Enjoying Tea
For many of us that grew up in Taiwan, drinking tea is very much an integral part of everyday life. It's one of the first thing to offer to guests when they visit our home. It's a commonly gifted item between families. It's something that every household will have in their cupboard, even for the most casual tea drinkers. For the connoisseurs, they likely have multiple, specialized tea pots for brewing specific styles of tea, along with beautiful teaware.
At Good to Eat, we have been importing tea from a few selected tea growers in Taiwan. These are artisanal creations that we would love to share with everyone, whether it's in our dining room or at your home.
Note on Brewing
Often times, you will see very specific brewing instructions when buying tea. Temperature specified down to a specific degree, teas measured in grams, and carefully clocked steeping time. While these brewing instructions are helpful guides, we understand that everyone's taste buds and preference are different. There is no single best way to enjoy a cup of tea!
We believe the more useful thing to offer is the general concept on the different brewing parameter, and encouraging you to explore on your own. Let's go!
Temperature
You can steep darker teas like oolong at a high temperature, ranging from 90°C / 195°F to boiling. Lighter teas like sencha and jasmin can be steeped at a temperature as low as 80°C / 175°F.
Why is this the case? The first thing to know is that while there are hundreds of cultivar of the tea plant, Camellia Sinensis, the different categories are primarily a product of the processing methods. This includes dry heat, steam heat, rolling, bruising, and many more. These techniques determine the amount of oxidation that occurs in the leaf. In general, darker teas are more oxidized than the lighter teas.
How does this affect taste? Tea leaves are packed with polyphenols compounds, some of which provide a bitter and astringent taste. As tea gets more oxidized, its polyphenols becomes less bitter.
Since hotter water extracts more polyphenols than cold water, we can use hot water to fully extract the flavors from the darker, more oxidized teas, without it becoming too bitter and astringent. If we use cooler water on darker teas, we run the risk of under-extracting and the tea will lack the full character it was meant to create. On the other hand, using boiling water on lightly oxidized green tea will lead to an unbalanced, overly astringent brew.
Multiple Infusions
Newcomers to whole leaf teas may be surprised by the practice of re-steeping a single serving. Unlike tea bags with powdered leaves or finely ground coffee beans, whole tea leaves have less exposed surface area, leading to a gradual release of flavor. This allows for multiple cups of flavorful tea with multiple infusions, and we strongly encourage you to explore it!
As you might expect, the more you steep, the lighter flavor will become. But one thing to take note is that rolled tea leaves - the ones that look like tightly packed balls - often will not fully unravel in the first steep. This means that you could get a second steep that is just as rich but with a slightly different flavor!
Specific Teas We Carry
Tea plants thrive in climate with cold, humid winters, and the mountains of Taiwan is one of the most ideal environment around the globe for cultivating them. We are currently carrying three different Taiwanese teas that have characteristics that are unique to the region:
Dong-Ding Oolong 凍頂烏龍
There are many varieties of oolong tea. But officially, only the ones from Mount Dong-Ding in Lugu, Nantou county can be called Dong-Ding Oolong. Dong-Ding translates to "frozen peak", but the mountain itself is only about 800-1000 meters tall, standing much shorter than other Taiwanese mountains. With its sunny days, misty afternoon, and wet and chilly winter, this region provides an excellent growing condition.
This tea has a mellow, medium body, with a hint of sweet notes. It's well-balanced and makes a great choice for enjoying throughout the day.
Oriental Beauty Tea 東方美人
Oriental Beauty tea, or Dongfang Meiren in the original Mandarin Chinese, is a unique and highly prized Taiwanese oolong tea. It has a signature honey and muscat-like aroma with a long and smooth finish.
The tea gets its unique flavor brought to life from being bitten by an insect called the tea jassid, or leaf-hopper. When the tea plant is bitten, it secretes a defensive hormone to attract the insect's predator. This secretion, combined with careful oxidation, brings out its unique flavor.
Green Narcissus 綠水仙
Green Narcissus is a distinctive oolong tea originally produced in southern China and made its way to Taiwan in the 18th century. It has a mellow flavor, medium body, and slightly sweet and nutty undertone with an enticing fragrance.