Taiwan Oolong -- the Tea for Today

The cuppa beside the steeped leaf.The Tea selection today is a lightly oxidized Oolong from Taiwan that I had the pleasure of purchasing from the farmer at World Tea Expo in May. My cuppa is filled with a bright light yellow liquor delivering  a floral sweet, slightly citrus, flavor. My mouth is filled with a sweet fresh feel similar to that of a green tea leaving a cleansed spring-time floral/citrus experience.

Oolong teas likely first appeared in China's Fujian province later immigrating to Taiwan along with the tea farmers. I must say that my favorite Oolongs come from China and Taiwan. Oolongs have become better known in the last twenty-some years. Some of the most world famous Oolongs today come from Taiwan. Fortunately for we tea lovers, the Taiwan tea farmers chose to go beyond what they learned while living in China to develop some of the finest cultivars of Oolong tea. The second steeping.

Oolong teas can improve with multiple steepings -- surprising your taste buds with even more complex flavors and aromas.

Surprise your taste buds today with the complexity tea can offer  -- try an Oolong,

The Tea And Hat Lady

The Tea And Hat Lady Reflects on the Recent World Tea Expo

Many tea professionals have written in detail on all aspects of the recent World Tea Expo, I am going to report on the annual industry event from my perspective of the three very busy while enjoyable days I spent at the show.

The 10th Anniversery of the World Tea Expo is now over and the anticipation is building for World Tea East in Philadelphia on October 2-3, 2012 at the Pennsylvania Convention Center. The recent West Coast and upcoming East Coast Expos are the largest events dedicated to specialty tea in North America. You are probably wondering what could tea professionals possibly do for three days that is directly related to tea. Well, just read these satistics (taken from the Celebrating 10 Years!, World Tea Expo Schedule, page 11) -- remember these have taken place over the course of a decade . . . . 

• Approximately 6,120,000 samples of tea have been tasted--that's nearly three gallons per person. (I am sure I have definitely consumed my three gallons and this was only my 4th World Tea Expo.)
• Conservately speaking, approximately 35,000 different flavors of tea have been savored. Did you get that --- 35,000 different flavors?
• Nearly 17 tons of premium tea has been showcased. (Remember that most tea is very light in weight.)
• Nearly 1,000 new products were launced at World Tea Expo. (All related in someway to tea and many of which I now own!)
• 486 educational conference sessions have been taught. (Here again, I sure have attended my share of these tea educational sessions.)
• The first tea auction on U.S. soil was held. (No, I did not have the honor of being present for this.)
• The first professional tea competition in the United States was conducted. (No, I was not present for this competition.)
• The first tea brewing competition was created. (Nor, did I attend this first tea brewing competition.)
• The first cooking with tea demonstration by a professional chef was offered. (Ah, yes, I did attend this demonstration and believe me, it was wonderful. One of the most interesting and delicious meals I have eaten.)
• The first authentic Gong Fu, Korean and Japanese tea ceremony demonstrations were held at a U.S. show. (Although, I did not attend these ceremonies at a World Tea Expo I have attended all these ceremonies.)
• More than 60 languages have been spoken.

And the statistics go on and on with new ones being added each Expo.

 I attended the show all three days and can honestly report that I learned something new each day. New teas to taste where offered in every aisle,  from a Taiwan ground green tea to an award winning Kenyan black tea grown by small-scale farmers.  Each box, of the Kenyan tea, features a unique label handmade using dired banana bark from banana trees where a hundred percent of the profits are used to pay school fees for orphans. One never knows what you will find on the exhibit floor of a World Tea Expo. 

Since I was registered for an additional Level 4 Specialty Tea Insitutute Certification class, I decided to keep my participation in educational sessions to a reasonable number to allow more time for exhibit hall demonstrations and tastings. With this restriction in mind, I choose a Core Conference session that included my favorite beverages -- Tea and Wine!

The session -- "How to Put Together a Comparative Tea and Wine Tasting" was taught by Certified Tea Specialist, Kyle Stewart and Beverage Manager and Master Sommelier, James Tidwell. Both gentlemen are well accomplished in their fields while extremely generous with their time, skills, and knowledge to encourage others to explore the Worlds of Tea and Wines. By the way, James Tidwell will soon be a Certified Tea Specialist in addition to all his expertise.

The similarities of the two beverages were examined during parings of a Santorini white wine with a Bai Hao Yin Zhen (Silver Needles from the Fujian Province of China), a Texas Viognier (white wine) with Huang Jin Gui (an Oolong Tea from the Fujian Province of China), and finally we paired a Santenay from France with an Oriental Beauty from Taiwain. Similarities of the wines with the selected teas were comparable in color, brightness, aroma, and flavor notes. This was an experience that I truly enjoyed and hope to provide the opportunity to do a tea and wine comparative with others. I have been motivated to include wine when exploring the characteristics of tea.

During my "pre-tea" days I had the opportunity to attend many trade shows but have yet to attend one better planned than the World Tea Expos. Kudos to all who have played a part in the idea, planning, and execution of all World Tea Expos.

Anticipating World Tea East,

The Tea and Hat Lady

An Aha Moment -- So That's Tea!

