Tea Journal

1. December 31 2023

Prince Tea House
Philadelphia, PA

At this point in time, my travels to Taiwan had not yet occurred, but the idea was floating around in my head. This day was actually the first time I ever tried Puer tea, and as I remember I had read about it online and an interest was sparked, so I knew I badly wanted to try it.

2. July 4th 2023

On a bus
Luodong, Taiwan

This was my first day in Taiwan. I was so incredibly tired after my nearly 30 hour trip, but I recall still having the energy to find everything new, exciting and beautiful. I will always love this picture as it represents my first view of Taiwan. I love all the colorful signs and the mountains far off in the background that will always be representative of Taiwan to me.

3. July 17th 2023

A-Mei Tea House
Juifen, Taiwan

This was my first day in Jiufen, and before I arrived I knew what I was looking forward to most was all the tea houses in the area. This day I rented a traditional qipao and wondered around Jiufen by myself. A-Mei is on the side of the hill and overlooks the ocean. The view is truly stunning. I remember I never wanted to leave. The tea I drank was their Lishan High Mountain Tea.

4. July 17th 2023

Sea View Tea House
Jiufen, Taiwan

Two teahouses in one day! As you can tell from the lovely gem color this was a herbal tea as I drank it later in the afternoon and didn’t want anything caffeinated. I also loved this tea house as it had tatami flooring and had such a lovely view of the ocean as you might be able to guess by it’s name.

5. July 28th 2023

Back Home
Delaware

My first trip to Taiwan over! One month was not nearly enough. At least I had brought home with me some tea.

6. Auguest 16th 2023

Home
Delaware

This was my first little tea party! Although only one of my friends was in the area at the time, I was excited to share with her the tea that I had brough back from Taiwan. I made her some of my favorite glutinous rice Puer.

7. November 25th 2023

The Village Tea House
West Point, PA

My 21st birthday! Of course by this point you can tell that I am completely enamoured with tea. The Village Tea House is a really lovely spot, and they have an extensive collection of tea. Very little of it is Chinese or Taiwanese but I still find great enjoyment in spending time just drinking tea.

8. December 23rd 2023

A Friend’s Home
St. Michaels, MA

My friends and I have a tradition of meeting every year during the holiday season to make latkes and Christmas cookies and just be around each other. I wanted to share with them a tea that I had grown to love, Duck Shit. Yes, the name is quite silly. the story goes that the farmer didn’t want the others to steal his recipe so he gave it an unappealing name. Its a type of Dancong Oolong, and one of my favorites. It’s always a great tea for sharing with people because of it’s silly name.

8. June 28th 2024

Outside
Taipei, Taiwan

If you noticed that there is a large gap between these two entries, it is simply because I followed my normal routine of just quietly drinking my tea at home. Here though, I am finally back in Taiwan! This time around I stayed in Taipei for two months to study Mandarin. This is just an example of what I would eat/ drink at school. These are all easily accessible from any convenience store (of which there is one every 10 feet)

8. July 4th 2024

French Windows British Tea House
Taipei, Taiwan

This place was quite expensive and I kinda just went on a whim. As you can tell from the name, it was a British style tea house, so not my favorite. It is interesting to see how other cultures interpret one another though.

8. July 6th 2024

酋长之家
Wulai, Taiwan

My first trip to Wulai! Wulai is an aboriginal area, occupied by the Atayal people of Taiwan, about an hour from Taipei. It was here that I met an 阿姨, or Aunty with whom I talked to for about two hours. I was so happy to practice my Mandarin with someone, and she showed me around the area a little bit, helping me take pictures with the Wulai Waterfall, and showing me a secluded swimming spot. She also served me a sour plum tea, which was perfect for the hot summer weather of Taiwan.

8. July 7th 2024

Wistaria Tea House
Taipei, Taiwan

This day was my first of many many times visiting Wistaria Tea House. It has such a wonderful feeling to it, with tatami floors and dim lighting. They have a really wonderful menu too, with lots of types of Puer of varying ages to choose from. As I visited here many times, the workers recognized me and we would often chat.

8. July 8th 2024

South Street Delight Tea House
Taipei, Taiwan

Another lovely tea house. This one is on the famous Dihua street and has really nice retro kind of vibes. I think this day I tried 东方美人, oriental beauty. This is a type of tea special to Taiwan, as it’s sweet flavour comes from a special type of bug, who nibbles on the leaves!

8. July 11th 2024

Stop By Tea House
Taipei, Taiwan

Another day of drinking tea! I remember I accidentally was too excited and got here an hour before they opened so I had to wander around for a little bit first. Stop By Tea House is run by a very kind old man, who also showed me, and this group of girls from Korea the basement of the tea house where large parties are hosted, and he uses an artificial stream to send prepared tea down in cups on the water. I tried a tea called ‘Old Taiwan Tea”.

8. July 20th 2024

鸿智茶场
Maokong, Taiwan

This day I visited 猫空 Maokong, an area known for its tea! They are especially famous for their tieguanyin tea. There are also lots of cats at the name may suggest. I also visited the tea production museum that they have and I had a very lovely day here overall!

8. July 21tst 2024

建國假日玉市
Daan, Taiwan

This day I had the most lovely time at the jade market in Daan which I frequently visited as I love shiny things, and they also often have a lot of tea! I had a lovely time with this guy and we sat and drank tea together for two hours, chatting in mandarin so I also got some great language practice! He was so kind, and one of his friends was there selling really fancy tea cups and pottery so he let me use them as well! People in Taiwan have always been so kind to me!

8. July 29th 2024

A-Mei Tea House
Jiufen, Taiwan

Back here again! I love this tea house and its view, so when I was back in Jiufen I couldn't help but to visit again!

8. August 3rd 2024

Wistaria Tea House
Taipei, Taiwan

Some yummy snacks to go with my tea! I love mung bean cake dearly as I feel it pairs so well with tea as it has such a gentle and delicate flavour. I also have some cute heart shapes tea flavoured cakes! How lovely!

8. August 11th 2024

Back Home
Delaware, USA

Another tea party I hosted! I was so thankful to my friend who lovingly made a bunch of yummy pastries for everybody to share. This was again, right after I had returned from Taiwan so I had sooo much tea to share with everyone!

8. November 23rd 2024

The Village Tea House
West Point, PA

Back again! For my birthday again!

8. January 12th 2025

Floating Mountain Tea House
New York, New York

mmm I visited this tea house just because I was in the area and of course wanted some tea. I will say that it was very expensive and overpriced, and the tea itself was not great or very flavourful at all :( but the tea house itself was very lovely! and I took this beautiful picture so nothing was actually lost.

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