I was at the tea expo in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia over the weekend. This tea expo was held at Viva Home Mall. I wanted to refill my stash of liu bao tea and wanted to see what oolong the tea expo had to offer.
It was interesting that this tea expo had most of the stalls promoting pu erh tea than other teas like oolong or liu bao. Pu erh tea here takes centre stage as many Malaysians do drink and invest in pu erh. Investment here would mean that tea collectors would purchase pu erh in quantities, like buying them in cartons and storing these tea for a few years and reselling these tea when the prices have increased. Taetea (Dayi) brand is an investment favorite among tea collectors.
The highlight of this year's tea expo, to me, was the 2014 Dayi 40th anniversary "Malaysia-China collaboration" pu erh tea cake (pix 4&5). This pu erh tea cake's recipe is created from feedback of the Malaysian tea drinking community. This cake is smokey. And yes....most of this tea will not be drank but stored away as an investment item.
Pix 3 is the pu erh tea group I meet when I am in Kuala Lumpur. I am especially grateful to James Ong (pix 3 , standing in a red polo shirt) who spent considerable time with me updating me on the trends in pu erh tea as well as the new finds of pu erh tea that met the high drinking standards of this tea group. Thank you very much, James!
While I was disappointed that I did not get to purchase any older oolongs at the fair, I did buy some pu erh tea and a couple of teapots (more in my later blogs). A memorable trip and I was most happy when I am drinking tea with my Kuala Lumpur tea group.
3 comments:
Thanks for the mention Wilson. The group photo was taken during the gathering of Taetea / Dayi Tea Fan Club members in the tea expo to celebrate with 大益茶. We were honored to be joined by so many tea seniors and friends i.e. the Director of Taetea Malaysia, Mr Yang (the specky gentleman brewing tea), Spokesperson of Kiwanis Malaysia, Mr. Michael Chiew (Bald & handsome looking chap) and Founder of the KL Tea Art Society of Malaysia, Mr Sho (the senior sitting next to Michael). Regards, James Ong
More.... Standing on my left is the Admin of Taetea / Dayi Tea Fan Club, Dass Charles Guru. The gentleman on my right is Mr Lim Jee Jian, Executive Director of JDX (九鼎香) which operate the largest Dayi Tea Shops / Gardens in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (now numbering 3). Rgds, James.
Unfortunately, I didn't make it to attend on Tea expo :(. I was busy managing my milk tea in the Philippines. Hope I can make it next time.
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