 A week ago I was in San Francisco to expand my tea knowledge and Experiences (That is, Experience with a capital “E”) by attending Level 4 STI (Specialty Tea Institute) class while sampling the many tea cultures of the City. STI and the Level 4 instructors surprised us with providing fresh Hawaiian tea leaves to process into white, green, oolong, and black teas. Absolutely an outstanding opportunity for those of us who have not had the opportunity to visit a country of origin – yet!!! Being a participant in the processing of these tea-leaves provided me an “Aha Moment.”

All of a sudden, all I had learned and read about the where’s, what’s, and how’s of tea made sense. To actually witness the oxidation of the leaves is miraculous. We have all witnessed the oxidation of an apple or banana and perhaps a leaf but I actually watched a leaf oxidize while knowing that the degree of this process determined the level of the tea’s essence. Interestingly, my most favorite part of tea is watching the “agony of the leaf” where the tea gently opens releasing its stored oils and flavors. Being an active participant in the leaf becoming tea was a natural happening that complimented my awe of the “agony of the leaf.”

Join me while I return to this process through photos. I hope you will be as amazed as I was with the transformation from leaf to tea. These pictures are a sampling of the stages of the tea producing process and should not be considered to reflect the stages of the entire process.

This photo is fresh tea leaves as they arrived from Hawaii. At this stage the leaves are still stiff with very little, if any, oxidation. The browning you see on some of leaves is the beginning of oxidation. These leaves were plucked several days before we received them in San Francisco so oxidation had begun. The withering (softening and reduction of moisture) process is beginning.

The following photos prThis tea is processed to be a green tea. Heat is being applied to stop oxidation.ovide a sampling of the changes the leaves experience as they go from fresh leaves to tea. Each step reflects a greater reduction of the moisture content of the leaf.

 The leaves are continuously stirred to avoid burning while reducing the moisture content.

These leaves have been rolled to encourage oxidation. This became an oolong tea.Oolong tea is rolled and pan fired several times to create the desired taste.

Some of My Favorite Tea Things!

At a Red Hat event last week, I was asked about the Tea cozy basket that had appeared on my facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/theteaandhatlad) several months ago. Of course, given the opportunity, I was more than happy to provide Karen (and anyone else that would listen) with all the details about my Taiwan Tea Cozy Basket. Then I thought perhaps this would be a good topic to revisit on my "Tea Blog." Thanks, Karen for providing me with a topic.

Here we go . . . While at the World Tea East in Philadelphia in September, I saw this magnificent Tea Cozy at ABC Tea's  exhibit (http://www.abctea.com). I just knew it would be an excellent addition to my collection -- a "Tea Accessory" that would open many tea discussions among my guests. So I made an iPhone note -- my version a "to do" list -- to contact ABC Teas. Fortunately, my tea travels has provided me the pleasure of having met Thomas and Josephine Shu, the owners of ABC Teas as well as gracious ambassadors of Taiwan tea. People, like Thomas and Josephine, are among the very best of the Tea World. Tea people are the very best!!

The Cozy is a piece of handcrafted art that is admired by all. It is made of hand woven straw with a colorful design throughout the weaving. The cushioned lining is a brilliant red background with white flowers that does keep my tea warm. I have found the Cozy especially appropriate to use while enjoying ABC Tea's Ruby 18 -- a phenomenal Oolong Tea. Ruby 18 is my Oolong Tea of choice for very special occasions.

Thursday (January 12, 2012) will be an outstanding Tea day!! I am meeting two of my favorite Tea "aficionados" in San Francisco to discover the city's Tea -- we all know that you cannot find another American city that has more Tea history than San Francisco. Darlene (http://www.theteaenthusiastsscrapbook.com), Julia (http://bingleysteas.com), and I began our tea journey to becoming "Certified Tea Specialists" in Charleston, SC, several years ago. Since then, we have completed Level I, Level II, and Level III of the STI classes. Level IV is what brings us back to San Francisco in 2012. Well, that and wanting a reason for us to meet in San Francisco -- do we really need a reason? I don't think so since our Tea journey has taken us to visit New York, Vegas, and Charleston -- most of these cities several times. So to quote Darlene, "San Francisco, here we come!" If we just didn't have two days of classes as well. Instead of leaving our hearts in San Francisco, we will Leave our Teacups in San Francisco -- to initiate a return visit.

Until we share a cuppa again . . . Love, Laugh, Live, and drink lots of tea!

The Tea and Hat Lady

Avatar Selected For The Tea And Hat Lady

At last, the lady of the The Tea and Hat Lady is portrayed as the aroma, fragrance, as well as the Spirit of the Tea on my business publications. I have been searching for an Avatar that would best depict my tea inspiration -- Leaves of the Camellia Sinensis plant and the processing preformed to release the flavors we enjoy . A lot of time has been devoted to my study of these leaves and their processing so that I could accurately share my tea passion with you.

The study of the leaves of the Camellia Sinensis plant sounds so very dry and uninteresting. When in reality it is a process which produces a beverage that originates from an all-natural and environmentally sound renewable source.

The oxidation of the tea leaf is a natural process. It is the level of oxidation in the process that determines whether the leaf becomes a white, green, oolong, black, or Pu'erh tea.

Now that I have bored you to death, let me present a lighter side of my search. Not long ago I would not have known what an Avatar was or its purpose. Today I know that, at least one, definition of an Avatar is "an image of somebody in virtual reality." How ironic that I should be so concerned with having the perfect Avatar to represent my interest in tea. This historical beverage that has been around for thousands of years represented by a computer generated image is silly, don't you think?