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!

Ten Ren's Tea Class - Sign up if you're a tea fan!

I usually take any chance I get to learn more about tea, so when Ten Ren's Tea began offering a tea class, I immediately signed up.  Even though I got my tea sommelier certification from George Brown College, I don't mind hearing information again and sometimes there may be small pieces of info that might be new.  Tea is also a very vast topic and even brewing methods can be different.  Offered in English and in Mandarin/Cantonese, I took the English class.

What you'll get...

• basic introduction to tea production and brewing
• some info on the company and products
• Gong fu cha presentation
• chance to brew your own tea gong fu style

Who this is for...

• Interest in tea but you have very little knowledge
• Interest in trying to brew tea gong fu style

Not for you...

• If you have advanced/expert knowledge on tea (unless you're like me and love to soak up any info)

Cost:  FREE



If you're interested in a little more detail...

We got to sample Jin Xuan oolong or what some call "milky" oolong and it was smooth and quite nice. This tea naturally has a subtle "milky" flavour and fragrance to it but contains no milk additives.  The "milky" flavour is a natural characteristic for this cultivar but I believe the environmental conditions aid in whether it is stronger one year versus the next.  I've heard that there must be a temperature drop during the growing period before it is picked to ensure this characteristic is there.  Often, high mountain oolong gets this temperature drop.  But, I've also read that it has to do with the processing as well but this is an area I'm not too sure about the details.  (Be aware that there are milky oolong teas that have been processed with milk essence or additives to give the tea a strong milk fragrance and they are not the same.)

Tea master brewing tea

We got to brew two types of tea.  Both were okay, not extraordinary but one was a bit nostalgic for me.  We weren't told what kind of oolong tea at first but upon first taste I noticed something familiar about it.  I couldn't pinpoint it...something about the flavour?  Mouthfeel?  When I was told it was Dong Ding oolong I immediately went "ahhh" (in my head of course).

Dong Ding Oolong tea is actually one of the first oolong teas I started drinking.  When the Ten Ren's Tea on Highway 7 first opened, I had ordered a pot of Dong Ding Oolong tea.  Not knowing much about tea at the time I still experienced something different, a type of "cooling" sensation after I drank the tea and then a slight sweetness.  Not like menthol cooling but a very natural feeling and it was subtle but I was intrigued and loved it.  But, on a subsequent visit I ordered the tea again and unfortunately didn't really get the same feeling.  I remember that year Ten Ren's carried 2 grades of Dong Ding; one was approximately $20 for a cannister and the other >$100 so I purchased the lower grade because I just couldn't bring myself to buy the higher grade.  It wasn't the same but still was okay.  In some ways, I think that first experience was the higher grade tea and was served in error.  Now I always wonder...was it the grade of tea, the temperature of the water, or just my imagination...

Anyway, back to the class.  I think I enjoyed the class because I got to just relax and think only about tea and tea brewing.  Sometimes brewing tea is a very thoughtful process and drinking tea can take you to a very calming place and I miss that aspect during my regular day of chores and responsibilities.  Definitely a good 2 hours in my opinion.

Aside from the presentation and drinking tea, we also got some tea treats which were quite nice.

L: Green tea tea cookies, Middle: Candied Guava with Green Tea, R: Sun Moon Lake Black Tea with Walnut

All were actually better than I expected for different reasons.  The tea cookie had green tea flavour but also the hint of seaweed gave it a twist.  The cookie also had the taste of "HK style waffle".  The candied guava didn't have much tea flavour, but what I liked about it was the softness of the dried fruit and it wasn't overly sweet.  You'll also notice they have bits of green tea in the package.  The sun moon lake walnut candy was soft and chewy with some tea flavour, not too sweet and the walnut was a good accompaniment.

Overall, a nice experience (thanks Ten Ren's)!  Definitely renewed my interest in the brand.  And, I got to ask why the tea drinks at the flagship location on Highway 7 were not offered at the other locations.  The response: it was a new concept at the time to have tea centred food and drinks made with fresh fruits and increased tea flavour.  Now they are slowly going to roll it out to other locations.  My response, yay!!

Scribbles in Taiwan: Oolong Tea Ice Cream, It's So Good!

So, it's taken me a really, really long time to post this and I was contemplating not posting at all but, I recently made ice cream inspired by this place (which is still a work in progress unfortunately) ...and this place is WORTH blogging about!  One of the most unique ice cream shops opened up in Taichung, Taiwan a few years back offering an amazing selection. Taichung is the 3rd largest city in Taiwan, known as the origin of bubble tea, and having climate like Los Angeles.  On my trip to Taiwan last year I knew I had to go just to try out the ice cream!! Yes, call me a bit crazy but I spent a day out of my vacation time solely to try the ice cream (thanks for indulging me AT!).

This ice cream shop is part of a larger store and restaurant called the Miyahara Ophthalmology Department or Eye Clinic (宫原眼科). What?! Yes, Eye Clinic. It is a reference to the eye clinic the building housed during the Japanese occupation.  After renovating, it became a pastry/gift shop with a restaurant, and an ice cream shop. The pastry shop is very photogenic, looks like a beautiful library and some liken it to a Harry Potter-like setting.

Gifts are stacked in these "bookshelves", how cute ^-^ 

The packaging is quite nice, perfect for gift giving.

A variety of goods available

The highlight for me was the ice cream, which did not disappoint!!  In Asia, sometimes you get ice cream that just doesn't have the right texture or creaminess, but not here.  The flavours were pronounced and the texture was smooth and thick!

