The year 2021 in 12 pictures

Here's the last post of the year you've all been waiting for. Since 2007, we are closing the year with a review of the 12 best pictures of the year, one per month. 

Every year has ups and downs. Sometimes, it's better to forget about the bad and just celebrate the positive achievements. And tea is about finding happiness and contentment in a sea of frustration, stress, challenges called modern life!

So, I will also ask you to help me choose which 2 of these pictures I should turn into postcards, so that I can add them as gifts to your future tea orders! Please give a like on my FB page to the 2 pictures you like most!

Thank you very much for your support! I wish you a wonderful and healthy New Year 2022!

December. Xmas tea pairing advice

November. Become a Tea Ambassador

October. 3, 2, 1: Lift off to the stars!

September. It pays to persevere

August. 50 ans, tout un symbole

July. "The middle path is the surest".

June. Flowing with harmony

May. Come fly with me to Shan Lin Xi

April. Spring 2021 in Alishan. Sunny and dry.

March. Avoir du bol  Taiwan

February. The 2021 Chinese New Year holiday

January. 2 jours d'examen, 2 thés

Top 10 videos of 2021

Winter 2021, Qingxin Oolong from Alishan

2021 is the year the number of my video tea classes really took off! For this, let's thank all of you who place orders on www.tea-masters.com because you are not only getting great teas and accessories, but you help sharing my tea knowledge with fellow tea lovers all over the world. In a different business model, I could limit the access to my tea classes to my customers or charge for the participation. Instead, thanks to your generous orders, I can be generous in return by letting everybody watch and learn.

If I produce so much content about learning the proper tea technique, it's because my experience tells me that skills do matter a lot. This message isn't so popular with the broad public and that's why the number of views of my classes remain relatively confidential. Of course, another reason is that I'm not a natural born public speaker and sometimes my subjects are too detailed for the average tea person. But I'm a demanding professor, because I know that tea is like life: no pain, no gain. The more you learn, the more you might enjoy your tea in the end (when everything clicks). While I try to make things look simple, I know that there are no shortcuts. 

I know it's not pleasant to hear and realize that the main reason a tea doesn't taste great is because we didn't prepare it well. It's not enough to have the right tea, the right ware, the right water, even the way we brew the tea will have a large impact on our enjoyment. But taking the red pill and becoming aware of all the tea challenges is what enables you to make real progress. The is the way to becoming a tea master!!

So, from over 110 videos, here are the top 10:

10. The White Road #1 Jingdezhen, by Edmund de Waal. A review of book by a ceramist.

9. Chinese New Year traditions, those linked to tea.

8. Class about Gaiwan, Gaibei and Zhong. This class was inspired by the reading of 'The Dream of the Red Chamber' by Cao XueQin.
7. Hei Cha class. Fermented teas, including puerh.

6. Tea happiness starts with the preheating step. It's all about details!
5. The fastest way to rinse tea. A class about rinsing tea and good humour.

3. How to end a Chaxi. Like several others, I made this class to answer the question of a viewer.
2. A Free Tea Scoop for all Viewers of this video! This is the most liked video of 2021!

1. Training to become a tea master. More difficult than Navy Seal!

Wait! Where's #4? It's the same as #1, but in French! 4. 2 exercices pour devenir maitre de thé.

Vous pouvez retrouvez toutes mes vidéos en français sur ce lien YouTube. Und deutschsprachige Teefreunde können auch meine Klassen auf deutsch hier sehen!

This weekend, I won't teach a class, but I'm organizing a 'Back to the future tea class' on Zoom (Meeting ID: 772 0292 3071 and Passcode: C8026A). I will host the event on January 1st, 2022 in Taipei, while it will still be December 31st for my North American friends (9:30 PM Eastern)!

Winter 2021, Qingxin Oolong from Alishan

The top 5 articles of 2021

Spring Qilan Baozhong from Wenshan

I hope you had a wonderful Christmas! Mine was very enjoyable due to the fact that I followed my own advice: less wine and more tea! The one that stood out is my 2017 spring gushu puerh. I could use it on 3 occasions. First, as I had advised, on its own, instead of Champagne, as starter that gives you energy and appetite. Second, it paired very nicely with my home made gravlax (salted salmon). Third, it also paired wonderfully with French cheese like vacherin! And not only was the pairing a real pleasure, even my digestion felt quite normal despite the higher intake!! (This Lancang gushu is also a good, more affordable choice). 
Before I list the top videos of 2021 in my next post, let's recap the most viewed articles of this year.

