The Spirit. Tea Making. of v. by Margaret Ledoux

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1 The Sprt of v v Tea Makng by Margaret Ledoux 1

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3 People are brought together for a purpose. When n harmony they wll dscover the path they wll walk together. Margaret Ledoux 3

4 Copyrght 2016 by Margaret Ledoux All rghts reserved. No part of ths book may be reproduced n any form or by any means wthout permsson n wrtng from the copyrght owner. Please address all nqures to margaret@masterng-tea.com Or vst our blog Managng edtor: Frances Ong Book desgner: Danel Palma Tayona Copy edtor: Paul Catang Publsher : Publshroom ISBN : Photographs: Margaret Ledoux, Sarah Ledoux, Ma Sheng-ren Prnted by : CPI France Prnted n France 4

5 Contents Introducton 7 A Teapot-szed Hstory of Tea 11 The Sprt of Tea Makng 17 He, Jn, Qng, J 18 The Tea 19 The Envronment 23 The Utensls 24 Servng the Tea 30 Tawanese Tea 39 The Road to Qual-tea 39 The Importance of Processng 42 A Choce Selecton 53 Benefts to Health 59 Acknowledgements About the Author Bblography 5

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7 Introducton C In both Brtan and France, where I grew up, tea s a classc drnk taken black or wth mlk and sugar or nfused wth dfferent herbal flavours. An unforgettable four years n Tawan ntroduced me to a dfferent approach to tea and tea drnkng that I would lke to share wth you. The tea ceremony of Japan s well known and apprecated for ts precson and beauty of settng and movements a far cry one mght thnk from the more down-to-earth approach of the Brtsh cup of tea or the French herbal nfuson. Yet the Englsh, too, developed tea drnkng as an mportant practce ether to start the day well, or to calm the nerves after an upsettng experence, or to enjoy socalsng n a relaxed and happy envronment. In France, n my experence, tea s also consdered more relaxng than coffee, to be preferred whenever a soothng beverage s more approprate. Truly, there are many ways of apprecatng the brew both through the way n whch t s served as well as the way n whch the tea leaf tself has been prepared to release ts own partcular flavours. Today, tea drnkng s becomng ncreasngly popular throughout Europe. At the same tme the health benefts of tea are also becomng recognsed and authentcated. In Tawan I dscovered the delcate oolong teas, whch contrast strongly wth the better-known, astrngent black teas from the Indan subcontnent, or the powdered, btter green teas of Japan. 7

Where black tea s completely and rapdly oxdsed, oolong s partally oxdsed to release polyphenols that provde the delcate sweetness, the vast palette of aromas, and the health benefts of antoxdants

8 My Journey to Tea Mastery The East Inda Company developed the tea trade prncpally wth the black teas of Inda, Sr Lanka, and Chna. The tea traders n Tawan, realsng that competton wth these black teas would be extremely dffcult, decded to develop the qualty of the lesser-known but equally delcous oolong tea. Where black tea s completely and rapdly oxdsed, oolong s partally oxdsed to release polyphenols that provde the delcate sweetness, the vast palette of aromas, and the health benefts of antoxdants that characterse the tea. In Tawan, oolong tea s apprecated n a smlar way to great wnes accordng to colour, body, aroma, and taste. The regon and heght above sea level of the tea plantaton can affect these qualtes. Teahouses from the smplest to the most sophstcated are found n every corner of the country, each offerng ther preferred range of teas. It s n Tawan that the ancent tradtons of cultvaton and processng have been respected, mantaned, and developed. Tawan produces extraordnary teas whch, as I dscovered and came to ap- 8

9 Introducton precate durng my years there, can be greatly enhanced by enterng nto the ancent sprt of tea makng. And so dear reader, I would lke to share my journey nto the world of tea mastery, made wth my dear frend Chrst Ln and our tea master Nancy Chao, by ntroducng you to the art of tea makng. Lke all good journeys, we wll start at the begnnng wth a bref hstory of tea drnkng and the basc dfferences n tea, before explorng the delghtful practce of Tawanese tea tastng that precous moment stolen from lfe s hectc day to noursh ndvdual well-beng, and when shared wth frends, cement relatonshps. The journey would not be complete wthout a closer look at Tawanese oolongs, the search for qualty, the mportance of processng, our personal selecton, and an overvew of the benefts tea drnkng may brng to our health. From left to rght: the author, Nancy Chao, and Chrst Ln. 9

