Tea is my Culture Bridge

I was born in Hualien, Taiwan. Adopted by an Aussie Dad and a Scottish Mum. My sister is South Korean. My Dad fondly referred to our family as the “League of Nations”. This is my story and connection to tea.

For most part of my childhood, like many kids, I tried very hard to just blend in, to never stand out or appear different. This normalised the lack of curiosity I had about my identity as an adopted Taiwan-born, Australian raised child.

It wasn’t until I was in my 20’s that this indifference shifted. I had my first adventure overseas to Singapore and all of a sudden a curiosity about the culture, the people and values of the places I was visiting extended into my personal world. And learning more about the country I had been born in became very important to me.

The western traditions of tea was something that was ritualised in our home. Not fancy, not expensive, but time and space for tea was part of life. The kettle was the first thing to be turned on in the morning or when visitors stepped through the front door. Warm, comforting and family are the things that come to mind. I certainly find humour in teabags that were used more than once and a significant drop of milk in the cup but I felt great joy in making tea the way my parents enjoyed it, I felt like I was useful.

It was my husband, on our first overseas trip to Singapore, that had arranged for me to sit with a tea master that helped me make a deep connection with pure leaf tea. We sat for an entire afternoon being schooled on tiny little tea sets, teas that I have never encountered that tasted delicious but without any flavours or other botanicals added (pure leaf teas), we ate a variety of tea snacks and stumbled out of the shop hours later with my very own ‘doll’ like tea set, tea sink and sea legs (thanks to my first encounter with ‘tea drunk’).

From that moment I was hooked on a style of tea known as wulong (oolong). It was the steady decent down the rabbit hole that led me to the enchanting world of Taiwanese teas.

In all honesty most of what I knew of Taiwan was that they had somehow created a reputation of ‘quality’ around the things they made and exported to Australia. I would often joke that all the best things were “Made in Taiwan’. Te!He!He! Don’t you love my photo at the top?! But it was when I encountered my first Taiwanese oolongs that I felt a sense of pride over where I was born.

My love of the aroma and taste of Taiwan oolongs was the first detail to capture my attention. Followed quickly by the masters of their craft, the tea growers and makers, and the refinement of this skill after so many external influences Taiwan’s history has had.

I have returned to Taiwan a few times in my adult life, to work and also as a tourist, and I feel fortunate that this had happened after I was open to consciously learning more about the country where I was born. The tea and the food experience is unparalleled in my eyes, and I proudly feel this strong cultural tie to the place even though so much of it is still foreign to me.

I love that tea acts as a culture bridge for so many others. This is what fuels my passion each day to continue to elevate the conversation about tea. In sharing, advocating and making tea accessible to more people my belief is a universal connection and respect for those hands that touch the tea leaves that goes beyond our personal differences. I first encountered “Tea is a culture bridge” in So Han Fan’s exceptional contribution on Tching’s blog. Read it here.