Chinese style tea brewing is nice and relaxing, a repetitive activity with a lot of steps and waiting periods. It reminds me of a previous post I made about how drawing is fun because you get to alternate between creative and skilled work. Only in this case, you are alternating between waiting and acting. It is engaging enough that you can do nothing else and not feel like you are wasting time.
D is a fan and I had some interest in it too so we went on several tea related day trips during our time in Taipei.
Maokong
Finally a tourist activity which is all about sitting and chilling. First sitting in the Maokong Gondola and enjoy the view as we flew over the jungle covered mountains. Then a stop partway to explore the temples at Zhinan (I posted some photos of it last time)–admittedly no sitting was involved here.
Then arriving at Maokong and (after stopping to try the tea-flavoured ice cream) going to a tea house there. We sat outdoors and brewed the tea with their tea set and leaves for a few hours, while chilling and looking out at the view of Taipei and the tea fields below. (You can also go for hikes here but this one was all about the sitting for me).
D pouring–that’s a smelling cup which you empty into the drinking cup after
The view from my seat
Yingge (and central Taipei) tea wares
This is a special tourism based village known for ceramics and tea wares. (Credit to D for finding out about it.) You have to take the train partway there, but it feels almost no different to taking the subway since both come frequently and you can use your EasyCard for both.
There is a museum which goes into every step of the creation and use of ceramics, and after that half the shops on the old street are high end indie stuff so it feels like you are in a museum anyway. The other half is an incredibly broad selection of items, both new and second hand, mass produced and handmade. Mostly tea related but you can also find tableware, flowerpots, small souvenirs, etc.
This technique looks like a heat map to me.
You would need two days to comfortably browse it all; we did it uncomfortably in one day. I wanted to get my own tea brewing set and found it exhausting, but rewarding, to hunt for items which appealed to both my tastes and budget. Even when I got sick of the shopping I at least enjoyed the items as works of design and art.
I’m not writing a travel guide here but since I didn’t find any recs for Yingge shops online, I’ll share: I enjoyed these two shops (陶禮陶坊, 緣茗堂) for having good displays and friendly proprietors, and this one (滿月圓陶瓷商行) for having great variety, good prices and a layout that makes it easy to find what you want.
After we went to Yongkang Street in Taipei, I questioned whether it’s even worth it to go to Yingge as a casual tourist. The selection of tea wares at Yongkang is smaller, better curated and includes more of the non-ceramic paraphernalia. Another good place to look for tea stuff in Taipei is Daqiaotou.
But, I can’t knock Yingge too much because I am so fond of the gaiwan (spoutless teapot) I found here. The label on it said that the design is called ‘Alishan Sunrise’, presumably after the gradient in the glaze, but the smooth yellow inside reminds me of custard.
The gaiwan and cups from Yingge, the cloth and bag from Yongkang Street, and the fairness cup from Daqiaotou. I have souvenirs from everywhere, heh.
Tea leaves
D got some tea leaves in the main gift shop in Maokong and I got some at Lin Mao Sen tea shop in Daqiaotou (if I want to buy more tea I would come back here for the tea leaf smell alone).
My unqualified opinions
- Wenshan Pouchong (Baozhong) - in between oolong and green tea, it lacks the good points of either.
- Tieguanyin (Iron Goddess) Oolong - it’s part of my favourite order at the bubble tea shop (tieguanyin with cheese foam) and when I drink it alone, I just miss that sweet cheese foam…
- Mixiang (Honey Scented) Black - as described, although the smell reminds me more of chocolate or wood than honey. Very tasty and easy to drink.
- Dong Ding Oolong - my favourite, having a sweet smell and gentle oolong flavour.
The man behind the counter at Lin Mao Sen told me that black tea is appreciated more for the taste and oolong more for the aftertaste.