2013 TOST - Hands on Making Jade Oolong (Outdoor Solar Withering)

2011 TOST - Solar Withering (10/19/2011)

The fresh leaves we saw earlier, plucked by those skillful ladies in uncle of Wang's tea field delivered to the plant...Our members are getting ready to hands on working on these leaves...

Wang-Ting tea plant has installed shades to adjust the sunlight...also with transparent vinyl as optional for raining days. In addition to the shades over the top, Wang also installed net screen from the surrounding sides to prevent the strong wind or avoid the contaminated air/smoke or naughty birds' visit. All these screens and shades are remote controlled and can instantly react to the weather changes in the high mountain area.

Our leaves are spread on the trays to be handled by each member with name tagged...and Mr. Wang's team are using large canvas sheets for big volume of tea leaves to rest and enjoy solar withering...

By looking at these photos now, I believe you will be able to feel the passion of our members. (Wang's relatives and neighbors were there to see and wonder why these foreign friends come all the way from US and Canada to "play" with the leaves?)

How long the solar withering process should be? It is all subject to tea masters on site to make the decision. There is a good way of saying that - you don't follow the book to make tea, you will have to deal with different leaves with the weather condition and make the adjustment from time to time... Morning leaves, noon leaves, afternoon leaves, all subject to change... When the leaves are ready to move indoor... it could be a 911 call... we all have to listen to the order.

In martial art, we get used to the word - "Gongfu", actually all these craftsmanship involved in making good tea requires great efforts, concentration, patience and many years of practice. This is our first step, only. A lot more to learn.

2009 TOST - Oriental Beauty - solar withering (6/26/2009)

Mr. Shen and several friends are waiting for us...
In the countryside, a bunch of foreign visitors show up in a tea plant to learn how to make tea...that makes news all right. His neighbors and several local farmers were there to greet us.
Solar withering plays a very important role in Oriental Beauty's processing. Usually, summer time in Taiwan could be super hot with astonishing sunshine... The shade for controlling the heat is very critical. When sun is out, we pull the shades on...when direct sun is needed again, the shades will be off. Some tea plants in Taiwan have installed remote control for their shades, but at this plant we need our young forces, Ricki and Greg, they were having fun to help out...
Each member got 2 kgs of fresh tea leaves and 5 bamboo trays. We were guided by Master Liu and Master Shen to spread the leaves evenly in 5 trays...with extra soft touch. How long the solar withering, depends on the sun shine, temperature, and humidity. We were told by our teachers to check the tea leaves to judge when the leave are done for moving to next step...indoor withering.

2009 TOST - Pouchong - Solar Withering (6/22/2009@Pinling)

We have been waiting for this moment...hands on making one of the World's most natural aromatic teas - Formosa Pouchong...
The fresh leaves were delivered to the TRES Wenshan Branch around 10 AM, we were explained by Dr. Cheng of TRES about the procedure, and there are two skillful tea masters on site to guide us through...
Every member got 2 kgs of the fresh plucked leaves and here we go:

2008 TOST - Jade Oolong's solar withering (10/25/2008)

Sunshine plays a very important role in Taiwan Oolong's processing. Per our tea master Jackson Huang, with or without solar withering makes a huge difference in making good oolong tea. Experienced tea master works like a commander in battle field, decides when and what to do according to the leaf's withered status he/she detects. Nowadays, some farmers will install sun-shades for better control. Don't be surprised to see some tea plants even have their sun-shades equipped with remote-control for working closely with the constantly changing sun light and the temperature...
According to Jackson: Solar Withering (sunshine withering): The length of time allowed for withering depends on the strength of the sunlight, and usually lasts for about fifteen minutes up to one hour. When the first leaf has become withered and the second leaf appears dark in color, the leaves are moved indoor to continue the withering process. The purpose of solar withering is to increase the leaf's temperature, which facilitates a chemical change within the leaf, as the moisture level is decreased by approximately 10%.