Profile: Tea Masters, Taiwan

Following the recent interview of Ronald Chapdelaine of STEALTH Naked Kombucha by Stéphane Erler of Taiwan’s Tea Masters I called Stéphane to find out more about his upscale tea export business. Ronald sources his teas from Tea Masters and I was curious to learn more about the background of this company. There’s a wealth of information online including over 400 educational videos on YouTube and a series of blog posts all about tea going back to 2004.. Stéphane started blogging about tea in 2004 after taking classes with Chih Jung Sien (aka Teaparker) the foremost Chinese tea master of his time and author of more than 30 books on the subject. Most of these books are only available in Chinese, however, The Tea Sommelier is in English. In July 2005, he began selling teas and accessories selected with care. Based in Taiwan, he has direct and privileged access to many Oolong plantations and tea ceramics manufacturers. He fills orders worldwide and Airmail shipping is free for any order above $100 to most countries (Europe, North America and Asia). Teas Tea Masters has a huge variety of loose leaf teas available for order, ranging in price from $1.50 for 1 gram of broken loose puerh from Menghai Factory that “comes from the bottom of the bags” to the most expensive: 8 grams of Famous 100 years old Puerh which will set you back $9,999 (!) More typical, at $18 for 25 grams, is the 2021 Spring Concubine Oolong from Shan Lin Xi that is described as: Cultivar: qingxin (ruanzhi) Oolong Harvested: May 9th, 2021 Origin: Shan Lin Xi (1200 m) Process: jassid bitten leaves with strong oxidation and medium, slow roast. Also called Mixiang Oolong (Honey scent Oolong) or Guei Fei Oolong. 1. View The dry leaves are rolled and have a dark brown color. The brew is shiny and clear. The color is a dark orange with shades of brown. The leaves open up well and show signs of insect bites. 2. Scents The dry scents are subdued and like sealed inside the leaves. The brew’s scents remind me of dark, syrupy molasse. There are still ripe, honey and red fruits: currant, cherries. The oxidation level seems even stronger than in 2020. 3. Taste Very pure, clean and sweet. No bitterness or sourness. Just some drying sensation in the back of the throat. The impact on the body is very warming. This tea resonates thanks to a sweet coating in the whole mouth. It lingers in a very deep and slowly building aftertaste. The high mountain origin of this tea adds a lot of power, sweetness and clarity. Pairing advice: This aromatic and powerful tea is an ideal candidate for pairing with a meal or dish that would call for a fruity red wine. A good example would be Thai cuisine. There is a companion video where Stéphane explains the provenance and preparation of this tea.