Tea-lovers are spoilt for choice in and around Taipei when it comes to places to indulge in a good cup of tea, as I found out on a recent trip to Taiwan.

Just a short distance from the city centre is Maokong, a green and mountainous suburb to the south-west of the capital that is well-known for its tea plantations and myriad teahouses, cafes and restaurants. The word Maokong translates into “cat’s hollow”, or literally “no cat”. After some research, I’m still unable to come up with a definitive answer as to how the area got its name.

My sister, niece and I took the cable car to Maokong for the view it affords on the way up.

The Maokong Gondola began operating in July last year to ease the traffic jams on the narrow mountain roads leading to the area. During weekends, the thoroughfare would be packed with urbanites and tourists who flock to Maokong for some R&R — whether it be to commune with nature, hike on mountain trails, bond with friends over tea or take in the sights of Taipei at night.

After alighting at Maokong, we strolled for half an hour before arriving at the poetically-named Yaoyue (inviting the moon) Teahouse. The entrance was a Chinese-style gate adorned with red lanterns. We walked through it and passed a stream before arriving at the restaurant.

Yaoyue is a charming eatery which can accommodate as many as 200 people. It has rustic wooden tables and various types of seating arrangements. You can choose to sit out in the open, in the pavilions or indoor. Wherever you sit, you’d get a view of the surrounding greenery, making it a pleasant place to while away a few hours.

Yaoyue has an extensive menu. For lunch, we picked a few a la carte vegetarian dishes that had a comforting home-cooked quality about them. Our meal consisted of fried bamboo shoots topped with asparagus, stir-fried wild green vegetables, sweet potatoes and noodles.

When the time came to order tea, being novices, we sought advice from :a member of the staff, :Chen Mei Mei. She recommended an unfermented Tie Guan Yin grown in Maokong as the tea to drink after a meal. She said that for this particular type of tea, the leaves, high in Vitamin C, are kept in a freezer to keep them fresh.

She taught us the art of brewing tea, including how long to steep the leaves — about 50 seconds for the first brew, 35 seconds for the second and back to 50 seconds for the third. For green tea, the leaves are good for three or four brews. There isn’t any hard and fast rule — the length of time required to brew the tea and the number of times it can be brewed depend on the type of tea.

After the tea has steeped for the requisite amount of time, it is poured into a small jug. From there, it goes into small porcelain receptacles, to be transferred to teacups to be drunk.

Chen said that tea plantations in Maokong started out offering tea and desserts. Over time, they expanded to providing meals as well. The output of tea from the farms in Maokong cannot keep up with the demand from the 100-odd tea houses and eateries dotting the area, so some of the tea served comes from other parts of Taiwan.

Our meal and tea for three cost us NT$1,270 ($57).

Chen also served us some complimentary jelly made with Tie Kuan Yin tea leaves and jasmine flowers as dessert — a delicious and fitting end to a satisfying meal.JIU FEN TEAHOUSE

Jiufen, formerly a prosperous gold mining town, has transformed itself into a popular tourist destination with its quaint narrow streets and a wide range of teahouses. Some movies were filmed here, including the award-winning City of Sadness. Its strategic location in the hills in north-east Taiwan affords it great views of the ocean.

We went to sample tea at the atmospheric Jiu Fen Teahouse , the oldest teahouse in the town. Opened since 1991, it operates from a building with nearly a century of history. Jiu Fen Teahouse also houses a gallery of beautiful ceramic ware.

It levies an NT$100 charge per head, not including the price of tea. We picked a room decorated with Chinese calligraphy of Tang poems to enjoy our drink. As a parting gesture, we were given postcards of paintings executed by the owner, who is an artist.

:Getting there:: Jiu Fen Teahouse is at 142, Jishan Street, Taipei county. Take a train from Taipei main station to Rueifang and switch to a bus to Jiufen.

HUI LIU

Teahouse and vegetarian restaurant Hui Liu in Taipei offers a selection of wild teas grown under natural conditions and available in limited quantities, as well as healthy vegetarian cuisine. Its tea menu has this to say: “There are four characteristics of tea that we encourage you to note: First of all the taste and fragrance. The more subtle qualities are the tea’s qi, or energy, that invigorates you, and lastly, the “spirit” or inner character of the tea.”

From the 11 kinds of tea on the menu, I picked a Taiwanese high-mountain oolong tea, grown on slopes above 1,800m. I was told to steep the tea for about a minute in the first brew, and that it was safe for me to drink it as the tea was grown without chemical pesticides.

Hui Liu charges NT$180 per head for the tea service. The price of the tea, ranging from NT$100 to NT$200, is added to this. Its main courses range from NT$220 to NT$300.

Hui Liu, which means to return and remain, also displays handmade wood-fired ceramic pieces at its premises. Its restful and attractive set-up certainly encourages patrons to come back for more.

Getting there: Hui Liu is at 9, Lane 31, Yongkang Street. - TODAY/ra