Tea Tasting Trip in Nantou, Taiwan

I remember that I wrote about Taiwan’s Chinese Tea Ceremony in my English Composition class when I was a college student in the States a while ago. Time really flies by and it has been 6 years already. Now, I live in Taiwan and see people changing the way of drinking tea, especial the young generation. They go to a tea shop which is similar to Starbuck Coffee to buy a cup of brewed tea and share time with friends. It is much more convenient compared to the traditional way of drinking tea. It also seems to adapt to the modern lifestyle which requires everything must be quick and no time to wait.   But, it changes the relationship between people and the enjoyment of drinking good tea with friends. 

The traditional way of drinking tea is not about quenching people’s thirst in Taiwan culture. It is about the spirit of tea. When we have the tea ceremony, we enjoy the companionship and share our feeling and lives with friends and loved ones more than the quality of the tea. When you visit Taiwan, don’t forget to experience the art of tea in the Taiwan tea ceremony.

回憶起不久前，在我的英文寫作課時交了一篇有關在台灣的茶道文化，當時的我還只是一個學生。没想到時光飛逝，一轉眼已經是六個年頭了。回到台灣，看到台灣人喝茶的方式變了，尤其是年輕的族群。大家似乎已經習慣的到茶店小鋪如星巴客一般的店面買一杯飲料茶，再和朋友談天聊地。不可否認地，這種喝茶的方式確實比傳統的方式方便多了，也更符合現代人凡事講求的快速和没有耐心等候的生活習性。然而它也改變了人和人之間的關係以及和朋友分享一杯好茶的喜悅。

在台灣的文化中，傳統的喝茶方式並不是在解口渴而是在於喝茶的精神。當我們在品飲茶道時，我們要的是那種和人分享生活經驗以及人和人之間的緊密關係，而這種關係又比一壺好茶重要。當你來到台灣時，別忘了親自體驗台灣茶的藝術。

The way of Tea Competition Procedure（台灣比賽茶評比的方式）:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lsXJ6FGLivY