Nearly two years ago we launched our online workshop series and it has allowed us to drink tea with people from Tennessee, Ohio, California, & Vermont…all places far and wide. We’ve been fortunate to drink tea together, to share a cup of tea, & perhaps connect with others through tea in this difficult pandemic era. From Himalayan Black Teas to Taiwanese Oolongs, from Fresh Tea to Aged Puer Cha, we have explored lots of territory in just a few years…& we plan on exploring more through Stone Leaf Teahouse’s Online Workshop Series!
Just last weekend, after the last big snow storm of the season dumped ten inches of snow in the mountains then melted again with some warm spring rains, we tackled the subject of Fresh Taiwanese Oolongs. For this workshop we focused on tasting Winter 2021 Taiwanese Oolongs, the freshest available!
Ali Shan, Li Shan, Shan Lin Xi, Tung Ting, and a bonus of Shan Lin Xi Hong Cha were the teas we featured for this workshop. All light Oolongs (except for the the bonus tea), these teas embody the unique style defining Taiwanese teas: tightly rolled, mostly light green in color, & all grown at high elevations. We drank many many cups, discussed differences in each tea, steeped each one multiple times, and tried to come up with words that described what we tasted (in many cases this comes out like poetry). Lilac, steamed asparagas, silky, buttery, toasted nuts, & preserved lemons were some of our good descriptors! We looked through photographs taken over our many years of tea travels & discussed the stories of the land, leaf, & people of Taiwan. All in all it was 50 minutes well spent….alright, we couldn’t stop & actually went over an extra 20 minutes!
Now we look ahead to our next workshop on March 27th @ 1pm, titled “Taste of Water.” You may be wondering what the taste of water has to do with the taste of your tea? The truth is, it has everything to do with the taste of your tea! In this workshop, we’ll explore by tasting the same teas using water from different sources which could include: well water, mountain spring water, chlorinated city water, bottled spring water, & distilled bottled water. They all have different PH levels & mineral content, influencing the taste of your tea. ATTENTION LOCAL TEA FOLKS: you still have a chance to sign up for “Taste of Water” because we have in store pickup!…& the workshop is on SALE! Yunnan Gold, Jade Oolong, Shui Xian, Sundried buds, and Uji Shincha are the featured teas.
And there’s more workshops ahead!…
Please check out our full schedule of Online Workshops & Tastings here…and as the weather warms, we plan to host a few of these workshops outside and in person! Stay tuned.