Nantou's Stunning Hills and Tea Farms｜7 Sisters Explore Taiwan
Yeah, Elizabeth. You're riding a horse. -Daddy, I'm not scared of sheep. -Really? -Yeah. -Good job.
Wow. Fighting for the food. It was super fun. The weather's really nice. Let's go. Hello, everyone. My name is Stephen and welcome to episode six of Seven Sisters Explore Taiwan.
We've got our six girls here and number seven is with Christy. So join us today as we explore Nantou. And this is Sun Moon Lake. We're gonna do some bike riding. So join us. Let's go.
-Hi, Joanna. -Hi. What were you saying behind you? That view is really pretty. So pretty. So here we are at Sun Moon Lake. You go on the...
northwest to southwest side of the lake. There's a bike trail. It's paved, a little bumpy. All right, new challenge here. Girls, what's the issue?
My feet are itchy. I'm not... I don't know if it's mosquito. It doesn't feel like mosquito. -Mosquitoes. -I got two mosquito bites right here. Uh-oh.
I have five. So we recommend bringing some natural mosquito repellent. It'll do you some good. So here we are at the dam area.
Higher on this side and it's lower on that side. We're walking on a dam, so we have to... walk and not pedal in this area here. How is it, girls? -Good. -Getting hot? Yep, because there's no trees.
Faster would be nice. Oh. What you're saying is Daddy's too slow right, Adeline? Kind of. Hi. We're taking a quick break.
Bethany, you're bringing your sister? Yep. -Is she heavy in the back? -Super. -Super heavy? -Yes. Hey, Honey. You're doing a great job holding on her. Thank you. Sleeping now.
Yeah, she's all tired out. What do you guys think? -Good. -Fun. Elizabeth, what do you think? Really good and really...
scared because when other people pass by with their really fast bicycles. It's really scary. Yeah.
It's quite an operation to get everybody used to the electric bikes. Stop and going. There are a lot of turns around the trail here.
So it's really nice if you're an adult coming with friends. If you have children, just gotta be careful. A lot of turns and... some speed, but beautiful scenery. It's amazing. So next stop is the visitor center here at Sun Moon Lake, official visitor center. So we'll stop by there.
They have water machines, bathrooms. The journey continues. Good job, Joanna. Thank you. Sarah, where are you going? -I'm going downstairs. -Where?
-To see fish. -Okay, go. -Do you wanna get down? -Yeah. You wanna get in the water? We so wanna get in the water, right? -Look over there. -Yeah. The water's so clean. I want to go inside and swim.
-Oh really? -Yeah. -It's really nice. -Yeah. -Hi, Elizabeth. -Hi. Sarah, how are you feeling? Yeah.
Ready. -You doing okay? -Yeah. You're doing great.
Thank you. It is so smooth here. -You think so? -Yeah. Super smooth, with my Elizabeth.
You're doing a great job. I'm so proud of you. All right, so on this bike trail. A little bit different than Taitung on the rice paddies. The rice paddies bike trail's really wide. About the size of a normal road, a public road. And here we have bike trails about two bikes in width.
So you gotta careful around the corners. All right, we had a wonderful time here riding our bikes at Sun Moon Lake. We went from the northwest section down to the southwest. You can do the whole route if you want to but you'd be driving on public roads.
So did you girls have a good time today? Yeah... -We went pretty fast, right? -Yeah. All right, the adventure here in Nantou continues. We'll see you guys soon, bye-bye.
Bye-bye. All right, here we are on day two of our trip in Nantou. Qingjing Farm was started in 1961. So it's about 60 years ago they started this. And it has really beautiful scenery here.
High mountain peaks, rolling grass hills, and they have some pasture lands for the sheep and some horses. So today we're gonna go on a pleasant stroll. So join us. Let's go. So when you feed the animal, make sure you have your hands flat. Don't feed it this way.
Because they'll bite your fingers, right? Because they might bite little kids' finger. -Okay. -Be careful. Like that. He's fat.
-What did you say, Olivia? -This one's so soft. -They're pretty aggressive, right? -Yes. They're hungry. One of them just ran over and butted this one because they wanted to eat food.
This one likes butting other people. Hands out flat. Yes.
Wow. Fighting for the food. She's a little bit scared, so I'm gonna do it with her. Okay. Yes, very good. Daddy.
-What? -I'm not scared of sheep. Really? -Yeah. -Good job. -Is it gone? -Yes. We're gonna go down to the other kind of sheep.
I think it's the blackface sheep down below. Hi, Olivia. Let's go see some other sheep, okay? Yeah. -Follow me. Go. -Yeah. -Hi, Bethany. -Hi.
What do you think about the farm? Very pretty. They have the view over there. High mountains, grassy hills. Hi, Sarah.
Hi. What are you doing? I'm running. Go. The workers said that he got these blackface sheep three months ago, in June. -So they're new to the farm. -Yeah.
We're trying to get them down here, but I think somebody's feeding them up there. So they're ignoring us. We need to call them to come to us with their language. Sarah, how do we get the sheep down? Yeah. Come here. What did you get, Elizabeth? A grasshopper.