5. Absolute Beginners. This article is about the best tool for absolute beginners, the porcelain gaiwan. It's not to be confused with a video I made lately that teaches how to make tea if you are an absolute beginner! The video was designed to be sent to your friends, after they have received a tea gift from you.

4. Hung Shui SiJiChun feedback. This short feedback is a great reminder that quality tea doesn't have to burn holes in your pocket!

3. 2003 Spring raw puerh cake feedback. This article is another feedback I received. This gives me the opportunity to thank all of you who write to me with your feedback, questions, suggestions...

2. Tea cultivar TTES #22, Qin Yu. My farmer in San Hsia harvested this new cultivar for the first time from his new plantation and turned it into an exquisite Baozhong!

1. The Reddit influence. This article is based on a reader's feedback I found on Reddit. I had been wondering why this 2003 sheng puerh cake and this 2007 sheng CNNP Peacock cake were selling so well all of a sudden. It turns out that this article helped boost the sales for these 2 puerhs. And the good news is that these 2 puerhs are still available! 

Spring 2021 Qilan Baozhong from Wenshan

Xmas tea pairing advice

In this week's tea class, I gave some advice about tea pairing at Christmas. The goal of adding tea is to make the special meal even more special and delicious! Christmas is a perfect time to experiment tea pairing for lots of reasons:

1. By using tea instead of wine, you drink less alcohol,

2. While the Christmas meal traditions stay intact, tea pairing adds a new touch that is focused on taste and quality.

3. A good tea pairing is like a good wine pairing: the pleasure is much more than the sum of tea and food. It's not so easy to achieve, but it's very satisfying.

And to help you, I've made this video with lots of Xmas tea pairing advice:

L'Avent avec un Oolong d'Ali Shan

La région montagneuse d'Ali Shan était un refuge pour les aborigènes quand les Chinois se sont installés en grand nombre dans les plaines de l'ouest de Taiwan durant les XVIIIe et XIXe siècles. Mais quand Taiwan est passé sous la coupe du Japon en 1895, ces nouveaux colonisateurs se sont aventurés dans ces montagnes pour y couper des cyprès immenses qu'ils utilisaient pour leurs constructions traditionnelles. C'est aux Japonais qu'on doit ce train rouge qui part de Chiayi pour ce qui est maintenant un parc national au centre d'Alishan. Et c'est là qu'on peut randonner parmi ces grands arbres pluri-centenaires.   

La crise du Covid a été bien maitrisée à Taiwan, grâce à un système de quarantaine plus facile à mettre en place sur une ile où il n'y a qu'une poignée d'aéroports internationaux. Après quelques centaines de cas par jour en mai et juin, nous sommes revenus à une absence totale de contaminations locales. Cette situation incite les Taiwanais à faire du tourisme local afin d'éviter les 2 semaines de confinement au retour sur l'ile. C'est pourquoi, les endroits touristiques comme Alishan connaissent un afflux inédit de visiteurs locaux. Ils viennent maintenant par bus au moyen d'une route agrandie et facile d'accès. Tout au long de cette route, on trouve de nombreux commerces de souvenirs, de restauration et aussi de thé. Pour ma sélection, j'évite ces endroits trop touristiques. Ainsi, ce thé vient de Chang Shu Hu, un village où il passe si peu de voitures que les chiens aiment se dorer la pilule au milieu de l'unique route de la localité!

Chang Shu Hu est aussi un village familial où les fermiers sont cousins ou beau-frères! Quand l'un d'entre eux a vendu toute sa production, il vous envoie un peu plus loin voir si son cousin a encore de bonnes feuilles. L'accueil que j'y reçois est toujours chaleureux, même au moment le plus intense des récoltes. Le fermier et ses 2 équipes ont beau faire quasi des nuits blanches, ils restent très sereins. On les sent comme sur un nuage, un peu comme des gens habités par une tâche plus grande qu'eux-même!

Ce genre de souvenir me revient quand je prépare ce Qingxin Oolong d'Alishan de ce printemps. Il convient parfaitement à ce jour de l'Avent frais et ensoleillé! On se croirait en montagne en train de prendre un bol d'air frais. Le goût du thé est à la fois doux et raffraichissant.

Sa couleur vert clair et son excellente transparence sont des signes de qualité supérieure.

La forme ronde de la théière permet aux grandes feuilles roulées d'Oolong de s'ouvrir également. Ainsi, elles diffusent leurs arômes en même temps. Ce miracle des feuilles de dragon noir (la signification littérale de 'Oolong') s'accomplit dans l'ombre, à l'intérieur de la théière d'Yixing!

