Teagraphy | Warm tea, quiet years
The scent of tea in Nantou City
Nantou is blessed with good hills and good water. It is home to SunnyHills and its pineapple cakes, the Shu-Te Banshan Dream Factory, and the scenic pilgrimage that is Sun Moon Lake.
Come off Freeway 3 at the Nantou interchange and head into town, and the first things to catch your eye are Nantou yimian noodles and the century-old Lantian Academy. What you may not have noticed is that on the busiest street in town stands Longhui Tea House, fragrant with tea, run by the same family since our grandfather's day and now in its third generation - three lifetimes, quietly passing.
Traditional charcoal roasting, and an aroma that carries
Three generations have held to charcoal roasting the old way. What is it that keeps this charcoal-roasting craft alive against the odds?
Roasting can be done with electric equipment these days, yet Teagraphy still roasts with charcoal alone - not only because charcoal adds body and depth to the liquor and yields a tea with a sweet, lingering finish, but because it is the traditional craft, handed on.
Longan charcoal carries the sweetness of fruitwood
Burning longan charcoal gives off a sweetness all its own.
Roast over longan charcoal and, through the roasting, that fruitwood sweetness folds into the aroma of the tea,
so the brewed liquor carries a distinctive fruity note. This is what people mean when they talk about longan charcoal roasting.
Longhui Tea House gave rise to the Teagraphy brand
Good roasting technique needs a brand behind it to be heard.
Feeling how much tea culture needs that, we founded Teagraphy.
Traditional charcoal roasting is a craft handed down, and our commitment to it is written into the brand.
In making oolong, the oxidation must be judged just right and then matched with the right degree of roasting, to give a liquor that is smooth and mellow and easy on the stomach. That is the essence of Taiwanese charcoal-roasted oolong.
Four Seasons Tea Gathering, an original brand
Taiwan has four distinct seasons. Linking the Four Season Gods to tea, we took their painted faces and robes as our elements, chose four Taiwanese teas with distinct characters, and matched each to the season it echoes.
God of Spring: Charcoal-Roasted Si Ji Chun - fragrant as spring, brimming with flower notes
God of Summer: Charcoal-Roasted Red Oolong - sweet as summer, romantic and clear
God of Autumn: Charcoal-Roasted Jin Xuan - mellow as autumn, mature and composed
God of Winter: Charcoal-Roasted Oolong - resonant as winter, snow outside and a warm stove within
TCOD - Four Seasons Tea Gathering 1
Warm tea, quiet years
Drinking tea is simply part of living. When a few friends get together there is always a pot on the table, keeping the bond between them; add something small to eat alongside and there is little better. Tea has a way of letting people relax.
Teagraphy is strict about food safety: every batch goes to SGS for testing so customers can drink with confidence. We founded the brand hoping to give people a genuinely pleasant experience of tea.
If you have the time, come to Nantou for a tea trip - you are welcome to sit with us at Teagraphy, taste a few things and talk.
Xiao Ji
Hi! I'm Xiao Ji. We invite you to join us on the journey to safeguard the flavour of traditional charcoal roasting.