Can you show me? How did you catch it? I used my hand. Just cover it up? Mm-hmm. Hi, Bethany. Thanks for carrying Sophia. Yep.
I think she feels safe in your embrace. Sophia. Who wants to feed the blackface sheep? I do... -Hey, Honey. -Hi. What do you think? It's fun. They're super cute. They're so cute.
Yeah, it ate it. Here comes a sheep. Be careful. Behind you. I'm going to feed the sheep. Okay.
You put it on the ground? Yeah. Sarah, why don't you touch the head? Because I'm scared. -Okay. -Oh. Poo-poo. -Olivia, are you scared of the sheep? -No. Touch the head.
Aw. They're so cute. Yeah. Hi, Joanna. What do you think about these sheep? Very cute. Now it's my turn to feed the sheep.
You're just the cutest widdle blackface sheep on the farm. It sneezed. Careful.
So these sheep here have been on the farm much longer they know how to get this stuff. You have to be quick with the blackface sheep otherwise these ones will come and steal it all. So let's try it again one more time here. Got it? Oh yeah. And now it's time for Adeline to carry the little dumpling. Our little Sophia.
Sleeping. Okay, we have some sheep in training over here. The girls are learning to climb hills like sheep. All right, here it's time for a snack.
We're gonna get six popsicles and some green tea for my wife. How is my baby doing? She woke up from her nap Sarah, what's flavor do you have? Show me. Chocolate with milk. Chocolate with milk. Okay. So this is oolong tea.
They put two tea bags and then loose tea in the tea bags. Cold brew. -No sugar. -Super cold. So cute. I don't know, just cough laughing.
-Are you tickling her? -Yeah. Hi, Sarah. Is it delicious? Yeah. It's dripping. That's okay.
So cold. -How's yours, Olivia? -Good. So on a hot day like this nothing beats cold brewed oolong tea. When you drink this tea you magically get transported to this type of environment. Rolling hills, grass pastures, sheep. It's amazing.
What do you think, Joanna? Nice. And then during the weekends They have a sheep shearing showdown here on the weekends. And it just so happens that last night what movie did we watch, Adeline? "Sound of Music" So today is the perfect day for us to stroll on the grassy hills and sing. Hey, Joanna. What are you doing there? I'm making a...
a fern crown. But it's kind of bigger. Look at it. All right, we've got to go down the hill, and then go back up the hill. So it's time to start... carrying the little ones.
Let's go. So here we are at Qingjing Farm. This is one of the entrances here. And we just went through the Green Green Grassland where we fed the sheep. And now we're gonna make our way through the south business circle where they have a bunch of food stalls and snack shops. Let's keep going.
Hi, we're gonna order some sausages. And they have flavors, so here's the cucumber. So I ordered four of these. Yeah. And then garlic flavor. Nice, so someone's gonna have some nice breath in a little bit.
-Thank you. -Be careful, it's hot. Sausage, cucumber and garlic on this... at the bottom. Okay. -How is it, Johanna? -Good. Really good. What flavor do you have? Garlic and cucumber.
Elizabeth, Sarah. How is your sausage? -Good. -Very good. And I tasted the other one... adding the cucumber and...
Garlic? Garlic. It's very good. Okay. Adeline. -Hi. -How's yours? It's really good.
Is it super hot? Now it isn't, but before it was super hot. -It's gone? -Yeah. Hey, it must be good, huh. -It's all gone. -Yep. How is your sausage? Good. I like the cucumbers
and garlic. Garlic. Okay. Great. Hey, that's really good.
The sausage is not over cooked so it's really nicely cooked. Outside is a little bit chewy inside is tender and juicy. I never thought about using a sausage as a wrap for other stuff, but it's good.
It's called the sausage burrito. Hi. Oh, sakura. These are cherry trees, so they'll... In the cherry season there will be lots of very pretty cherry blossoms.
Sakura. What do you think? I'm gonna feed them... -Grass? -Yeah. These are different kind of sheep, huh. Yeah. You wanna eat the fresh grass in my hands? Come on. It's delish.
I got the good stuff here, fresh salad. Salad bar greens. Okay, I think they don't like what I choose. They can eat by themselves. -Hi, Bethany. -Hi. -How are you doing? -Good.
Very good because we get to ride horses. Daddy, look. That one. Can I touch it? A little horse riding down this way. Brush and talk to the horsey.
Say "You're so beautiful." You're so beautiful. Joanna, your dream has come true. So cute. I like the neck part. -So soft. -I like this part.
What do you think of the horses? Very nice. Very pretty. All right, we're gonna go ride the horse.
Adeline, is this your first time? -Yeah. -First time. All right, enjoy. Yee-haw. Bethany. This is like riding on a... Hey, Joanna.
Yee-haw. How is it, Joanna? Good. Yay, Elizabeth. -How is it? -Good. What does it feel like? It feels really nice. Is it bumpy? A little bit. Not really.
Good job, Olivia. You're riding a horse. -What do you think, Sarah? -Good. -Is it bouncy? -Yeah.
Good job. Hey, Honey. You Ready? -Yeah. -All right.
