Tea Making in Taiwan

During my trip to Taiwan this summer, tea making was by far one of my favorite experiences. (I'm sorry to say I don't remember the exact name or place of the teashop but once I do I will definitely update this entry!)

My old dorm buddy, Amy, showed Candice and me around the northern parts of Taiwan and she suggested that we stop by this little teashop famous for their self-serve tea making. Let me tell you, I was frickin' excited. :D

Andrew Zimmerman likes tea too-

We came on a weekday late afternoon so we were lucky to have the place all to ourselves. While we waited for the store manager to bring out the tea supplies, we got to glance around the walls of the teashop, which were filled with wooden bookshelves displaying numerous novellas about

all kinds of aspects about tea- like tea leaves, tea farming, modern tawainese tea, traditional taiwanese tea, modern contemporary taiwanese tea, and so forth and so on..my excitement just kept accumulating.

And then.. the teashop brewers walked out from their stock room curtain like wisemen bearing gifts from rich lands..(at least that's how I remembered it..). The tea supplies came lining up the tables like a little parade of precious floats marching towards my eager heart.. :D, anyways, on with the show!

Our tea of the day was a popular one; green tea!

Haha, Candice couldn't figure out what the white puffy beads were.

They were rice puffs, kinda like the ones in Rice Krispy Treats.

Inside the monster mortar was a mixed bunch of seeds and nuts

(sorry I got too distracted to remember to take pictures..), including

pealed peanuts and black sesame seeds.

Okay, tea grinding is no simple chore, my arms got pretty sore but these

snacks helped lessen the pain..Here's some homemade mochi dusted with peanuts.

Don't the rough black things look like coal? These were dried fruit, I'm guessing prunes, and some homemade chex with salty shrimp flavoring.

Eventually, after about 30 minutes of grinding and teasing from the shop managers about how shamefully weak we were, the tea powder turned into a smooth paste with a great nutty aroma. I was tempted to set some aside to spread on my chips, but no! This puppy has bigger and better plans.

So, was all this effort and time worth it? Ch'ya! The tea was buttery smooth and I love how the rice puffs contrasted with the drink. I could taste it all- the green tea powder, the peanuts, the sesame seeds, all the other unidentifiable whatnots, all in perfect harmony pouring through my mouth and body..yum..

-Angela