There are teahouses all around Taiwan. Some big, some small, some good, some pretty mediocre. Some justifiably well known, plenty of others you just have to stumble upon.
One of my favorites is Six Door Tea (六扇門) in Pingxi (平溪), which is a charming little river town to the east of Taipei. I’ve been out here twice now, because it makes for a really nice day trip from the city. It’s a fairly rural area, a string of towns connected by a narrow-line railroad along the Keelung River. There used to be coal mining here, and before that, a lot of people grew tea.
The teahouse is right on the Old Street, the commercial center of town, in an older building that hangs over the river. It’s an unpretentious place run by a married couple who just really love tea. In the back porch area, you can sit and drink while listening to chirping birds and the river rushing by below. There’s a nice breeze coming off the river.
The menu here seems a bit limited, mostly pretty basic things like “Dongding oolong” and “Pu’er tea” (with no further details). But the place is also packed with pu’er cakes and heicha bricks, just sitting around. So there’s more to it than what’s on the menu. You just have to ask.
The teahouse also has a number of local Pingxi-grown teas. When I was last there, these included a black tea (mi xiang, or honey fragrance), an Oriental Beauty, and a green tea. They also have something that’s really special, Pingxi Old Tea. This is the only place I’ve seen it. It’s a green tea that’s more than 30 years old and has been aged in natural storage conditions in Pingxi (meaning pretty wet, as this area is quite misty and rainy for much of the year).
It’s a really interesting tea. I’ve had it twice now. The owners refuse to sell any to take home though. Apparently there isn’t much left, and there’s less tea grown in the region now than 30 years ago.
It brews very dark and has strong humid storage notes, though doesn’t feel unclean. It’s nice and thick, quite strong, but overall very smooth. Rather similar to an aged baozhong. The tea has a pleasantly relaxing and mellowing effect. It has a wonderful long lasting aftertaste too, which I’ve noticed both times I’ve had it. This aftertaste, along with some mild salivating effects, last for the rest of the day.
Leave a Reply