How is it, Honey? It's good. Nice. I love horses. Good job, Joyce. I got the hat for it today. I'm like a cowboy.
Yee-haw. This is a black tea farm. And they have a shop over here so we're gonna go ahead and take a quick tour. And then try some of the delicious tea.
This is Mr. Shih and he's gonna take us on a short tour. Let's go. So he says the tea plants here need to grow up to your waist and lower and then they will start harvesting the leaves here. So this is No.8 Assam tea bushes here
and they use these leaves for the tea. -Sun Moon Lake... -Yeah. has this No. 18 black tea. Yes. -It's very fragrant. -Mm-hmm.
So everyone likes that number. Okay, No.18 huh? They're all black tea.
These eggs here are cooked for four days. First day second day, third day, fourth day. They have a certain amount of time that they're cooking them.
So what was that, Honey? What did they put inside? Mushroom and No. 18 black tea. Everyone who comes here will get a tea egg and a cup of tea. Nice. Okay, let's go see how they make the tea here. This is the factory area. So these machines here probably process rolling 1000 kilos of tea leaves every day, wow.
Since this type of tea trees mature in summertime they yield less leaves in fall and spring. The fermentation process here needs to be within 85 to 90 degrees. And they have some really skilled technicians here who help with the fermentation. Okay, so this is the air humidifier. They like it really humid and really hot for the fermentation process on these trays.
This is our quality control room. So here they have a quality control expert who is in charge of grading the quality of tea. So they have from A1 all the way up to A5. Then you can see the different colors here. So they're all types of black tea, but different fragrances, different flavors. So up here.
A cool thing about this second floor shop is you can actually look down at the machines here that are drying the tea leaves after the fermentation process. And once they're dry I think they're officially then tea leaves that you can use. So here, this stays for 24 hours. And they're waiting for the moisture level to drop about a half before they start the process the next day. Oh my goodness. Wow, this is amazing.
Spread a very beautiful table for us here. So this is the 18, No.18 tea that we're gonna try. When I think about Sun Moon Lake black tea, you think of a traditional black tea. Rich flavor and then at the end it kind of has a nice, sweet aroma and fragrance to it.
So it's quite special. It tastes really really nice. Cheers. This is Sun Moon Cookie. Sun Moon Cookie, being close to Sun Moon Lake, right? So this is butter flavor and this is black tea flavor. Okay, can you guys try it and tell me how it is? Sarah. -Good. -Good?
Olivia, how's the cookie? Good. You have two? Sun and moon? Joanna, how is it? Great. Hey, Honey? -Tea egg. -Normally our girls... doesn't really like eggs, but they said this is very good. That's right. This one is special. Very good.
If you come here, you really need to try this. No.18, right? Yes. I think it's best to drink it without sugar so you can taste the tea.
Yes. This is nice. All right, we come to the end of our Nantou adventure. This morning we went to Qingjing farm. And then we came here, so you can draw what you want.
You can draw these beautiful tea rows here or a couple of different things, okay? Hi. Sophia got her diaper changed. What did you think, Honey, about today at the farm? It was super fun.
The weather is really nice. A little bit overcast, not too cold, not too hot. Yeah. It was good. Okay, Sophia. Bye-bye. Bye-bye.
Joanna, can you show us what you have? And tell us about it. Yes. Here's the farm that we went to this morning. This one. Two horses, and then there's a sheep over there. -Nice. -We saw some of those. That's cute.
And here's the tea tree. So what do you have, Elizabeth? I got some horses at the Qingjing farm. And then Joanna on the horse. Can you show me the sheep that you have? Okay. And what's this over here?
Is this more sheep? No, it's the sun and two suns right there. Oh, you're drawing the picture up there, okay. Hey, yeah. She's drawing up here. This sign up here. And there. -So nice. -Right there.
This is... the farm. And this is sheep and this is a cross. Oh, so nice. Okay.
It's really fun and... it's really beautiful. So you don't want to go anywhere else? Yeah. All right, Bethany. What do you have? What do you draw? I got a cup of tea, and these are the tea leaves.
Great. And then this is me pulling Lulumi, the dwarf horse. -Oh, yeah. The pony today? -Yeah. Why did they have Lulumi outside walking around? Because they said she was too fat and then she needed to run around more. So you guys were helping Lulumi get some exercise today. Yep.
All right, Adeline. I drew us biking at Sun Moon Lake. -Nice. -It was really fun. And then this is Hohocha. The tea and the tea eggs. -Yes, that was delicious, huh? -That was really good.
Yeah. And I also wrote a journal entry about our visit to Sun Moon Lake and how fun that was. And Qingjing farm. And all the animals there.
Yes. And the really beautiful breathtaking view. Yes. All right. We have come to the end of our Nantou adventure. This was episode six.
Please join us for episode seven where we head to Miaoli. This is closer to our home. We're gonna visit a small town of Sanyi and maybe some nearby areas.
So the adventure will continue. Thanks so much for watching. I'm Stephen. I'll see you guys next time. Bye-bye. So cool.
That's cute.
2023-04-02 10:56
