On Oct. 26, young Taiwanese tea ceremony organizer Chang Chia-lun (張家綸) took the stage in London’s Fortnum & Mason department store to attend the first-ever The Leafies, the UK’s first dedicated tea awards co-organized by the upmarket store and the UK Tea Academy.
Chang, 24, was there to receive Leafie gold awards on behalf of two Nantou County companies, Yung Hao Tea Garden for its Spring Jade Oolong and Chang San Wo for its Highland Four Seasons Black Tea.
Another Nantou County company, Wang Family Tea, also won gold and a highly recommended distinction for its Dong Fang Mei Ren Cha.
Photo courtesy of Yunghao Tea
The awards were founded to celebrate the world’s best loose leaf teas, distinct from the more common and affordable commercial tea bags, by bestowing gold awards, highly recommended accolades, or both.
Winners are chosen from tea farmers, producers, suppliers and retailers around the world, judged by the likes of UK Tea Academy cofounder and tea historian Jane Pettigrew, tea expert Timothy d’Offay, the Ritz London’s decade-long tea master Giandomenico Scanu and Nantou native Lin Wei-chun (林韋君).
Lin, who works as a lecturer on tea in the UK, said that aside from the popular bubble tea, Taiwan’s more well-known teas in the UK are oolong, its popular sub-strain Dong Fang Mei Ren and the nation’s No. 18 premium black tea.
The three Nantou companies that were recognized at The Leafies are experts at these types of teas.
Fortnum & Mason, founded in 1707, said that the winning teas would have a chance of being sold at the London store’s Rare Tea Counter.
Chang said the Yung Hao Tea Garden garden belongs to her relatives, who use passion fruit yeast in their fertilizers to give their tea leaves their signature fragrant aroma.
While the tea expert has become well-known for promoting Taiwanese tea in Europe, she said she was not always so knowledgeable about tea.
Chang said that she did not develop an interest in the family business until her post-high-school graduation gap year, when she backpacked across Southeast Asia and Europe.
What piqued her interest in the business was when she purchased some tea leaves in Sweden.
The tea, unlike the Taiwanese variety, lacked a lasting aftertaste, she said, inspirising her to research and learn more about the tea grown in her country.
The COVID-19 pandemic gave her the opportunity to return to Nantou and embark on her journey, she said.
There, she learned many aspects of the tea-making process — a trade that is traditionally occupied by men.
She said it took her one month just to persuade her mentor to teach her how to pan-fry tea leaves, all the while reminding her that the job is too hard for “delicate” women.
Chang proved her cynics wrong by winning a second-degree accolade in one of Taiwan’s national tea-making competitions.
Returning to Europe, Chang is a student at Mykolas Romeris University in the Lithuanian capital, Vilnius, where she is also known in the local tea scene as a tea ceremony organizer.
The tea expert’s events feature Taiwanese utensils and music to guide her guests in learning about Taiwanese history and culture.
She said that tea ceremonies are a great catalyst for cultural exchanges.
By tasting and savoring the flavor and fragrance of Taiwanese teas, people from other cultures may open their hearts to experiencing the “deliciousness” of Taiwan, she said.
Chang in April hosted Tomas Ivanauskas, the Lithuanian cultural attache in China and South Korea at the Lithuanian embassy in China who fell in love with Taiwan’s Tao culture during a previous visit.
Chang was also instrumental in introducing Taiwanese teas to Michelin star restaurants in Sweden.
She said that the plethora of cultural experiences she gained abroad has given her a different perspective of Taiwan, inspiring her to experiment with cross-cultural tea ceremonies that combine Taiwanese and Lithuanian practices, which she plans to implement next month or in February.
Asked about international marketing prospects, Chang said that while the quality of Taiwanese tea is impeccable, marketing it has been constrainted by local traditions.
As Taiwanese tea is considered an upper, middle-tier product in the international market, Taiwanese businesses should aim to market their products as boutique tea, Chang said.
Taiwanese businessowners should get out of their comfort zone and take advantage of the international trend of food and tea pairings if they want to expand their market horizon, she said.
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