10 C Acknowledgements C My most sncere thanks go to Nancy Chao, (Chao, Hu mn) tea master and connosseur, and to my dear frend Chrst Ln, wthout whose support, encouragement, and advce ths book would never have been possble. It s ndeed thanks to Chrst who sad, If you really want to share your love of Tawanese tea then you must frst become a tea master! She then ntroduced me to Nancy and to each and every possble person who would provde nsght and nformaton on my journey, gudng me n a way that only a frend and tea enthusast could. My thanks also go to all those we met along ths path of dscovery and enjoyment. I would partcularly lke to thank Jacky Shaw for hs nvaluable partcpaton n ths project; Lsette Lu; Peter Lee and Joann Chu of Ken Yu & Co. (Tape Tea Merchants Assocaton and Tawan Tea Exporters Assocaton); the Shan Wa Shan Tea Gardens; the Wang famly, tea processors and exporters; Sophe Hong; Ren Roxas; Weng Domngo; and my many frends who read drafts and encouraged me down the long road to completon. None of ths would have been possble of course wthout the support of my dear husband, Guy, to whom I gve many heartfelt thanks. 62

11 C About the Author C Margaret has travelled the world both as a health consultant and as a dplomat s wfe. Born n the UK she left her home country n She met and marred her French husband n 1981 and now holds both Brtsh and French natonalty. She lved wth her husband n Tawan from 2007 to Durng ths tme, she learnt to apprecate Tawanese oolongs and the sprt of frendshp and sharng that accompanes tea drnkng. However, t was when they moved to the Phlppnes that Margaret felt the need to share her growng passon for Tawanese tea. Feelng unwell soon after her arrval n Manla, she receved a large tn of oolong from a Tawanese frend, wth the nstructon to drnk a mug of tea thrce a day. The medcne worked and her desre to share her experence was born. Seeng her sncere nterest n the oolongs of Tawan, Margaret s frend Chrst engaged tea master Nancy Chao to teach them the art of tea apprecaton. Back n Europe, Margaret plans to contnue sharng her passon usng her sklls as tea master through regular tea tastngs. Her journey of dscovery contnues. 63

12 BIBLIOGRAPHY Books Mark Anton Allee, Law and Local Socety n Late Imperal Chna: Northern Tawan n the Nneteenth Century, (Calforna, Stanford Unversty Press, 1994). Marvn Edeas, Les secrets de santé du thé (La Rochelle, France; Alpen, 2009). Encyclopeda of Monastcsm, edted by Wllam M. Johnston (Chcago, Ftzroy Dearborn, 2000). Mchael Harney, The Harney & Sons Gude to Tea, (London, Pengun, 2008). Mary Lou Hess, Robert J. Hess, The Story of Tea: A Cultural Hstory and Drnkng Gude. (Toronto, Random House, 2007). Yu Lu, ntroducton and translaton by Francs Ross Carpenter, The Classc of Tea: Orgns & Rtuals, (Boston; Lttle, Brown and Co.; 1974.) Tawan: A New Hstory, edted by Murray A. Rubnsten, (East Gate Books, Routledge; Expanded edton October 27, 2006). Webstes thezenste.com: Orgns of Buddhst Monastc codes URL: Wkpeda: The Treaty of Tentsn URL: en.wkpeda.org/wk/treaty_of_tentsn efloras.org: 18. Theaceae, Bruce Bartholomew and Tanlu Mn. Flora of Chna URL: Camella snenss (Lnnaeus), Kuntze, Trudy Imp. S.-Peterburgsk. Bot. Sada. 10: URL: Journals Han We, Tang Dynasty Tea Utensls and Tea Culture: Recent Dscoveres at Famen Temple, (1993)Chanoyu Quarterly no. 74. Chung S. Yang, Joshua D. Lambert, Shengmn Sang, Antoxdatve and ant-carcnogenc actvtes of tea polyphenols, Archves of Toxcology 83 (2009). Bente L. Halvorsen et al., A Systematc Screenng of Total Antoxdants n Detary Plants, The Journal of Nutrton, March 1, 2002; vol. 132, no K Won Lee et al., Antoxdant Actvty of Black Tea vs. Green Tea, The Journal of Nutrton, Aprl 1, 2002; vol. 132, no Tea and Cancer Preventon: Strengths and Lmts of the Evdence, Natonal Cancer Insttute, revewed 17 November URL: det/tea-fact-sheet Photo Credts Page 13: Callgraphy of Wen, Zheng-Mng s Tea Poem (1531); Melody Yang: Jan 2016 n the author s collecton Page 14: Men Laden wth Tea, Ernest Wlson Henry, (1908). Arnold Arboretum Hortcultural Lbrary of Harvard Unversty Presdent and Fellows of Harvard College, Arnold Arboretum Archves. Page 41: Photograph of John Dodd reproduced wth the knd permsson of the Dodd famly. Page 42: Early 19th Century Tea Factory, Tawan Gov T Informaton Offce/Natonal Geographc Creatve; Image ID and Page 43: Flower Grl: Extra Chocest Carefully Selected Formosa Oolong. Tea chest label (1890) from the author s collecton. 64

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