From F. Lit Yu’s soon to be released “Haute Tea Cuisine, New Techniques for Infusing French Food with Tea” Photo by Ching-Wei Jiang INGREDIENTS: 1/2 ounce Jin Shuan Oolong Tea 1 pound spinach 16 ounces clam juice 2 shallots 1 tomato 1 cup heavy cream butter 1 cup white wine 1. Extract the Jin Shuan in the heavy cream, and allow to sit covered, with the heat off for one hour. Strain and discard the used tea leaves. 2. Chop the shallots and tomato. In a saucepan, melt the butter and brown the shallots for about a minute. Deglaze with white wine. Pour in the clam juice and stir in the tomatoes. Bring back to a boil before reducing the heat to a simmer. Reduce the liquid volume to about 25 percent. 3. Pour the tea-infused cream directly into the pan and continue to reduce until half of the liquid…
The Ghost Face spider and the Five Venoms: not everyone is so…
The Ghost Face spider and the Five Venoms: not everyone is so interested in the multitude of bugs at the Taiwan Beauty farm. He hangs, like the dismembered head of a circus ringmaster, his top hat still atop and grinning away at the prospect of incoming victims. Here at the Taiwan Beauty farm, the ugly duckling tea bushes are sparse little groves in a field of overgrown weeds, and the bugs rule. We arrived into a sky filled with circling dragonflies, with enormous webs from tea bush to tree, and sitting there waiting? The Ghost Face Spider! I explained to my tour group that this is nature at work. Taiwan Beauty is an oolong tea that results from the bites of the tiny Leaf Hopper cicadas. For that, a habitat of wildness must be maintained for their benefit, and that habitat is also welcoming to the rest of the bug kingdom. In comes the giant Ghost Face Spider to take care of the unwanted other bugs- giant crickets, preying mantis, even a sparrow or two.
He hangs in the sky, grinning madly and silently, waiting….
Tea Travels: The Bordeaux of Tea
Tea Travels: Thank you China
The strongest tea in the universe, the 12,000 RMB (about $1950 USD per lb), Rougui oolong from the Cow Fence Enclave. Yes, that’s the name of the most sought after micro-terroir of the Main Cliff 正岩 of Wuyi region. There was a little enclave in one of the vertical cliff areas, a farmer discovered that he could force his cows up there but they can’t come down and run off easily, a natural cow fence. So per serving is what, about $30? What a steal! Lasts about 20 infusions, so my per sip cost just went down to 45 cents! Well, math geniusness aside, I have the Communist government crackdown on corruption to thank. This leader grade stuff was never before accessible to commoners. Strong, aggressive, thick viscosity like broth, and stamina through all 20 infusions- this is the boxing champ of teas.
Tea Travels: Keeping it Real
Still seething from the plagiarism of my story on the Phoenix Ya Sai on this blog, I asked Mr. Zhang about the massive amounts of fake Dahongpao out there. Why, there is cheating at every level! Sometimes the tea pluckers will harvest your top mountain raw leaves but will turn in low mountain stuff. They look the same as raw leaves but once they are roasted, huge differences are obvious but too late. Outside producers will come in and open a production factory, registering with local authorities and even pass inspection. But the tea they make as Dahongpao? Not even close to being from this region. And what about the real tea from this region generically called Dahongpao? Blends of generic Wuyi low mountain stuff. No clear discernible taste of a single varietal. Blending is a cuss word here in Wuyishan, conjuring up wicked mercenary merchants. Telling a real story…
Tea Travels: Mr. Zhang of Wuyishan
I get to taste Mr.Zhang’s competition entry, his Shuixian that sports the most outrageous richness of the fragrance of osmanthus, citrus flowers, and orchids. Pervasive and silky, this ultra smooth oolong is intense, but not even close to the aggressive and dominating Rougui he served up next. Is he confident, I asked? Confident but not over confident, said Mr. Zhang. There are over a thousand entries, the top prize is a 180,000 rmb car! For me, the perk of enduring traveling in China is this moment. Use 7 gms of leaves, said Mr. Zhang. Or you’ll never learn to appreciate the heaviness that is Wuyi tea. There are 3 main varietals, which are Shuixian, Dahongpao (Big Red Robe), and Rougui (loosely translated as Cinnamon). Of these three main groupings, there are 10 or so major sub varietals, like my favorites Water Golden Turtle, etc. Though Dahongpao is the famous…