Thursday, November 13, 2008
Posted by Miss Neddy at 05:15 PM | Comments (0) | Permalink
Categories: Tea Wulong

On a recent trip to Bangkok, I came across a small tea outlet which boasted wulong teas grown in Thailand. Intrigued, I looked at their teas. They had a few wulongs, namely Gaoshan and Tiekuanyin, and the usual jasmine green tea, along with a few other varieties. The salesgirl was earnest and helpful but not very experienced in making tea. Her attempt at brewing Tiekuanyin using a Piao-Yi cup was a little off, using water that had been boiling for a fairly long time and letting the tea leaves steep too long.

My learned friend 醉茶士 was also there, and swore that the Tiekuanyin smelled strongly of nicotine! I hesitantly agreed, as there was an odd scent to the tea which I couldn’t quite identify. It did have a resemblance to the sweet, musky smell of tobacco, although not as strong or pervasive. I learned to my surprise that the Tiekuanyin was grown in Chiang Rai, as were the other teas, including the Gaoshan.

More tea plantations are always good, even if they’re not in China or Taiwan (or given the burgeoning Chinese economy giving rise to very wealthy Chinese on the mainland who can afford to pay top dollar for tea leaves, especially if they are not in China), so I bought a tin of Tiekuanyin.

To be honest, I was not expecting very much for the price, which was around 8% of what I usually pay for a top-grade Tiekuanyin. It is a pleasant enough tea, with a good golden colour and fairly recognizable scent. Unfortunately the tea leaves are only good for one, or at most 2 steepings. Nonetheless, it is still better, in terms of taste and fragrance, than the teas available in supermarkets, even though their price range is similar. Should I go to Bangkok again, I will be sure to drop in at that tea outlet again, and perhaps that affable and helpful salesgirl will be better practiced by then.

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