-4 pm. The exhibition is curated by my good friend in tea, Food Historian and Tea Specialist Judith Krall-Russo. The exhibition shows 50 art pieces all around the teapot from 2D-3D and with a broad variety in style. Great pieces are exhibited by my tea friends, Gerda Liebmann and Julian Landa. Enjoy!

FifTea Celebration, June 21st

2008-06-24T21:30:00.013-04:00

This weekend called for celebration. I was blessed with friends and colleagues helping me celebrate my turn of a half-century in honor of our "Knowledge is Power - Three Cups of Tea" project (http://www.3cupsoftea-brookdale.info/). We are so very close to reach our goal: $35,000 towards a school in Pakistan/Afghanistan in the name of Brookdale College. With the last funds coming in we should be able to send the final check to Central Asia Institute by the end of this week. YES! We did it!

Several teas were enjoyed during the FifTea: Welcome Tea, Formal Afternoon Garden Tea, Royal Tea Dance, Three Cups of Tea, and High Tea.

In lieu of gifts guests were asked to donate to the project and/or bring a teacup for our Three Cups of Tea table. Wonderful and creative cups were given - such treasures - that will be used for great tea times for years to come. One cup was accompanied by a beautiful painting of it by Gerda Liebmann. And then there was this other gift: Wine and wine glasses engraved with Tea 4 U. Most certainly the only Tea Coach wine in this world! The wine will certainly be enjoyed - but the bottle treasured forever. Want one? Final Cut of Ocean, NJ can help you. They are experts (and great friends and tea drinkers, too.) http://www.finalcut.com/, 732.493.1737, ask for Jack Miller.

True Teas at the Backdoor Cafe

2008-03-03T22:41:00.004-05:00

Today was the official opening of the Backdoor Cafe in Tinton Falls. Great place to go for breakfast, brunch or lunch. They specialize in Cajun foods as buffet (for only $4.95!), but have something for everyone a la carte as well - and guess what: real teas! (Okay, I am biased. Yes, the teas are from Tea 4 U.)

Come and enjoy this great place owned by hostess Flo Gill and chef Howard Jim Montgomery. The cafe is at the back (therefore Backdoor!) of the office building on 106 Apple Street, Tinton Falls, NJ, tel. 732.224.9980, open Mon-Fri. 8 am - 3 pm.

Appreciation of Tea and Friends

2008-02-26T07:45:00.010-05:00

What a nice surprise to get a belated holiday gift with home-made strawberry preserve and new tea accessories. The do-it-yourself teabag is held by a beautiful pewter-covered grapevine twig from http://www.clay-company.com/, made in the USA - using objects found in nature. What is better than enjoying a cup of Danish "hygge-te" (cozy tea) from A.C. Perch - from my visit last year - thinking of good friends in North Carolina (thanks Parul and Nate!) in our 80 Deg.F warm sunroom viewing the birds and the garden nicely covered in snow.

Life is uhmm .. good - tea good!

Kirsten

Run for Tea

2008-02-25T16:53:00.000-05:00

Usually we tea people are known to be calm creatures, being soothed by the devine benefits of the tea, however, this is not always the case - not among the monks in Tibet: This award winning photo of the 2007 Costo International Photo Contest was just published in the Costo Connections magazine, March 2008. It was taken by a Taiwanese woman who was in Tibet in May 2007 and saw this young lama run accros the courtyard into the temple to make tea for an elder lama. Shu-Yu Liu got first prize of $2,500. Beautifully captured moment. I will walk out to my kitchen and make myself a nice cup of tea - actually I will make a Pu'erh mini tuocha in honor of the lamas in Tibet. I hope they don't have to stress every day to please the older lamas. Yours in Tea, Kirsten

Welcome to Tea 4 U!

2008-02-23T18:29:00.000-05:00

Welcome to my Tea blog, welcome to my new HP computer, and welcome to our new website for Tea 4 U. Lots of improvements happen at the same time, and I excuse if some links, photos, or information are missing. We are working on creating a unity and I am looking forward to this step up in the virtual era. I will be sharing experiences and news of tea on this blog. Please feel free to comment or share ideas. Yours in Tea! Kirsten