Floating Leaves Tea is a tea shop in Seattle’s Ballard neighborhood that specializes in Taiwanese oolongs. Owner Shiuwen Tai, who was born in Tainan, Taiwan, makes regular trips back to the country so she can obtain and share its acclaimed teas with others. She began her tea career by hosting tea tastings at her home, which led to the idea of opening her tea business in 2005—a place where East and West could meet.
It is an intimate setting with a focus on tea education. Thereis one table, where Tai is happy to meet with customers and talk about tea andhost spontaneous tastings.
Tai returns to Taiwan once or twice per year to continue tolearn about tea from her mentor, a tea roaster she refers to as Roast MasterZhan. She is even in the midst of producing a documentaryabout him, which goes into why he and his knowledge are her inspiration. “Ithink tea is very interesting because of the people behind it,” said Tai. She sourcesher teas from a variety of top-notch farmers, tea roasters and wholesalers.
“I receive so much wonderful teaching from the tea farmersand tea teachers in Taiwan, I feel like I am a bridge between East and West.I’m in an interesting position and I feel very honored,” said Tai. “I think itwill be a very beautiful thing if I can introduce people here in the UnitedStates to even a little bit of a glimpse, an essence of what tea is fromTaiwan.”
Taiwanese high mountain oolong is her favorite and considersa well-produced Dong Ding to be another one of Taiwan’s special signature teas.
Tai offers tea classes in her store and across the UnitedStates, the most popular being “The 5 Most Fundamental Oolong Teas from Taiwan,”which delves into the tasting experience and benefits of each type of oolongtea. She has also taught classes in Portland, Ore., Boston and Brooklyn, andhas teaching trips to Las Vegas, Los Angeles, and San Diego planned forFebruary 2020. Updates will be posted on FloatingLeaves.com.Additionally, Tai teaches via Facebook and Instagram live sessionsand publishes podcastrecordings of tastings conducted in her shop. “I want [listeners] to feel likethey are drinking tea with us,” said Tai, who sees tea as a vehicle for respiteand human connection.
Intuitive Brewing
Tai has an intuitive approach when it comes to brewing tea. Newcustomers often ask her about quantities of tea leaves, water temperature andbrewing times while being a little intimidated by the process. Tai noted that mostpeople in Taiwan do not think about these details when they drink tea. Shelearned how to brew tea by watching people who encouraged her to let herfeelings discern when a pot of tea was ready. “It’s [a connection] between thetea brewer and the tea,” she said.
Tai views tea brewing as a sensory experience and believes themyriad types of tea leaves—large and small, rolled tightly or loosely—should beseen and held. She sites tea’s many variations as a reason to refrain fromcreating a set structure to brewing, “We can never grow if we do that… becauseevery tea is different and alive.”
She added that even the same type tea brewed with the samemethod each time will still produce different flavors. Tai encourages people tolet go of their fear of doing the wrong thing and feels if all people followthe same guidelines they will never experience a tea’s potential.
She wants her teas to be a source of happiness in people’shomes.