Puis, il y a ce jaillissement de l'infusion qui passe des entrailles de la zisha à la lumière reflétée dans la coupe de porcelaine céladon! La vie est là, verte et éternelle...

Help for choosing an Oolong tea from tea-masters.com

Summer 2020 Imperial Oriental Beauty Oolong

Christmas is approaching fast (3 weeks left only!). In my next tea class on video, I'll address the countless reasons why tea is a great gift for friends, family and loved ones. I'll also explain why my online tea boutique is unique, because it's where you can find teas that I've selected personally for their quality. But in this article, I want to go one step further and give detailed advice on almost all my Oolong teas. (I'll do puerhs and red some other day). It's not easy to choose the right tea as there's an infinite choice of teas online. If my boutique's list is quite limited, it's also to focus on quality rather than quantity. But the choice is still hard and so let me try to help the new comers.  

A. SAMPLES are perfect for gifts

If you're not sure what kind of tea your friend likes or will like, select samples or samplers!

B. If your friend is new to tea, start with teas that are easy to brew and good value.

Easy to brew teas are those that don't become bitter easily. While some bitterness can be enjoyable, most new comers are not used to such taste, because commercial beverages are usually heavily sweetened. Also, it's good to start with simpler teas, because they are already so different from regular tea bags that they have the potential to thrill! Such teas are my:

- Si Ji Chun Oolong Dong Pian (the fresh version or the roasted version). It's particularly flowery, because it's harvested in January, the coldest month in Taiwan. 

- Jade Oolong offers more fresh grassy notes. 

- Jinxuan Oolong from Alishan (winter 2020 or spring 2021). The winter version is on sale! With this cultivar, the aromas are even finer, because it's harvested in Alishan mountain, at an elevation above 1000 meters.

- These 2 Wenshan Baozhong (fall 2020 and spring 2021) offer a change from the rolled Oolong leaves. The Baozhong leaves are more spectacular, because they are open and fill a larger space. 

- This naturally scented Jasmine tea is also light and fragrant tea for beginners who enjoy the aroma of jasmine.

C. If your friend has tea experience, then I recommend that you introduce these popular standards:

- Alishan Qingxin Oolong. Hand picked from a high mountain, the Qingxin tea leaves are the most suited for producing Taiwan's most popular type of tea. The aromas are fresh, flowery and the taste is mellow and energetic. This is such a popular type that I carry 5 versions of it: 2 winter 2020, 2 spring 2021 and a winter 2021. The winter and spring harvests are of similar quality and freshness. The slight difference is that winter is a little bit more mellow and spring a little bit more fragrant. Ruifeng has a slightly lower elevation that Chang Shu Hu, which is why it's priced lower. These Alishan High Mountain Oolongs are great value and my best selling teas!

- Shan Lin Xi Oolong. Spring 2021, Winter 2020 and Dong Pian Oolong 2020 (in that order). Shan Lin Xi is another popular High Mountain in Taiwan. Its elevation is a little higher than Alishan. The aromas are more flowery and mellow.

- Wenshan Baozhong 'subtropical forest': This Baozhong is made with the same Qingxin Oolong cultivar as used in the high mountains. It has a similar profile, but the Wenshan terroir turns it lighter and a hint zestier.

- Oriental Beauty Oolong is another extremely famous tea in Taiwan. It's a pioneer in the organic world, because its leaves become honey fragrant if they are bitten by little green insects called jassids. The most classic OB in my selection is this traditional version from Hsin Chu. Since this is a high oxidized tea, it comes close to a red (fully oxidized) tea like Darjeeling, but with much more finesse and natural sweetness.

- The last great classic Oolong from Taiwan is the roasted Dong Ding Oolong. This is the scotch or whisky of teas. The roast creates smoke, molasse and malt notes that feel almost intoxicating! Another nice example of a powerful roast is this Tie Guan Yin.  

D. Teas for the experienced drinkers

1. Diversity of cultivars among Wenshan Baozhongs. The North of Taiwan with the Wenshan are is where Taiwan's tea started to be produced. In this historic region, one can find all kinds of different cultivars, a little bit like in WuYi. This makes exploring Wenshan Baozhongs very interesting, because it contains so many different cultivars and styles!

2. To experience the very best of the high mountains, turn to the highest peaks over 2000 meters high (Qilai shan, Fushou shan, Tian Chi and the mythical Da Yu Ling)!

3. On a special occasion, indulge in an Imperial grade Oriental Beauty!

4. And finally, the category of Aged Oolongs is also proof that great Oolongs are like great wines: they can age for years and get better and better!

2020 Imperial Oriental Beauty Oolong