How to Buy Taiwanese Tea

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Tea is not just a drink in Taiwan. It is an art, a culture, a heritage, and an experience. Taiwanese tea can be seen growing on high mountains or in small bunches drying on the sidewalk in wicker baskets. Buying tea is like buying wine: there are many different varieties. It takes many years' experience to discern the subtle flavors in every glass. Read on to help you select great Taiwanese tea.

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Instructions

Difficulty: Easy

Step1

Choose your type of tea. Do you like green? Black? Oolong? Do you like your tea full of flavor or subtle? Many Taiwanese tea shops will happily offer tastings. Explain to the owner what style of tea you enjoy. The knowledgeable owner will produce several options to taste. No purchase is required!

Step2

Consider a trip to the mountains. Taiwan has hundreds of high-altitude mountains and many of these produce tea. It is possible to visit the production centers and taste right from the source.

Step3

Decide how much you want to spend. Taiwanese tea can be dirt-cheap or very expensive. Make sure whoever talking to understands your budget.

Step4

When presented with the tea leaves, feel them to make sure they contain no moisture. Leaves with moisture will degrade rapidly. Check to make sure the tea does not have an excessive amount of twigs, branches or other foreign material.

Step5

Look at the color and shape of the leaf. Different kinds of tea have different ideal colors. Taiwan Oolong, for example should be a dark green/brown color. Broken leaves will produce bitterness, a trait many people find unpleasant, but slight bruising may be good for black tea.

Step6

Smell the tea. Smelling is just important as tasting. If there is no smell whatsoever from the tea leaves then they are not worth buying. Scent varies widely with Taiwanese teas. Many fragrant teas maintain their smell even after several infusions.

Step7

Finally taste the tea. In Taiwan it is acceptable to slurp your tea in order to appreciate the flavor. Try to sample many different varieties of Taiwanese tea to discover which you like best.