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 Join Jesse's Tea Club: https://jessesteahouse.com/products/jesses-tea-club-subscription-service 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