The Five Elements
In particular, foreigners and especially visitors from Europe and the Americas will feel a greater sense of identification with mixed tea–alcohol drinks as compared to tea served directly.
The Indulge Experimental Bistro, which has been listed as one of Asia’s 50 Best Bars and cited by the Michelin Guide, was founded by Aki Wang, who has been called “the godfather of cocktails among ethnic Chinese.” He talked to us about his reasons for bringing Taiwan tea into the world of alcoholic beverages.
Wang, an experienced bartender who started in the business at age 16, worked in international locations including Tokyo, New York, and London, then spent a great deal of time learning about Taiwan tea, before finally returning to work in his original profession of mixology. He has high standards for the alcoholic drinks he composes. He admits that mixology is not that difficult, and that all cocktails are based on a combination of sour and sweet. However, one cannot have only sour and sweet to make a good mixed drink—the ingredients have to have a certain logic, and have a story or cultural background to them. Blending in elements of Taiwan tea is a good way to give a distinctly Taiwanese character to the art of cocktails, which originated in the West.
However, most teas have elegant, delicate flavors, whereas alcoholic beverages have strong and vigorous tastes, so how did Wang combine the two in such a way that one element did not overshadow the other? He points out that the compatibility of tea and alcoholic beverages depends on the grasp that the mixologist has of these two expansive fields of learning. The optimal demonstration of this is the “Five Elements Formosa” bottled cocktails produced under the name of Indulge Bistro. These five mixed drinks, named after the five elements (or “five agents”) of Chinese philosophy—metal, wood, water, fire, and earth—imply the five tea plantations from which the tea is sourced, located in northern, central, southern, and eastern Taiwan as well as the offshore Penghu Islands.
Taking “Metal” for example, the foundation of the drink is gin (because “metal” in Chinese is pronounced jin), to which orange jessamine flowers and white peach are added, and these work in concert with the distinctive orange jessamine aftertaste of Pouchong (Baozhong) tea. The drink also hints at the environment of the tea plantation, located at Yuguang Village in New Taipei’s Pinglin District. Wang vividly describes the scene: “Looking down from the mountainside, you can see a river snaking through the valley, your ears pick up the sound of bells from mountain temples, and the land around the tea plantation is planted with orange jessamine and peaches. As the sun sets in the west, the whole is bathed in a golden-yellow light. The terroir of the tea plantation—including summer-picked Pouchong tea, the scent of flowers and fruit, the color of the sunset, and the metallic striking of the bells—has been fully incorporated into the drink.”
The “Five Elements Formosa” series of tea-based alcoholic beverages give consumers a lasting impression of Taiwan.
Combining alcoholic beverages with Taiwan tea can tell the stories of Taiwan’s terroir and culture and convey the uniqueness of the island.
