Made in Germany

I'm still driving my 16 years old Toyota Corolla Premio and have no immediate plan to purchase a German car! But I would like to report that I had my first German made tea yesterday, courtesy of Wolfgang and Haengok, his Korean wife! They are growing tea bushes in their garden in North Rhine Westphalia. (I'm always amazed by the dedication and tea passion of many of my blog readers!)

Since they are currently visiting Taiwan, I took them to San Hsia, near Taipei, to have a look at the local tea plantations. Their tea garden is a little bit similar, because the bushes are mostly green tea oriented, but also make Oolong and red tea outside the spring season.

Being a pioneer in German tea production means that they are still experimenting and learning on many levels. One of them is to grow different tea cultivars and see which ones are the best fit for their soil and climate. The only way to find out is to process each type of tree separately. This requires more attention and precision, which is what we'd expect from Germany!

It's joy to share the same interest and commitment to tea with people you've just met an hour ago (but have known through mails for a long time). It makes brewing tea with them like a reunion with long not seen friends or family! I set up my latest Chabu for a taste of my first German made green tea with Korean influences.

Tscha-Nara means tea land in Korean and is the name that Wolfgang and his wife have given to their German tea garden. It means 'land of tea'.

This green tea is a second flush from June 8th 2016. The color of the leaves shows it's very fresh. The brew's color, below, is a little bit off because of the lack of sunshine on this rainy day. It's a good, clean and fresh tea for a second flush. Early spring leaves are finer, but they were not available anymore, a good sign that they were popular! Most green teas are meant to be drunk young. 

-At home, in the meantime, I have also tasted the Oolong and the red tea. The Oolong (June 9th) is actually in Baozhong shape and its intense scents reminded me a little bit of Dancong in terms of their intensity! The red tea (September 6th) is evenly oxidized, mild and sweet. It's my personal favorite of the 3. I enjoyed the pure and clean taste of all these organically grown teas.-

Since it started to rain and feel cold, I switched to my 2016 spring organic Concubine Oolong from Dong Ding.

It's a very good example of tea innovation. It shows how Qingxin Oolong can be used into a different tea than Hung Shui Oolong and still taste very good.

2016 spring Concubine Oolong

My guests were also very curious about black tea and puerh in particular. How come it's so special and some people can be so fanatic about it?

The answer to that question is best explained with a brew of my 1997 7542 sheng puerh! I switched to a darker Chabu for this aged puerh.

3rd brew of 1997 '7542' puerh

The dry scents felt very clean and difficult to describe: rice, barley, old wood, camphor...? The taste was powerful and persistent, especially considering the fact that I didn't use many leaves. A perfect tea for an outdoor Chaxi on a cool and rainy autumn day!

Vielen herzlichen Dank für diese Tees und diese schöne Begegnung! Ist es nicht fabelhaft wie sehr sich Menschen für Tee begeistern können? Alles wird möglich, sogar Tee aus Deutschland!

Yunnan puerh vs German green tea