Tea ceremony in Taiwan
Once me and two other interns went for shopping in the area
nearby the main station. We were pacing the streets, trying to find souvenirs
for friends from our home countries.
As usual Tainan hot weather wasn’t favorable for us - after two hours of walking around, we were exhausted and dreamed about finding an indoor place with air-conditioning. We saw a traditional teashop and decided to go inside, as I wanted to buy some tea for my parents. It was a spacious store with different kinds of teas, teacups and teapots on the shelves. There was also a table with a whole set needed to prepare tea and a shop assistant offered to show us a traditional tea preparation. We sat down at a table in front of the man and eagerly was waiting how the process looks like. Firstly he boiled up water and put tea leaves inside ceramic pot. He poured water into the pot and waited a few minutes. After that step the tea is first poured into the tea jug, and then into scent cups or sniffer cup, so he poured tea into our cups and instructed us to pour it out into a special lithoid bowl. Thereafter our cups were refilled again and we could first smell the scent of tea and then taste it. The process was repeated about 6 times. Each subsequent pot follows the same procedure, but requires a slightly longer infusion time and a quality oolong tea is good for anywhere from 4 to 8 infusions. I must admit that the taste of tea was so much different from teas I usually drink in Poland, so it was very unique experience for me and helped me understand, why tea is so popular in Taiwan. Taiwanese people drink tea not only as a drink, but also as a part of the culture, it is kind of ritual, ceremony, in which you can show respect to your guest by serving them tea and value tea by her healing properties.
I decided to buy both green and black tea to enjoy drinking it back in Poland and to carry out the ceremony in a proper manner I bought a whole tea-set in a very old traditional shop, where an elderly old kind couple run their family-owned business. Even if they didn't understand any word in English and I cannot speak Taiwanese, they helped me to choose the best teacups and teapot.
As usual Tainan hot weather wasn’t favorable for us - after two hours of walking around, we were exhausted and dreamed about finding an indoor place with air-conditioning. We saw a traditional teashop and decided to go inside, as I wanted to buy some tea for my parents. It was a spacious store with different kinds of teas, teacups and teapots on the shelves. There was also a table with a whole set needed to prepare tea and a shop assistant offered to show us a traditional tea preparation. We sat down at a table in front of the man and eagerly was waiting how the process looks like. Firstly he boiled up water and put tea leaves inside ceramic pot. He poured water into the pot and waited a few minutes. After that step the tea is first poured into the tea jug, and then into scent cups or sniffer cup, so he poured tea into our cups and instructed us to pour it out into a special lithoid bowl. Thereafter our cups were refilled again and we could first smell the scent of tea and then taste it. The process was repeated about 6 times. Each subsequent pot follows the same procedure, but requires a slightly longer infusion time and a quality oolong tea is good for anywhere from 4 to 8 infusions. I must admit that the taste of tea was so much different from teas I usually drink in Poland, so it was very unique experience for me and helped me understand, why tea is so popular in Taiwan. Taiwanese people drink tea not only as a drink, but also as a part of the culture, it is kind of ritual, ceremony, in which you can show respect to your guest by serving them tea and value tea by her healing properties.
I decided to buy both green and black tea to enjoy drinking it back in Poland and to carry out the ceremony in a proper manner I bought a whole tea-set in a very old traditional shop, where an elderly old kind couple run their family-owned business. Even if they didn't understand any word in English and I cannot speak Taiwanese, they helped me to choose the best teacups and teapot.
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