Taiwan of 尋 The Lost Art 味 Oolong 失 An Interview With He Jian (何健), Owner of the Yeh Tang 落 Culture Research Institute 的 茶人: Yan Jie (顏婕) Donated By Wushing 傳

統 He Jian is one of the most influential Chajin (tea people) in . He has been promoting for more than 烏 thirty years. He is one of the world’s leading experts on Yixing . His humble demeanor and love for kindness have 龍 made him a very important teacher to us. His perspective on Taiwanese is invaluable and we are honored to intro- duce him to our tea community.

magine yourself savoring a cup of flavor, in pursuit of a fragrant curl of Nangang style, each very different aged Wen Shan from steam that wafted, dreamlike, through from the other. I1979. The tea leaves have witnessed history. Of the two tea growers, Wang the passage of more than thirty years to Shuijin represented the Wen Shan bring you this sweet, mellow tea liquor Baozhong tea-making method, using with its warm, clean fragrance. As you Wen Shan Baozhong a technique borrowed from Wuyi tea breathe in, your nostrils are filled with (Pou Chong) 文山包 that involves twisting the tea leaves. the scent of tea, soothing away life’s With the existing Wuyi method as stresses and anxieties. Our search for Wen Shan is situated in the south- a starting point, he developed a pro- this traditional Taiwanese oolong fla- ern and south-eastern regions of the cess with a more thorough oxidation vor brought us to the Yeh Tang Tea Taipei Basin and was Taiwan’s ear- and roast, resulting in a stronger fra- Culture Research Institute on Taipei’s liest tea-growing area, with tea first grance and a deeper, reddish-colored Yongkang Street, where we listened being cultivated there in 1810. Wen liquor. Because of its distinctive flavor, attentively over the to vet- Shan Baozhong tea originated in Tai- some people are still quite enamored eran tea master He Jian as he tirelessly pei’s Nangang district in the late 19th of this stronger-scented, Wen Shan- recounted the stories behind Taiwan’s century. Its founding fathers were style Baozhong tea. Wei Jingshi, on traditional oolong tea varieties: Wen two natives of in the other hand, modified the Wuyi Shan Baozhong, Muzha , Province, Wang Shuijin (王水錦) tea-making method used for the Wen Dong Ding oolong, and Eastern Beauty. and Wei Jingshi (魏靜時) who immi- Shan style, changing the whole pro- His passion was contagious, and we grated to Taiwan. They established a cess right from the withering stage to fell in love with tea again. Master He’s tea plantation on a hillside of Neihu produce a more lightly oxidized tea tea and stories did more than inform Village in the Qixing region (near the with a greener liquor and a lighter, us; they left us inspired. Through his old Nangang Village), and started to sweeter fragrance. This was theNan - words, we were carried along on a produce tea. From that point on, two gang style of Baozhong tea—the pre- journey through time, following the distinct styles of Baozhong tea gradu- decessor of the Wen Shan Baozhong rise and fall of that traditional oolong ally developed: Wen Shan style and tea that is commonly seen today.

