Mr. Zhang Liang & Tongmu Village

The second tea maker that we visited in Fujian was a bit harder to reach. Mr. Zhang Liang lives in the restricted village of Tongmu. Anyone who visits needs permission to enter the UNESCO protected site - especially foreigners. Thankfully, Winnie called ahead and had some strings pulled for us. 

Mr. Zhang Liang is one of the skilled artisans in Tongmu who creates authentic "Lapsang Souchong" (Zheng Shan Xiao Zhong) tea using the original pine smoking method. While "Lapsang" is famous around the world, the only true Zhengshan Xiao Zhong comes from the wild bushes around this remote village.

Exploring Wuyi, Fujian

During our time in Wuyi, besides meeting tea artisans, we were able also to visit many famous landmarks of this region known for its natural beauty. We rode bamboo rafts down the Nine Bend River (Jiuqu Xi), got close to some mischevious monkeys, explored an outdoor "tea museum," and walked to the mother trees of Dahongpao. One can really see why this area is sometimes refered to as the "Yosemite of China."

Mr. Lee's Baochong on Wen Mountain

Arriving in Taipei, I was absolutely ecstatic. I spent 3 months living in this bustling city, but at the time wasn't informed enough to enjoy its tea culture fully. This was my second chance, and I wasn't about to let it go without enjoying it.

Our tour woke early in the morning to clamber into a bus making its way up Mt. Wen: the lucious mountain known for its green and oolong teas. First, we met Mr. Lee, the award winning Baochong farmer. He was all smiles as he explained how he not only makes amazingly fresh tea year after year, but also develops tea candies from the fannings and tea honey from bees he keeps who feed to pollinate the tea flowers.

Mr. Chen & His Miraculous Plum & Honey Jia Longs

On the other side of Wen Mountain, there is another outstanding tea maker named Mr. Chen. He and his family are known for his secret method of making Jialong tea that tastes strongly of sweet honey. He's even pursuing a patent on his style, and at the moment he's developing a new flavor: plum! We were lucky enough to get a tour of Mr. Chen's fields from the man himself, and then returned to his store for lunch and tastings.

Mr. Chen's family help make this tea shop unique. His children's drawings wallpaper the store, and may of the containers for the tea are also individually decorated. They also run a vegetarian restaurant. I got to try tea-centric dishes that I'd never before imagined existed! Temura fried Baochong leaves, noodles and spring rolls fried in oil from tea nuts... it was all delicious.

Two Zhuangs at Sun Moon Lake

On our second day in Taiwan, we travelled down the western coast of the island towards a place called Sun Moon Lake. Sun Moon Lake is famous in the tea world for being where Taiwanese artists tried to cultivate black Assam teas... and repeatedly failed. The Assam plants didn't suit the Taiwanese climate, and the growing styles were too different from those used in India. Enter Mr Zhuang and the Taiwan Tea Experiment Station! Through scientific advances, the Station was able to create crossbred bushes that could survive on the island, and Mr Zhuang - the young protege from Sun Moon Lake - is extremely skilled at making delicious teas out of them.

When we arrived a Mr Zhuang shared some amazingly well aged Ruby Red teas with us, as well as some "dragon eye" fruits. He was quiet and extremely knowledgeable about the development processes. I thought this was treat enough, but soon he was explaining that it was his son that had won awards for his teas multiple years in a row. The gifted son returned and showed us some of his new creations, while his father decorated our bags with impeccable calligraphy.

"Taiwan Beauty" Herself - Ms Lin

Continuing down the western coast of the island, we eventually reached Miaoli. Here, high on a  humid  hilltop we found Ms Lin's tea centre. Before we met Ms Lin, Winnie, our tour leader, had warned us that she must be a sort of immortal vampire because she does dozens of things with amazing skill and never seems to age. At first, this sounded a little bit crazy, but after the visit I think she might be right.

We toured Ms Lin's teaching facilities (she runs a tea education program), saw her state of the art tea processing areas, tasted tea brewed by her students, stuffed ourselves with a feast in her exclusive restaurant (some of the best dishes I've ever had), viewed the original paper art boxes she made, and enjoyed a private tasting with the master where we got to hear some insights into her own opinions on Taiwanese tea. Ms Lin is also unique because it is unusual for women to run tea production in China or Taiwan because it is traditionally a male job. She was simultaneously intimidating and inviting, and left me in complete awe.

Mrs Su's Charcoal Pits

Our final stop in Taiwan was Tung Ting Mountain, where we would meet two interconnected tea makers. Tung Ting is known throughout Taiwan for its high mountain teas, which are classified by the elevation at which they are grown because of the mountain mists keeping the leaves soft. Most people living in the mountain towns seemed to have some sort of connection to the tea business. But Mrs Su stood out as both an artisan and a community leader. She's known in her village for her charcoal pits (for wilting the high quality tea leaves), and for her generosity. 

When we arrived at her house late at night, she quickly ushered us in, and let us try everything from newly finished Charcoal Tung Ting to some of her special tea from her marriage! Later she'd bring us fruits from the nearby fields where she'd been working, and show us her pits.  I couldn't believe how accommodating she was being for a bunch of foreigners who, for the most part, couldn't even talk to her. But it makes sense given that she's also someone who took in orphaned children around the village and did rounds to make sure that her neighbours' charcoal pits were also firing properly every day.

Mr. Wu's Tea in the Sky

Near Tung Ting, in a national park called Sanlinshe that soars at even higher altitudes, we met the final tea maker on our tour: Mr Wu. We joined him in more of a factory than a tasting room setting, but the surroundings could not have been more beautiful. the high mountain teas are not dubbed such without reason. All the nearby factories straddled some of the steepest inclines I'd ever seen. This is perfect for the delicate tea leaves because they're constantly bathed in passing mountain clouds, keeping them extremely soft.

Mr Wu ran a tough ship atop the mountain, but all of the workers seemed to be having a good time. He continuously called for them to bring him samples of the tea as it progressed through the rolling process to make sure that it was reacting the right way. He shared teas with us that had only been rolled,  some that had gone through multiple rounds and were getting more developed, and some new flavors he was experimenting with.