Tea houses and night markets

[Dr Bunsen Honeydew]

20 hours total travel time I am in Taipei, and knackered. Morwing Hotel, nice little inexpensive hotel right in the middle near the main railway station. One day work, 3 days tea houses and night markets and Taoist temples. Back next Tuesday.

Good wi-fi so I will stay in touch.

[slinger]

Nice one. Selling or sourcing?

[Dr Bunsen Honeydew]

PCB's. I used a broker, he stopped brokering so put me on to his contractor he used for my work who is in Taiwan.

[antonio66]

Hope your successful, and enjoy your short holiday.

[Dr Bunsen Honeydew]

Love Taiwan, used to go nearly yearly back in the 90's, when I had distributors.

Chinese cities I love and hate in order

Singapore +++++
Taipei ++++
Hong Kong +++
Guangzhou (Canton) ++
Shanghai +
Beijing -----

[Dr Bunsen Honeydew]

On the way to the metro to go to Shilin found a street next to my hotel full of food stall and small food take outs, so they got my custom as I am still a bit knackered from the journey. Spicy fried chicken wings and tofu. But the really good thing is the variety of drinks containing tea of all sorts hot and cold. France is capital for wine well Taiwan is capital for tea, I love it as I love my tea, and have drunk Oolong for nearly 30 years since first coming here. Just had a http://www.1992sharetea.com/menu.php#A2 classic pearl milk tea, going out now to get something different.

[CN211276]

I would dispute Taiwan being capital for tea after taking a holiday in Morocco last month. They are obsessed with mint tea. It was everywhere.

[Daniel Quinn]

O no Tea wars

[Dr Bunsen Honeydew]

You see just sweet mint tea, which would be like calling Morocco the capital of wine because they make a sweet red. Arabs just have black mint tea. Taiwan has every known type of tea and preparation, they even have a tea ceremony nearly as complex in tradition as the Japanese one involving serving Oolong in small cups and teapots. Tea was first grown in Fujian which supplied the whole of China thousands of years ago, Fujian people *invaded* Taiwan at the expense of the indigenous people in order to grow tea, as the mountainous slopes and volcanic soil was so suited. There is even a drug tea (hallucinogenic) which is extremely expensive. I still have some from 20 years ago (matured like wine). It is grown on one mountain side and has a specific hallucinogenic fungus that grows on the leaves. Not as strong as LSD but like a combination of hashish and alcohol, mildly spaces you out.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taiwanese_tea

Also the wonderful tradition of the tea house. What is little understood is that Japan owned Taiwan for fifty years until the 2nd world war, so there is very strong Japanese influences on the local culture. The Chinese traditional culture was more imposed after the Nationalists arrived with Chiang Kai Shek. The Fujian folk traditions were still very active from centuries before the Japanese.

https://www.google.com.tw/search?q=taip ... gQ_AUIBigB

[Dr Bunsen Honeydew]

Taiwan is changing though. The old traditions are dying. Taiwanese language is dying (variation on Fujian) and is now called old man speaks. Traditional tea and tea ceremony (called old man tea) is dying and only maintained in tea houses. In the 90's when I came every shop we visited the first thing was to make tea as we all sat around the small low table and chatted while the oolong tea was made in the traditional small pots and cups - very civilised, no one has time now. New Taiwan inventions like Bubble Tea are taking over and spreading around the world, the younger generations love it, where as old gits like me just tut tut

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gongfu_tea_ceremony