繁忙都市里的紫藤廬

Hard to choose between my favorite teahouses in the city. There're many beautiful ones with themed interiors and settings. Note that these aren't cafes. I gave those a wide berth. I wanted to seek out teahouses that don't currently exist in Singapore.

It was a toss-up between Hsiao Man (小慢) and Wisteria (紫藤廬). Both teahouses stay true to the concept and methodology of tea-brewing and appreciation. The owners take pride in their businesses. In the end, history, tradition and that quaint factor won over mod and indie. Wisteria's my pick. In the bustling capital of Taiwan, this teahouse provides a calm oasis, and a space for reflection and conversation.

In the usual practice of teahouses, we brew our own tea. Hurrah! That's exactly what we want. We were like wide-eyed schoolgirls going 'waahhhh' at everything and taking photos of every table leg and window pane. The staff at the teahouse timidly asked if we would like a demonstration of how to brew tea. That completely sent us into a fit of giggles. "No need, thank you so much." We were pleased with the tea wares given. They were almost pretty, and worked fine. We had three picks of tea that had different levels of oxidization, so they gave us two teapots to brew the leaves in.

We tasted three classic Taiwanese oolongs that afternoon- Da Yu Ling (大禹嶺), Bai Hao (also known as Oriental Beauty, 白毫烏龍，又東方美人), and Muzha Tie Guan Yin (木柵鐵觀音), in this order. Not the top quality leaves, but fairly good. They would be something we nit-pickers would buy home though, and share with friends, letting them know that it's good tea, but not the top grades. We appreciated the water used by the teahouse. One taste of it (without tea leaves), and you would know it's not filtered tap water. They used water from the springs in Wulai (烏來).

H and I took turns to brew, although I monopolized it more. H is always brewing tea for me, and I'd like her to stop with the working, and allow me to serve her instead. I gave the ladies a slightly thicker second steep of Oriental Beauty, and they loved that. :) I liked the teahouse's Da Yu Ling, but not besotted by it.

It was a delightful afternoon spent in friendship. This is our first trip together after all. And oddly, it seems like we can be travel companions again on another trip next spring or next fall. The girls are already thinking about it! Even without intending it to be so, conversation ranged across various topics, and was spent in reflection somewhat of our stages in life, and our directions next.

我們不太喜歡用聞香杯。