Tea from Wistaria and some personal thoughts

Wistaria - Signature Dong Ding Oolong

I've been mulling over what is to become of my little blog and whether "a" it was still a worthwhile endeavour and "b" whether I wanted to focus this blog a little more or leave it to be a mixture of things in my life.  I actually wrote this back in the middle of summer when I had several posts to write but never finished writing for various reasons.  And after writing I wanted to sit on it.  We'll,  I guess I sat for a very long time!

I do still think it's worthwhile for me to continue writing in this space but the focus part is the hard thing. I have thought about the type of content and when I first started blogging, I had a tea focused blog.  Then I gave that blog up and started this blog and one of my goals was to share things about my hobbies and what it was like living in Toronto through eating and social events.  But that quickly went to the wayside when soon after starting, I became a mother and priorities changed.  

I now realize I had too many hobbies and could not focus or really put my whole heart into them.

A pic from the past: Sewing coin purses and needle felting were among my hobbies.

I needed to come back to the initial reason for blogging. What I am really after when I think about blogging?  It was a space to practice writing and an opportunity for me to learn and share something.  

I came across a post on Medium about making 7 figures in 3 years and most of the time I ignore these types of titles (although a little more $$ is always nice, lol!), but I decided to skim through it because of a quote in the subtitle:

“Don’t be addicted to money. Work to learn. Don’t work for money. Work for knowledge.” — Robert Kiyosaki

Learning is something I enjoy doing (sounds kinda awkward to say, I know).  I'm the first to admit that I can be lazy at times because who wouldn't want to just sit back and drink tea all day?!  :)

But, I'm the little girl that wanted to go to kindergarten full day when it was only half day kindergarten and the school had to tell my mom to keep me home.  I took summer school to gain extra credits despite taking enough during the regular year.  I know, a little bit of a geek.  Today, it's much harder to learn when the reality of being an adult and parent doesn't allow for much personal learning aside from learning to "parent" or what might be needed for your job.  That type of learning never stops, but that type of learning is not solely for yourself.  The learning that I strive for is what grows me as a person and satisfies my innate need for something "new".

If you do read the above mentioned post, it talks about learning by teaching and I firmly believe it is a quick way to learn something and is how I often find something gets committed to my memory. 

So, here is where this blog comes in.  I continually try to gain time for TEA.  Learning about tea, preparing tea, and drinking tea.  I've also become much more attuned to the "tea experience" in which, tea accessories, tea snacks/desserts, flowers and plants, poetry and art all have a role in how we experience tea.  

I haven't worked out too much about what I'll be posting on and in some ways I think I have a fear of boxing myself in. I've even considered starting a whole new blog. However, for the time being I'm going to leave things as is with the goal to focus more on documenting my tea experience if it requires more than what I'd want to post on Instagram...whether it is just a collection of photos of a tea session, a post about a book I read, a recipe for something to go with tea, or maybe a more informative piece on tea, like tea and health.  My instagram @tiantiantea is already a tea based account so this would likely be more an extension of that - living a life of tea - are words that I've been thinking about.

While thinking about this blog, I enjoyed this Dong Ding Oolong tea from Wistaria Tea House in Taipei. They started taking online orders this year so I jumped at the chance to order a few items. Mmmm, thinking back I have to brew it again this weekend!

Beautiful colour and clarity

Large leaves, slightly oxidized.

After brewing, you can see how slightly agitating the leaves during production to create browning at the edges of the leaf creates such beauty.  I also came across a post on defining oolong tea as more than just mid-oxidized teas which is often what I would say to someone new to tea, but really, oolongs are about the gentle process as described here. So much more to oolong tea than just the oxidation level!

Till next time!

Tea and shades of purple

A few weeks ago sampling some sheng (raw) puer tea.

And trying to capture the afternoon light.

The young tea leaves

One morning this cherry plum tree stole my attention with it's blossoms. 

Enjoying the blossoms with a lightly oxidized oolong from Alishan...

