尋客茶路

In the Name of Tea, a Cultural Tour Connecting the World and the Mountain  in Taiwan

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The “Formosa Tea Way” begins with the relationship between Taiwan’s tea and the world. Just follow the tea’s aroma and trace along the highway in the deep mountains – we will step on the century-old tea way. Arriving at the Hakka settlement, we can feel the lifestyle of the tea mountains, and see the diverse lifestyles of Hakka tea culture. Finally, following the trip of the tea tree and tea spa, we can witness the how the Hakka tea masters work with the land accurately like actuarial scientists, and how the Hakka people protect their land and taste with careful consideration. 

Ready for the trip? Let’s have a tea meal. 

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1. 

Tea’s time terrain

Taiwan・The World

The island’s affinity with tea has continued over the four hundred years. In Taiwan, the acidic soil and misty weather permeated the high mountains, hills, and plains. In different seasons of the year, different kinds of tea were grown. The diverse tea species and promising tea-making craft provide Taiwan’s tea with a considerable magnitude for its taste. Both teas prepared for trade or refined tea had very good quality. At different altitudes and attitudes, tea was produced in the twenty-four solar terms in a year. New teas were cultivated every day; no wonder people regarded it as the empire of the tea. 

2.

Into the mountain 

Tea・Life 

The meandering historic paths run among the Hakka tea shops along the ridges. The Hakka’s spirit of treating passers-by with tea, the worship of Bogong (land god), the singing of mountain songs, and more seem to be around now. Walking along the narrow paths in the mountains, we can penetrate into the settlements to experience picking tea, drying tea, and drinking tea, as well as witnessing the work, hospitality, rituals, poems, essays, and music of the Hakka settlements. 

Then, we will discover that tea is everywhere. 

3.

Genius Tea Masters 

People・Land 

Hakka tea masters are actuaries of land! Revealing the 19-hour Champion Tea-making Secret for the First Time

Oriental Beauty tea, once fetching a sky-high price of NTD 1.01 million for a pound, showcased the pinnacle of craftsmanship by a Hakka tea master. The exhibition curation team of "Formosa Tea Way" and the photography studio "Hem Hem Studio" went deep into the inland areas to document the stories of three top Oriental Beauty tea masters across generations: Yaoliang Xu, Ruilong Yang, and Junrong Liao, all winners of the special grade award, as well as the legendary 90-year-old master tea maker, Zhaoxuan Jiang. It unveils the secrets of the 19-hour tea-making process of champion tea masters, including year-round tea plantation management, soil assessment, tea picking timing, withering time, and the skillful handling of the tea leaves, describing the key aspects of tea-making that tea masters discern through their sense of smell. They tirelessly care for the tea leaves for 19 hours nonstop to create champion-grade tea.

4.

Taiwan tea sensory map

“Taiwan tea sensory map” originated from the exploration of the "flavor" (smell), "taste", and "mouthfeel" (touch on the tongue) of teas produced in Taiwan. 

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The tea is beautiful gift of the co-production of the heaven, land, and people. Every cup of tea represents the landscapes of the location. There are high mountains a few thousand feet tall, hills with laterite, and plains. It is also the accumulation of tea seedlings and tea production skills over the past century. The diversity of nature, human and artisanship are blended into a cup tea to soothe our throats. 

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