The World of Taiwanese Oolongs

This week on Talking Tea we begin exploring the spectrum
of Taiwanese oolongs with Shiuwen Tai of Seattle’s Floating Leaves
Tea. Shiuwen chats with us via Skype about the history of tea in
Taiwan, and how Taiwan’s tea production has been influenced by its
relationships with both China and Japan. We discuss some of the
factors that go into forming the unique flavor profiles
of oolong teas from Taiwan, including aged oolongs, why
mouthfeel and texture are important in evaluating tea, and then
take a closer look at two oolongs: Alishan, a high mountain
Taiwanese oolong (the photo shows an Alishan tea garden), and
the famous Tieguanyin.  Shiuwen also gives us tips on
best brewing practices,  and shares her perspectives on how
“science, art, love and patience” come together to create
exceptional Taiwanese oolongs. 

More info on Floating Leaves, including its online
store, shop hours and classes, can be found at the Floating
Leaves website, http://www.floatingleavestea.com,
and on its
Facebook page. Shiuwen’s blog is at http://www.floatingleavestea.blogspot.com.

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Talking Tea is produced and hosted by Ken Cohen.
You can follow Ken on Twitter @Kensvoiceken. 

This podcast features music from “Japanese Flowers”
(https://soundcloud.com/mpgiii/japanese-flowers) by mpgiiiBEATS
(https://soundcloud.com/mpgiii) available under a Creative Commons
Attribution 3.0 Unported license
(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/). Adapted from
original.

Photo of an Alishan tea farm  by Wm Jas, available
under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike
2.0 license. Cropped from original.