Prices are on the right, 1 scoop = NTD90, which is about $3 CAD.

They have so many variations of chocolate ice cream it was amazing, I mean chocolate with different percentages of cocoa, from different parts of the world (single origin chocolate)!  Twenty to be exact!!  I wanted to try several but we opted for only two.  We got a scoop of the 68% cocoa Nyangbo and a 64% smoked chocolate from Costa Rica.  The Nyangbo cocoa one was really good and had a nice light nutty flavour (as it indicated) but the smoked one didn't have much smokiness.  It did have a good chocolate flavour to it though with slight bitterness.  If you're a chocolate fan, these ice creams are a must try!!

Chocolate and tea flavours

Another reason I was excited, they also had a selection of ice cream made from tea!  Tea is a major commodity in Taiwan and if I haven't mentioned this before, tea is one of my passions. The flavour of the one we had called "Oriental Beauty" (東方美人 dong fang mei ren) was stunning!

Oriental beauty is an oolong tea that is highly oxidized.  It's origins are quite unique as the tea was discovered by chance.  These tea leaves are prone to bites from the jassid insect, which thus contribute to the oxidation.  You can read more here at the Tea Masters blogspot.  The taste is a lasting sweet taste, with some notes of caramel.

++ Chocolate ice cream (+ a few fruit ones)

Range of toppings.  The more scoops of ice cream you buy, the more free toppings.  We got 3 scoops so you are entitled to 4 toppings.

Our massive ice cream in a waffle bowl!!

Aside from the huge selection of chocolate and tea flavoured ice creams, they also offer about 20 different fruit flavoured ones (looked like sorbets) and some Miyahara specials.  From the specials list Hakka lei tea and brown sugar longan would have been interesting.  It appears all the ice creams except the chocolate ones don't contain colourants, egg yolks, cream, or stabilizing agents which is interesting to note.

One negative, no seating!!!  We had to stand outdoors which made it difficult to eat and it was blazing hot that day!!  The ice cream luckily didn't melt as quickly as I thought...or maybe we just ate really fast, lol!  (So, this is a warning to all slow eaters.)  But despite the lack of eating space, anyone travelling to Taiwan and making a stop in Taichung, this place is a must go for the ice cream lover!

Scribbles in Taiwan: Fresh Air and Relaxation at 53.1 Homestay

Whenever I drink oolong tea from Taiwan it always brings back so many memories of great food, friendly people, and of course flavourful teas.  Recently I opened up a package of tea I had bought from our homestay owner and tea grower in Rueili Taiwan (part of the Alishan region) when we travelled to Alishan in 2013.  Unfortunately I didn't get a chance to go to their tea garden while there, but we did get to have tea with the owner and visit his shop across from the homestay.

Here is the tea that I purchased.  A 2013 Alishan roasted oolong that was picked in the spring, their middle grade.  I found when this tea cooled down, the roasted flavour came out even more.

53.1 Homestay is the kind of place that makes you want to stay longer.  It's by no means for the frugal though, the homestay has a lot of comforts, is spacious, and warm, and was a nice retreat from the smog and noise of Taipei but it is on the pricey side for Taiwan (but average for the location).  I was there last year for 2 nights.  When I was planning the trip I searched the web for info so I thought I'd post about our stay to help future travellers.

We set out for Chiayi County on the high speed rail (NT$1045 in 2013) which got us there quickly but no buses from the high speed rail go towards Alishan.  Our homestay was about halfway to the Alishan Scenic Area so we had to take a taxi which took a little more than an hour winding up the mountain.  If you take the regular trains, it is slower but there are buses in the morning that go up the mountain and saves you money.

Here are pics of the homestay...

Arrived late afternoon, so the fog was setting in.

Too much fog so we couldn't see the sunset both nights, disappointed but what can you do...

Common area

Our room, 53.2

Wall of the dining area

First breakfast

Yes, there are persimmons in the sandwich...

Second breakfast

A trail you can walk up but it is very steep...

It was slippery that morning so we didn't make it to the lookout, just stopped in the middle of the bamboo forest.

We had a nice local dinner our first night, getting there was quite a challenge since the area was covered in fog, the sun had set and there were no street lights.  Luckily our phones lit the way and a local dog accompanied us as we walked the 5 mins to the restaurant.  Here is what we had...

Local restaurant, no frills but good home-cooking style place.

龍鬚菜, the literal translation is dragon's whiskers or beard.  Had to look this one up, they are chayote shoots which are common in Taiwan.  Quite a nice tender green.

Fresh stir fried bamboo shoots.  Simple yet surprisingly tasty

Tea oil fried chicken

Monkey mushroom soup.

A close up of the soup.  

Dessert:  fresh persimmons.

I really enjoyed the soup as the mushrooms were very "meaty" in texture and the soup itself was "sweet" in a broth kind of sense.  I'll be posting the recipe soon!
Unfortunately in Toronto we don't carry fresh monkey head mushrooms, only dried.  The dried mushrooms were very mushy once reconstituted thus it just wasn't the same.  It can be still made into a soup though and is supposed to be healthy, only you don't really eat the mushrooms.

After dinner we had tea and pumpkin seeds.  The pumpkin seeds were so sweet and can be purchased there!  

And the next day hiked the Alishan Recreation Park.

The owner and his family were really nice and helpful.  They also drove us to the Fenchihu town for us to sightsee after hiking.

Luckily we got to see the sunrise amidst a tea garden our second morning before leaving