...And used a plum blossom motif tea cup I bought on a whim prior to moving into our new home.

Some tiny ground flowers that sprung up 

Some started to wilt after several days.

I was never a flower or plant person...

..maybe it's age, 

maybe it's looking at life differently, 

maybe it's the surprise beauty and the uncertainty of when they will wither that makes me take time to admire them...

but I've come to think of them as "nice to have" these days.  

Especially with tea.

Picture Update

I've been taking pictures but have been quite preoccupied to post so here is a picture update of what I've been doing lately and some of the meals I've had recently...

Chrysanthemum honeysuckle tea and pineapple bun (BLB) with half slab of butter at Lucculus Bakery in downtown Markham. ..yum!

Red oolong from Thailand with a cranberry scone at home.  Enjoying the tea subscription from Thetea.pl and must do a dedicated post soon for their tea club!

Homemade gooseberry and sweet potato filled mochi/daifuku...still need practice but love the burst of tartness of the gooseberry.

Tried the Love Me Sweet chocolate cheese tart...pretty good.

Game of Cheese...a fusion pasta restaurant at Commerce Gate in Richmond Hill surprised us.  This spot has changed restaurants so many times that it seemed abnormal to see it so busy and with reserved tables!  Service was very polite.

Chicken and Duck Korean restaurant. ..enjoyed the side dishes (banchans) and the broths were comforting however the duck soup lacked quality duck pieces...mainly bones.

Lunch at home using leftovers. ..love adding pickled turnip and carrots to savoury dishes.

Aged tea....mmm.

Matcha bingsoo from The Cups on Yonge.  Thanks to my friend who came to enjoy this with me one hot afternoon! 

At the North York Centre farmers market held every Thursday. ..bought the sweetest cheddar from Monforte Dairy.

Enjoying a weekday lunch special at Ten Ren's Tea at Times Ave.

Made half decorated hedgehog cookies with some cookie cutters I bought a while ago.

That's it for now.  Hopefully I'll be able to do some more dedicated posts soon.

Latea Era - Cheese Crown...Ummmm what is that?

I haven't done a restaurant post in a long time since I've been busy these last few months and also been focusing on tea, so sticking with the tea theme, here is a new tea shop/house.

Latea Era - "The new era of tea" is their slogan.

I'm not too sure about that, but they are trying to do something a little different.

So what is a "cheese crown"?  It's their specialty cream cheese topped tea drinks which means a salty liquid cream cheese mix sits on top of tea.  It may sound gross, but it wasn't too bad and if you are a sweet and salty combo type person, this may appeal to you.

I didn't think I'd get the best tea here so opted for something pretty, the cheese crown rose oolong.  I had it hot but they do make it cold as well.  It did look pretty and the cheese did stay at the top for a very long time.  Overall I think it's like drinking a tea and your dessert at the same time, but the tea flavour isn't as strong as I'd hoped.  If you like the sea salt cream topping at other teashops, you may like this.

I'm not sure how the salty topping of tea really started but it may have been the coffee and dessert chain 85°C in Taiwan in 2008.  Maybe the trend dates back further but the chain offered coffee with a sea salt cream topping and when I had it in Taiwan in 2009, it was not bad - it was quite unique.  I believe tea followed after the success of coffee.

However, if you want to consider who initially added salt to tea, traditional Tibetan butter tea is made with brick tea (puer or black), (yak) butter and salt so this may be the first creation of tea with salt.

Anyway, for a few years now in Toronto, there are a number of locations offering this salted cream topping: Gong Cha, Share Tea, Chatime.  Latea Era also offers a salty cream topping but they go one step further and making a salty cream cheese topping.  I'm not sure of how many other places offer a cream cheese topping in Toronto but I have heard Happy Lemon does; I have yet to go.



The only thing is I don't know where this tea house comes from, how it originated, who started it, is it in other countries?  It just seemed to pop up and their website states it's their first North America location. In the last six months there has been numerous tea places that have popped up in Toronto; very exciting!