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臧 Taiwan Oolong

The term “red water” (referring to the color of the liquor) that dates back to the period of Japanese occu- pation was in fact used to distinguish the Wen Shan style from the Nan- gang style of processing. In 1921, the Baozhong Tea Institute was estab- lished in Nangang to promote tea production and pass on knowledge of tea-growing and manufacturing techniques to the local tea farmers. At that time, the bulk of the tea leaves were exported, together with those produced in the neighboring areas of Pinglin, San Xia, and Da Dao Cheng, with whom Nangang enjoyed close and mutually beneficial business ties. Later on, due to several factors such as mining and urban development, tea production in the mountains of Nangang slowly began to decline. The center of Nangang Baozhong tea production gradually began to shift toward Pinglin, where the envi- ronment was more favorable. From 1975 onward, the tea market gradu- ally became geared toward domestic consumption, and these two villages Eastern Beauty after heavy oxidation. that had sprung up because of the tea industry—Nangang and Da Dao Cheng—slowly went into decline. Baozhong tea has a light, elegant flavor and a distinct fragrance, and is well-regarded in the market. Fur- the favorable soil quality and climate, ist attraction, many businesses sprung thermore, the price of Baozhong tea is the area of the plantation expanded up in the area, and the influx of labor completely determined by the quality rapidly and Muzha became a Tieguan- and resources changed the face of the of the tea itself. The difference is obvi- yin-growing region. The main fea- local industry, causing the tea indus- ous, unlike tea leaves from most tea tures of the manufacturing process try to decline. The main internal fac- regions where the price is relatively included using leaves from the origi- tor, on the other hand, was that as uniform and there’s no way to dis- nal Tieguanyin bush varietal, followed farmland was passed down through tinguish the quality. In my opinion, by relatively heavy oxidation, repeated generations of tea growers, it was Baozhong tea’s distinctive flavor makes cloth-rolling, and hand-roasting. continually redistributed and divided it the most classic example of Taiwan- This created a unique flavor with a into smaller and smaller sections, dra- ese tea, and one of the best teas to rich, strong fragrance and a hint of matically decreasing the area available represent the small and refined char- tart fruitiness, and led Tieguanyin to for planting. Because of these core acter of Taiwan. become famed as a regional specialty external and internal influences, it tea that’s representative of the tradi- was inevitable that Tieguanyin would tional art of -making. undergo a fundamental change. Muzha (Mucha) In recent years, the characteris- In addition, the advent of tea Tieguanyin 木柵鐵觀音 tics of Tieguanyin, from the aroma to competitions had an influence on the the mouthfeel, have all changed a lot flavor ofTieguanyin . The authorities During the period of Japanese from that early style. So what were the hoped to stimulate the tea economy, rule, tea masters Zhang Naimiao ( main factors that contributed to the so from their perspective, the more 張迺妙) and Zhang Naigan (張迺 evolution of Tieguanyin’s flavor? The tea varieties entered in the competi- 乾) imported Tieguanyin tea seed- external factors include the develop- tions, the better. In order to keep the lings from Anxi and planted them on ment of tea plantations in competitions running, they needed to Zhanghu Mountain in Muzha Dis- in the 1990s that were aimed at sight- expand the area of origin of the raw trict (also called “Mucha”). Due to seers. After Maokong became a tour- tea leaves, so tea growers moved to

45/ The Lost Art of Oolong Pinglin to grow their tea, and started tional manufacturing method. If we Beauty’s distinctive taste and vigorous, to make Tieguanyin using tea leaves can promote the proper appreciation energizing liquor was received with from the Pinglin region. Tieguanyin of Tieguanyin, then people will rec- great enthusiasm and became very teas from areas of mainland ognize its true rarity and worth and popular. also entered the arena alongside there will naturally be a market for it. Eastern Beauty can only be pro- Muzha Tieguanyin, slowly diluting Once demand is established, it will duced in one season of the year the distinctive traditional flavor of have a stimulating effect on the wider (global warming has caused the quan- Tieguanyin. industry. tity they are able to produce in win- I believe that the rarer the pro- ter to diminish). This makes it very duction of traditional Tieguanyin difficult for small-scale tea farmers to becomes, the more we need to high- make a living from growing it, and light the few remaining great tea arti- Eastern Beauty the production of Eastern Beauty tea sans, tea bush varietals, and tea-mak- 東方美人 in Taiwan is gradually decreasing. ing methods, to set a benchmark for The tea plantations are small and the the industry. I hope that this high Eastern Beauty tea is also called resources concentrated, which makes benchmark will become the pride of “Peng Feng tea,” or “Bai Hao (white it relatively easy to hand-select the Taiwan and set an example for Anxi, tip) oolong.” It’s mainly produced in choicest tea leaves that have been bit- so that once it has gained prominence, the Taoyuan, Hsinchu, and Miaoli ten by the small green leaf-hoppers its uniqueness will be better recog- areas of Taiwan. Its most recognizable whose saliva gives the tea its char- nized. To truly capture the “Guan- characteristics are its delicate, linger- acteristic sweetness. Because of this, yin spirit” that is so sought-after in ing honey aroma, and the way it com- the same few people tend to take the traditional Muzha Tieguanyin tea bines the traditional taste of oolong top prizes in the tea competitions. (named for , the Bodhisattva with the richness of red tea—of all the Add to this the importing of teas of Mercy), you really need the genu- , it’s the closest in flavor to red from outside Taiwan (and other fac- ine Tieguanyin varietal, plus the tradi- tea. In 20th-century England, Eastern tors) and the result is that over time,

