Mr. Liu
Mr.
Liu, tea judge, grower, tea historian, tour guide, devoted tea
professional, and owner of a roadside restaurant serving the best
mountain bamboo rice.
He
alternates between judging tea and experimenting with new varietals and
entering those tea competitions himself. For example, in his nursery of
young Jin Shuan bushes, he has grafted the older and better quality
Tung Ting branches, so that the Tung Ting may enjoy the hardier root
system of the Jin Shuan, a varietal developed to better suit the
climate of central Taiwan. He has tended his Four Seasons and Jin
Shuan crops carefully, making sure that the tiny green leaf hoppers who
love to eat the leaves only chew the small edges of the leaves, sucking
out the acrid juices and leaving only the sweet. All the teas are
technically organic in his gardens, he said, though whether he bothers
to certify them is another matter. Because the Nantou valley is at a
slightly lower elevation than Tung Ting or the highest peaks at San Lin
She, many other pests do come besides the beneficial leafhoppers, and
so, ecologically, Mr. Liu must make sure that the right "pests" are
invited. Mr. Liu takes extreme pride in giving tours and reciting the
history of Taiwan Oolong. In his spare time, he marinates plums in his
left over oolongs and experiments with aging oolongs in the shortest
amount of time.
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