Welcome to Oregon: Wine, Truffles...and Tea? - By Katie Lewis

Excerpt from Take Root magazine (Winter 2013). Read the full version here: http://www.takerootmagazine.com/

Just north of the Salem tea plot, the red clay hills of Dundee produce elegant, earthy Pinot noirs. Could tea prove to be another latent agricultural phenomenon in Oregon like wine or, more recently, truffles? Similar to wine, tea reflects its terrior, is somewhat temperamental, and requires intensive processing prior to consumption. It’s no easy task and the economic viability of tea has yet to be proven in Oregon. The majority of the world’s tea grows in China, Taiwan, Japan, India, and Sri Lanka, where it’s supported by thousands of years of culture and knowledge on tea cultivation, processing, and consumption. While it’s certainly possible to cultivate tea in the Northwest, as evidenced by the efforts of Minto Island and Sakuma Brothers, the region lacks tea harvesting and processing equipment and knowledge. At present, this appears to be the major challenge for the endeavor.

Rob Miller holds some fresh picked leaves on his experimental tea plot

Curing the leaves at J-TEA

The finished product...

The Yi Xing Teapot is the New Honey Badger

Sitting at the table ready to brew tea. These little teapots sit in front of me. Why are the pots so small? Even a tiny teapot can brew up quite a bit of tea.

Some days I like to sit and drink pot after pot of tea. In this type of scenario, the best practice is to have food near at hand so that mealtime can be given a priority (this is best accomplished in Taiwan where exceptional street food is plentiful). Tea and food are connected. Tea was first used as a medicine to help the stomach; I’ve found that it aids in digestion. Consequently, it’s no surprise that the type of tea I want to drink correlates with the types of food I've been eating.

The small teapots are not used just for making an individual serving of tea. They are made to accentuate the characteristics a particular tea has to offer. Remember, a tea has a range of flavors it can express. The same tea can be either bitter or sweet, but the most interesting teas are both bitter and sweet. In terms of flavor, there is no right or wrong, it really is a matter of preference.

Here's the real reason for the Yixing teapot. Teas such as oolong and puer are special, and have an amazing range of flavor. But to really get these flavors to come out, Yixing teaware is critical.

The Yixing teapot evolved side-by-side with oolong tea and dates back to between 1400 and 1500 (if we are to believe Wikipedia). The Yixing teapot has the following characteristics: Its small size is ideal for a higher leaf to water ratio and its small surface area means there is less room for the heat to dissipate. The small size also reduces the time it takes to decant the tea, resulting in a tighter control of the time variable. Yixing teapots lack glaze so eventually the pot becomes seasoned with tea. This, in turn, enhances the flavor of the tea. Additionally, the clay used has a high iron content, which keeps the water temperature higher. This is favorable for oolongs with a higher level of oxidation and a strong roast. These types of teas require a high temperature in order to extract the magical flavor within.

In summary, the Yixing teapots are small, but they are badass, much like the honey badger.

Hold the Sugar by Katie L. Chamberlain

I grew up in the South, where sweet tea reigns supreme. Here, pitchers of sun tea bask on back decks in the steamy summer months. Iced tea accompanies most meals and when dining out, one should assume that the tea will be sweet unless otherwise specified. In the South, tea, by definition, means iced black tea (probably bags of Lipton or Luzianne) heavily embellished with sugar. This saccharine liquid masquerading as tea never appealed me. Early in life, I steered clear of tea despite its presence at every family meal. Of course, this is not unlike claiming a sweeping distaste for salad after consuming only pale, wilted iceberg. Often, it's simply a matter of exposure and a willingness to move beyond the familiar and open up to new sensory experiences.

Tea opened up to me in a manner similar to wine and microbrews after I relocated to the Pacific Northwest. Previously unknown categories were slowly revealed: oolong, Iron Goddess, and more recently, puer and aged tea. Along the way, I dabbled briefly in herbals and yerba maté (often mistakenly referred to as ‘tea’). My food interests—or sometimes obsessions—often follow closely on the heels of a related writing assignment. Some stick, others prove to be merely passing phases. In the case of tea, other factors intervened. When my relationship with Josh became more serious, so did my relationship with tea.

As it turns out, tea offers the subtle nuances in taste that make craft beer and wine so engaging. Yet tea intoxicates in an entirely different manner—and is more suited to regular and sustained consumption. Tea brewing also holds a high aesthetic appeal. It’s a slow and grounding process that suggests—and rewards—attention to the present moment. Beyond the deep categorical explorations that tea invites, the individual infusions are dynamic. Each infusion is a variation on a theme. I still find this remarkable given the utter simplicity of its elements: leaves, water, fire, and pot. Hold the sugar—tea offers a world of complexity and sweetness in its simplicity.

My grandmother’s ceramic teapot, brimming with sweet black tea, accompanied our family meals for decades, the cracked-then-repaired lid a testament to its endurance.

Eastern Beauty

Eastern beauty, specialty of Taiwan, is a favorite of more than just a few.

Below the baby leaves

Tender buds 

Raw material for ikebana

That aroma

Each one of these, the stem with the tender bud, in some cases a white needle, the leaves, it looks like a little tree

You look so cute, little leaves

You have fur on your back, just like me

Even if you won't let me sleep

Thanks again, one last steep

Phone cards from Taiwan

This is one of the coolest phone cards that I've ever seen. Taiwan is a wonderful place, not only for tea, but also for telecommunications. These phone cards can be purchased at any easy to find Seven Eleven. Although the card has 210 NT dollars worth of credit, for some reason it only costs 200 NT dollars. This is about six dollars US. This is the IC card which can be used for calling internationally as well as island wide. I'm pretty sure that this type of card will allow a person to speak to someone in the US for about 20 minutes, but I could be wrong. If you are calling a landline in Taiwan this card will last for several hours. There is another type of phone card that costs 100 NT dollars, but that card seems less popular and I don't remember that card can be used to call internationally. Calling cell phones in Taiwan will use up your minutes much faster. Regardless, using the public phone that requires these types of calling cards is a much more economical way to go than calling from your own cell phone, if you have one. Typically the calling cards will have various photos of famous sites, locations or things that Taiwan is famous for. I have collected many of these types of cards over the course of my time spent in Taiwan. This is the first time I found one of these cards with a picture of a tea pot. Was I thrilled! From the looks of this pot, it must be made by some famous potter, but I do not know who made it.

On the Way to Li Shan

Of the roads to tea there are many. Though, I am not a fan of suspension bridges. Especially one that spans a river so far below.

Some of the roads are more easily traveled than others.