Photos by MJ Klein
It’s been a very long time since we had an article about tea, and given the fact that tea is such an important part of daily life in Taiwan, it’s past due for us to present one to you. I’ll show you what we have at home for making oolong tea and serving our guests.
This is our cha-pan 茶盤 where we brew tea at home.
This a shot of the cha-pan taken a few years ago to show you the details. There are many levels to work from and the whole thing drains out the bottom to the right. It was hand carved out of a piece of root wood from Laos.
This is our current setup. We have 2 types of cups on the left, and then the main working area to the right. On the far right are vessels to keep the tea fresh.
Here we see the gong-bei 公道杯, a strainer and my treasured large Japanese teapot made from swirled material.
Actually, I have 2 pots made from swirled material.
The large pot has expertly cut scores in the body of the pot to expose the underlying material. The execution is brilliant!
Here is a closeup of the large pot. We blogged on this pot before , in the early days of the blog.
Recently we acquired some new teacups. On the left are the drinking cups. On the right are aroma cups for smelling the brewed tea. If you’ve never experienced drinking oolong tea without an aroma cup then you are missing out on 1/2 the experience!
While some people make a ceremony out of drinking tea, for us it’s simply a relaxing and enjoyable experience, and rather unceremonious.
Former field engineer MJ Klein now lives in Taiwan, and writes articles that primarily feature photographs of travels of MJ and wife Hui-chen, plus daily goings on in the bustling island nation of Taiwan, and other places in Asia. Articles feature people, culture, food, situations and sometimes the trials and tribulations of traveling in places such as China, Hong Kong, Thailand, Laos and of course Taiwan.
