GongFu Tea with Mr. Tsay

So many of us use the term “GongFu Cha” as a blanket term for “Chinese Tea Ceremony”; it makes sense as GongFu means skillful way, and we are all practicing with the goal of brewing better tea. Though we have had some disagreement, the Tea Institute classifies Chinese tea brewing

Haiku for Stéphane

Crazy Taiwan weather fains to interrupt; Beauty changes it’s mind, – Stéphane’s ChaXi continues.

Wisteria Tea House – Round 2

On returning to Wisteria Tea House (Pat and I are there quite often, working our way through the menu – oh, the pains we must bare), just a normal tea drinking day, we were greeted with overwhelming kindness and a fiery new interest by the infamous Chow Yu; He had read

Monde Moderne Haiku

Misty mountains mount memorable siege against my motorcycle, as modern mechanics triumph (if only I was riding a Triumph), and we surmount the mountain passes, only to be turned around by a typhoon.

A brief stop on the life’s to do list

Life Goal: Have top practitioners of the 3 tea ceremonies practicing together – CHECK Life Goal: watch; breath; repeat – CHECK Knowing I made this happen? – a wonderful feeling of fulfillment and accomplishment – now, back to work.

Extreme ChaXi – Taiwan Coast

What could be more extreme than making ChaXi on a rocky outcropping jutting into the ocean as typhoon driven waves crash violently against the rocks next to you and the rain pounds down with drops the size of hail (seriously, it started hailing as soon as we got back on

Extreme ChaXi – Taiwan Mountain Side

Doing ChaXi is one thing; doing it on the side of a mountain in the rain off your motorcycle is quite another. This is Extreme ChaXi. Welcome to the game. For this High Mountain Chaxi (at ~1300M) I brewed an ALiShan GaoShan from April 2011. Good stuff! Brewing outside (on

The White Knight – An Every Day Hero

Sometimes, people for no reason but to be helpful and kind, go far out of their way to help others; this is one of those times. As I alluded to in this post, Pat and I got (very) lost on the small section of our ride from Banciao to SanXia,

Operation Escape to Nantou

As great as Taipei is (kinda-sorta-sometimes-maybe) Pat and I needed to escape, and what better way to do that than a motorcycle ride over the river and through the mountains in search of tea fields, fresh air, and a sense of adventure? We set off with nothing

Do you miss the surprises?

Looks like Pat and I are rolling with our VIP friends from Korea and Japan. Is that Wisteria tea house? Oh yes. Things are about to get crazy.