They brew their teas on the spot which can slow the line down but does ensure freshly brewed tea and their tea bags are on display.  If you want a regular bubble tea they do offer that, some fruit teas, and matcha options.  Their regular milk tea is brewed with an espresso machine and I also ordered one to go with tapioca.  Unfortunately I wasn't a fan of their basic milk tea as I found the tea not as smooth.  There was a bit of char taste to it too which could be the type of tea or the espresso machine extracting unwanted flavours from the tea.  Half sugar is a little less sweet than half sugar requests at other tea shops.  The tapioca was also not the best but I did go early afternoon on a Wed so that could be why.

At the back

This place has lots of seating so great for groups, studying and when you just want to sit in a nice space instead of getting take-out.  Cafe music playing in the background makes for a more modern ambience.  Service was also polite and friendly.

Would I go back?

Yes, to try their matcha options, but based on the drinks I did try...it's probably not my cup of tea.  Maybe their matcha will be the drink that keeps me coming back.

Lots of cream cheese topping at the end.

Latea Era

3300 Midland Avenue, Unit 37
Scarborough, ON M1V 4A1

T: 647-349-6888

www.latea.ca

• Phone numberusiness website

Sanchenping High Mountain Spring Oolong

From Taiwan Tea Crafts, I got a sample of their winter and spring oolong from Sanchenping as part of their Shanlinxi exploration tin and tried it a little while ago.  Pictured is the spring 2016 oolong, a lovely green.  

I preferred this over the winter oolong.

Beautiful leaves after steeping.

The tea soup.  

I brewed this at 5g/100ml using just off the boil water.

1st steep (1 minute): buttery aroma and taste, also very floral
2nd steep: still very floral and I thought there was some notes of melon
3rd steep: more vegetal tasting
4th and 5th steep: mmm, sweet aftertaste (huigan) which was very nice, moderately thick.  I actually used slightly cooler water than earlier steeps and brewed longer by 20 secs.

I read that although oolongs can be steeped using boiling water, high mountain oolongs may taste better with lower temperature water.  The author commented that sometimes high mountain oolongs taste great when tasting in the mountains on the tea farm because when water boils at a higher elevation, it's actually about 95 degrees Celcius and not 100.  I tend to agree that when I use slightly lower temperature water than boiling for oolongs, there is much more flavours that comes out...my experience anyway.

Quite enjoyed this one as a few that I've had recently were just okay.  However, I'm not sure how many more steeps there would be as I didn't have time after the fifth one.

Eco-Cha Club Membership (October and November)

I've received my October and November Eco-cha tea club teas a while ago but have been too preoccupied to post a review so here is a combined post.  Again, 75g of tea is provided in the monthly subscription and it comes nicely package with an info card.

October (the club's 11th tea since it's start) was an heirloom small leaf black tea.  These were tightly rolled in strip form.

I brewed using their guidelines, 9 grams per 175ml with boiling water for 50 seconds.  This is definitely more than I usually use for black tea.  Tea soup was a nice reddish brown...

Taste was malty and there was a dried fruit taste to it, dried plum maybe (?) but the info card suggested dried apricot and papaya.  Still honing my tasting skills so will have to keep tasting this tea, maybe modifying the amount and steep times.  Not very astringent but I did feel like there was too much leaf in the cup though.   Again, maybe that is because I often use less per 175ml and not because I thought it was too strong. In terms of overall appeal, it was average for me. Only steeped 3 times as I didn't have the time for a long tea session.  Leaves look quite nice after the session.

The November tea (the club's 12th tea since it's start) was a Tieguanyin hand picked from a small farm in Muzha (Taipei).

This tea is processed in the traditional style where it is oxidized and roasted more heavily than the lighter Tieguanyin teas in recent years.  The batch is 50/50 of tieguanyin leaves and jin xuan leaves since there is such small quantity of original tieguanyin tea trees.

