Tea - A Love Affair

I have been flirting with T for 13 years. It all began after I quit my job. It was a conscious

and voluntary choice but it felt like a bad divorce. T was the "perfect" rebound but as affairs usually turn out, it didn't stand up to reality-check. I thought T would fill the void of loosing my old identity as the "hot-shot", "east meets west" business woman. How wrong I was! But I never regret meeting T and we remain a platonic relationship.

I set up a company called Double Happiness Tea Inc. I wrote a 36-page business plan, studied hard, traveled to Asia twice to learn and looking for a good reliable tea exporter. I was approaching tea as a product, like a knickknack which was my old employer's claim to fame. I did farmer's markets, co-ops, open houses, the malls. Everybody "loved the idea" but few were willing to pay what they paid for a pound of mediocre coffee for a 2 oz of top-notch tea, which actually lasted longer because you could make multiple infusions. Thirteen years ago green tea was just getting to be the new health food, some people lost interest immediately when I said I wasn't sure green tea would help them loose weight. I thought a bit of education was in order so I started teaching Chinese Tea Ceremony. After doing it for awhile, once in the middle of Minnesota's winter driving two hours in heavy snow to a shaman's workshop at a church, I discovered I actually enjoyed sharing tea more than selling tea. It took me awhile to admit that I wasn't going to become the "Starbucks of Tea", but thanks to the IRS who made the self-acceptance easier. I hated doing business tax, especially when I was loosing money, I threw in the towel and move to the capital city of coffee - Seattle, well, not quite Seattle but close enough.

Enough of Me, this is supposed to be a travel blog not a "How I failed" confession. Now let me take you for a fun ride to Yung Kang Street; which has become one of my favorite neighborhoods in Taipei. Although most of the one-story houses with tiled roofs and walled gardens(built during the Japanese occupation period between 1895-1945 to accommodate Japanese officials) are ancient memories now, the neighborhood still has an old cultured atmosphere. Away from the main road, from the well-known places like Din Tai Fong (see my post on Facebook, April 29th), the stall that sells shredded ice that Japanese tourists favor and various enticing eateries and quaint shops, tucked away in the narrow back alleys are the "tea joints".

It was my dear friend Cathy who introduced me to these tea joints and they have become my "must-visit" every time I go back to Taiwan. Some of these joints have no signs and they don't need to for they are in the business of word of mouth. They are run by people who are the real "tea artists". They are not tea houses, they may have one or two tables and they don't serve food. It's like going to a friend's house, you sit for two, three, four hours, sampling tea and telling stories. Contrary to popular belief I always sleep soundly after a night of such tea feast. Each tea joint is known by the tea connoisseurs in Taipei for its specialty - one is known to get the freshest and prized "young teas" of the season, the other is known for its secret stash of "Red Seal Pu-er" which a quarter-size chunk is worth an ounce of gold, yet another is where you can buy a $300 teapot made by the most famous local ceramist, or a place you can learn how to play an ancient music instrument. As for a novice like me, I just go for the wild ride and enjoy being treated like "Cathy's friend who lives in America". Then I came to the "Starbucks Land" loaded with half suitcase of tea and my unrequited love for T.