Charcoal Roasting Oolong Tea on Dongding Mountain, Taiwan

Hellooooo tea friends! I love when we can bring tea experts on the pod! This Teatime with Jesse was filmed live on Dong Ding Mountain when I was in Taiwan!

I learned a lot while I was there! And I brought back Charcoal Roasted Oolong Tea’s made by Jayme’s family. :) This episode is so fun, watch as Jayme and I talk about the differences in Western vs. Taiwanese tea culture. Jayme also delves into the process of charcoal roasting tea, learning from a tea master, and selling tea to Michelin restaurants.

Order the Taiwan Oolong Sampler: https://jessesteahouse.com/products/jesse-in-taiwan-mystery-tea-drop

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0:15 Meet Jayme, our tea provider

0:34 Having a tea expert on the podcast

1:20 Intercultural tea business

1:43 Charcoal roasted Oolong tea

1:56 Artisanal teamaking

2:29 How tea is roasted at different levels

3:43 Oolong in Taiwan is famous

4:28 Shake out the fragrance

5:04 There is no “best tea” only tea that fits you the best

6:00 Born into a tea family

6:39 Grandma was a city girl

6:55 Marrying into a tea mountain family

7:38 Tea is water

8:06 The tea has a nutty, creamy smell

9:54 Good tea has a sweet after taste

10:28 Slow roasting tea vs. fast roasted tea

11:39 Rebelling against the tea family

12:15 Curiosity around herbal tea blends

13:08 Don’t get fooled by scented oils in your tea

13:43 Milky oolong is natural, from Jin Xuan

14:45 Taiwanese oolong is pretty good actually

15:30 How to describe tea to westerners

16:00 Describing tea to producers vs. consumers

17:16 Comparing tea to BMW cars

18:17 Don’t disrespect your tea master

20:28 Tea descriptions need to be accessible

21:27 Taste notes are so personal, don’t give too much guidance at the tea table

22:34 Ignore my taste notes if you want

23:05 Steep times and temperatures

24:40 The better tea you get, the harder it is to mess up

27:29 Tea is art

28:39 Mass produced grocery store tea vs. artisanal tea

30:00 Seven teas from the same mountain

30:38 Selling Taiwanese teas to Michelin restaurants

31:57 Contextualizing the story behind the tea

32:42 Tea farmers put a lot of effort behind the tea

33:23 Tea farmers are artists

33:52 Pairing tea with Michelin food

36:23 Dark charcoal roasted tea

38:00 Charcoal roasting gives brown sugar notes to tea

38:37 Light vs. charcoal roasted tea

39:47 It smells like coffee

41:50 We don’t have to copy the local market

47:18 The base of the tea

47:55 Sometimes you can be stubborn

50:30 Longan wood

51:22 Getting into the tea roasting process

52:00 Let the fire settle

52:40 Speed of burning

55:10 Different types of tea farmers

56:25 Tea production has multiple departments

1:02:45 Different temperatures for roasting

1:06:16 Tea culture in Taiwan

1:07:00 Describing the Taiwan Oolong sampler box

1:09:00 Advice for people new to Oolong