Brewed using their parameters, 10g per 175ml with boiling water for 50 secs.  Very strong roasted aroma and the tea soup brews up quite a dark orange brown.

Nice strong roasted flavour and I also want to say there was a slight creaminess to it on the 2nd brew.  It definitely is more of a fall/winter type of tea.  I've never been too fond of traditionally processed tieguanyins but maybe I haven't had top quality either.  I definitely lean more towards lighter tieguanyins.

Paired really nicely with a chocolate cupcake I made...

And, just because I was testing out a piping tip...here is pic of a cupcake topped with green tea whipped cream.

And just because it was my first time piping petals with whipped cream, I had to take a close-up...

Don't have a pic of the wet leaves as I only infused 3 times and leaves were not quite unraveled yet so I think it could have still had lots of flavour potential. Tieguanyins although very popular haven't really been a tea I drink too often so it was great to receive this tea.  I'll have a chance to get more experience brewing this tea and it definitely has a warming quality to it, great for the winter!

As I write this, one thing about the tea club I have to mention is that if you're in Canada, the box can take 3 weeks or more to receive.  I have yet to receive my December box (I'm sure this is partially due to Christmas volume).  It's slightly disappointing that it does take so long to get here especially when they put up info on their website about the tea soon after shipment so it's less of a surprise in terms of what tea will be in the box.  Anyway, hopefully the January one is faster.

Eco-Cha Club Membership (September) - My First Shipment!

I finally received my first batch of tea from Eco-Cha!  It actually took almost 4 weeks to arrive but sometimes that can happen if it gets stuck at customs.  And, I also have received the October package recently so this post is coming a bit late.  Eco-Cha is a tea company based in Taiwan that sources tea from family run farms that use sustainable methods.  I joined their tea club recently as I thought that this was something different and what is sent out to tea club members is not sold on their website.  I'm really excited as I've never joined anything like it despite there being other tea subscription clubs.

This month's tea is an Organic Wuyi Hong Shui Oolong tea 有機武夷紅水烏龍茶.

There is 75g of tea per month and it seems like every month they send a little something with the tea; September's was a metal tea strainer.  I already have the exact same one, but it was a nice extra.

Hong Shui Oolong 紅水烏龍茶 has actually been on my radar for over 5 years now but the reason it's been something I've been searching for info about is because I bought some Hong Shui Oolong from a wholesaler in Taiwan five years ago which was very different from the Hong Shui Oolong I could find online.  Hong Shui Oolong is supposed to be a tea in Taiwan that is similar to Dong Ding Oolong 凍頂烏龍 in the processing and rolled into ball shape, but I believe it is slightly more oxidized and does not come from Dong Ding mountain.  The Hong Shui I bought was  rolled into strip-form like Wuyi style oolong and like the product sent this month by Eco-Cha.  Looking back, the wholesaler said it was grown in Miaoli at 400m and the cultivar is qing xin da pang or da pa (青心大冇?); this cultivar is usually used to make Oriental Beauty Oolong (or Bai Hao Oolong).

I do have book on oolong tea and it describes Hong Shui Oolong 紅水烏龍 and how it used to be produced many years ago as a 'foreigner's tea' but is enjoyed by the locals now.  The one I have already, is not roasted and seems to bear the same tea "soup" colour of a red tea rather than the lighter orange-brown that is more common for the Hong Shui Oolong described in everything I could find about it.

I'm inclined to think my initial batch of Hong Shui Oolong from five years ago may actually be something different (it does taste good though!).  The tea from Eco-cha although rolled into strips (Wuyi style), does bear little other resemblance to the tea I have; it has the roasted quality and the tea soup is also not as "red" as the name would imply, more similar to Dong Ding Oolong and fits with all the other descriptions of Hong Shui Oolong except for the rolling style.