46 Taiwan Oolong this type of tea has also lost some of (a measure equal to 11 kilograms). its appearance and scent; it’s a mov- its unique characteristics. The level This had a big influence on the tea ing experience. How many tea lovers of oxidation has become lighter and industry and established Dong Ding get to experience that these days? It’s lighter, and environmental changes oolong as the leading player in Tai- become very rare. Now you just put have meant that the unique quality wanese tea competitions and the most the leaves in a tea-turning machine resulting from the green katydids’ well-known and influential of Tai- that rolls them for you. Likewise, after saliva is less and less prominent. The wan’s traditional oolongs. washing machines were invented, you tea that is now produced can easily These days, a situation worth rarely see anyone hand-washing their fetch ten to twenty thousand New pondering is this: in the competition clothes, and we all use electric rice Taiwanese Dollars per half a kilogram, categories for such a large-scale tea as cookers to make dinner—the taste of yet the brewed tea is a very pale gold- Dong Ding oolong, the majority of the that crunchy rice you fondly remem- en-yellow color and lacks the tradi- best-performing teas are in fact made ber eating from the bottom of the pan tional amber color and robust flavor from raw tea leaves sourced from very is now just a childhood memory. You it had in the past. So the fundamental high-elevation tea plantations and not can’t go back. These days, tea lovers quality of the tea has slowly changed. from Dong Ding itself. Of course, this are even more sincere and profound How could we allow such a distinc- is because highly elevated plantations in their interest, and more numerous tive tea to simply disappear, being have particularly favorable growing than we were back then, but there are among Taiwan’s most recognized spe- conditions, so the tea they produce so many things that they have never cialty teas and an important Taiwan- has a pleasantly soft, sweet taste. But had the chance to experience, and ese export, with a flavor appreciated because of this, the original purpose probably never will. It really is a great by even Queen Victoria of England? of holding a competition for local tea pity. Though we may not have the oppor- varieties—that is, to promote and bol- tunity to experience Eastern Beauty as ster the local tea-growing regions— it once was, we cannot lose sight of its has been lost. To draw a comparison: worthiness of our appreciation. in a sporting event, athletes should be judged by their skill on the sports field, and not forced to dress up and enter a beauty pageant instead! Dong Ding Oolong Although the high mountain teas are 凍頂烏龍 indeed very sweet and fragrant, Dong Ding has a richer, more full-bodied Dong Ding oolong is produced in taste and deserves to shine on its own Lugu Township in Taiwan’s Nantou stage. When making tea, it’s import- 真 County, at an elevation of 500 to 800 ant to work with the natural character meters above sea level. It’s quite heav- of the tea. Only then can you achieve ily withered and oxidized and goes the traditional local style and flavor through several rounds of rolling in that Dong Ding oolong should display. 理 cloth bags to give the leaves their ball- I truly hope that the Dong Ding like shape (one of the traditional skills tea region will be able to slowly involved in making Dong Ding oolong recover, and that after the ecosystem is rolling the tea with one’s feet). After and soil have been sufficiently cul- 在 that, it’s slowly roasted over a charcoal tivated, it will once again look just fire to give the tea its characteristic as it used to. Unfortunately, though rich, mellow fragrance. The crafts- understandably, no-one is willing to manship involved in making the tea is reproduce that traditional flavor of 杯 very delicate and complex, represent- days gone by because of the time and ing the art of Taiwanese tea-making at effort involved—the road to the past its finest. is a hard road to travel. Some time The Lugu Township Farmers’ ago, I had the chance to go to the Collective that sprang up around mountains and experience tea-mak- 裡 Dong Ding oolong tea made a very ing for myself. You couldn’t even go to significant contribution to the local sleep at night because you had to get industry: the volume of tea that they up every two or three hours to pro- submitted to annual competitions cess the tea—it was very hard work! represented two-thirds of the total Throughout the tea-making process, volume of all entries. Every year, the every time you turn the tea leaves volume of spring and winter tea sam- over, every time you gather them up ples that they submitted to the com- and spread them out, you can feel petitions totaled several thousand dian the subtle changes in the tea—in

47/ The Lost Art of Oolong The Small but Beautiful Culture of Traditional Taiwanese Oolong

The most outstanding features of Taiwan are its beauty and small size. In the past, our greatest source of pride was the purity of Taiwanese tea: the entire process from production to export and local consumption, the development of tea from an every- day drink to one of life’s most refined pleasures… every aspect of this devel- opment has been very complete, and has established a very high standard for tea in Taiwan. Take the sudden rise of aged puerh, for example. Aged puerh tea had been around in Hong Kong for a very long time and was a dime a dozen there; however, once it reached the palates of the Taiwanese peo- ple and they recognized its excellent qualities, it soon became very valu- able. Taiwan had a taste for puerh tea, Mainland China had the capital, and Hong Kong had the goods—so aged puerh really highlighted the charac- teristics of all three places and created a fully formed supply-and-demand relationship. When others provide a market, we need to establish the right standards for appreciating tea, instead of just blindly swaying with the mar- ket. Once we’ve really mastered this “small and beautiful” quality and established our authority in appre- ciating and critiquing tea, we’ll have a much bigger platform to make our voices heard. This will bring about many positive changes and enable Tai- wan’s traditional oolong tea to forge its own path in the world.

Master He Jian.

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