I brewed the tea using their specifications, 9 grams per 175 ml with boiling water for 50 seconds.  I have to say though, I thought it was too much leaves because the flavour seemed muddled, tangy, and there was moderate astringency.  When I used less leaves (5-6 grams), more of the baked fruit flavour came out and no astringency.  The leaves will open up more and I think that makes a difference.  I brewed this tea three times in each instance and the it didn't appear to be watered down, just liked the outcome using less leaves.

It's a nice tea for the autumn but I think I'm still going to experiment with leaf to water ratio, water temperature and steep time.  I think there is definitely more potential for this tea.

However, I did notice that there were a number of sticks/stems in the batch where the leaves were not attached which is a little disappointing.

Nonetheless, this is still an interesting tea though; more so for the organic growing method used which is somewhat a new concept.  It is one of the reasons that I joined, to try new teas either grown differently or processed differently from what you could find on the general market.  I also love getting packages!

Looking forward to more tea from Eco-cha!

Oriental Beauty Oolong Tea: Select vs Superior Grade

Tiny bud and leaves (My hand model did a great job!)

I haven't reviewed tea in a while, but I had this post since the start of the year and thought I'd revisit it.  In my Christmas tea gift set, I received 2 different grades of Oriental Beauty tea (also known as Dong Fang Mei Ren 東方美人or Bai Hao Oolong 白毫烏龍茶): Select and Superior grade from Taiwan Tea Crafts.  Love the taste of this tea as it has a strong natural sweetness to it!

Oriental Beauty is a high oxidized oolong tea.  They often get a section all to themselves because of the unique way in which the flavour is produced.  Jassids or little leaf hoppers bite the leaves and stems (while the plant is still in the field) starting a chemical process that results in a nice honey flavour profile.  This is something that was discovered by accident as these jassids were thought to have been a pest, ruining the crop.  But, upon one farmer harvesting and brewing the leaves, this oolong tea was conceived; and it is believed the Queen of England had a taste of it and named it "Oriental Beauty".

The Select grade is not from the original terroir in which this tea became known (Hsinchu, Taiwan), but the Superior grade is from the original terroir.

Could I tell the difference?

I wish I did a blind taste test, but my first tastings were done on individual days.  From my recollection, I think the superior grade was slightly more flavourful, but not by a huge difference; I definitely enjoyed both teas.  Most oolongs require near boiling water to brew but this one is unique in that it requires a much lower temperature, approximately 85 degrees C.  As you can see, it is very delicate and the whole experience from smelling the dry leaves, to brewing, to smelling and tasting the tea (also known as tea 'soup') and finally, admiring the open tea leaves.  I love looking at tea leaves once they have opened!  If you let the leaves cool, there is also a wonderful sweet smell to the leaves....would love to bottle that smell!

Select grade

Superior grade

Superior grade - wet leaves

This is definitely a nice drinking tea alone or with a light cake like chiffon so you can truly enjoy the natural flavour of this tea!  For those that also look for tea that doesn't use pesticides in it's farming practice, this tea can only develop where there is NO pesticide use.  Otherwise the jassids would not be able munch on the leaves so it's a good choice for those concerned with pesticide use.  I had to update this post as I just read an article that says it is possible that tea farmers may still use pesticides on tea plants that eventually will become Oriental Beauty Oolong tea.  They can still get these leaf-hoppers to munch on the leaves as some pesticides may prevent other pests but do nothing to hinder the leaf-hoppers.  Always good to be learning!  The article is very informative and provides more in-depth info on this teas production if you're interested.              

In terms of re-steeping, it doesn't re-steep all that well in that the first cup is quite the flavourful cup already and I think by the 3rd steep, it loses quite a bit of flavour.  However, both these grades are not too expensive so that's the trade off, and besides, I rarely get to the point where I'm re-steeping tea leaves 5 or 6 times these days.

Although this tea can be drunk any time of the year, I'm looking forward to drinking this more in the autumn when the weather gets colder (I know, for summer lovers like myself, hard to be reminded that summer is ending soon!).