Hong Kong–China–Singapore

Changes in the tea business .. Retail sales slump .. shop closures etc .. and the rise in prices with high end products being offed … a strange mix to ponder.  Lee Hong a friend of 7+ years with her “boyfriend”  He studied Tea in university and now works in the retail / teaching store in DongguanSaturday about noon and I am the only customer. This store is downsized by 75% from my last visit and has some of the highest price teas (Pu-erh Only) I’ve see. also a collection of very expensive Tea Pots.Some high price pots, prices are a function of being attributed to a master craftsman. (if you trust the printed cards) These two are 25,000 RMB eachThis one is “only” 13,500 RMBThis Pu-Erh cake not only comes in a very ornate box with lock, It has a zippered jacket, all for: 6,800RMB

Tea Room Art – Hokusai

Two new additions to my tea room. Very reminiscent of Hohusai’s Tsunami  (1760–1849) Katsushika Hokusai, The Great Wave off Kanagawa, provides inspiration to many.

Archeology 101 and beyond

Re-Embanking on a previously abandoned dig of my youth … The Large Samoan construction mafia occupy my side-yard .. Archeology, the precursor to an anticipated construction project.Having dug for the day, they live to dig another day .. hopefully they will manage to lay as well as dig. 

Tangible progress, as day fades to night. Plans for more concrete progress ensue.Perfect Progress .. Thursday afternoon .. the finishers are finished

“THERE are fairies at the bottom of our garden!

It's not so very, very far away;

You pass the gardener's shed and you just keep straight ahead” – more accurately the site of our future gardener’s shed.

Now my Thanksgiving holiday plans are “set” .. off to the lumber yard. Time to erect a Folly

For those in inclement Northern Latitudes

No warmth, no cheerfulness, no healthful ease,
No comfortable feel in any member -
No shade, no shine, no butterflies, no bees,
No fruits, no flowers, no leaves, no birds -
November! ~ Thomas Hood

Robbie heading home:

Parting Shot

Underwater, in more ways than one

Pygmy Seahorse, Robbie continues her SCUBA safari.
 
From my friend Rick in Thailand:
“Here in Chiang Mai there was some flooding around the town but I didn't have any trouble right at my house... (good thing) But it made travel to work adventurous a couple of days and one day I left early from work  just to be sure I could get home. I live on the west side of a river that runs North and South through town and where I work is on the east side of the river.  A couple of the major ways across the river were flooded and not passable for a couple of days but I was able to take alternate ways which unfortunately everyone else had to do the same so traffic, which is always pretty congested due to Thailand's poor infrastructure was even worse for those days.  But all that happened a little over a few weeks ago and since then there hasn't been much rain in our part of the country.  But around Bangkok and a few other Providences it's a different story as this has been some of the worst in recent history. “

“I just received these pics this morning. They are from the High Tech Industrial Park just north of BKK where I used to travel to Pemstar.  These buildings shown are Hana Microelectronics, the CM my company uses today..... I'm at the Chiang Mai facility but they have a couple in and near the BKK area.”

Stuff and more Stuff

Robbie is now in Anilao .. couple more weeks and she will head home.

I’ve managed to add another notch on my hammer .. The “Oak and Birch” is officially open or closed for business.

A full restoration is well underway on the 106 year old Sewing machine case work.  As a centenarian, time and usage have left their mark. Disassembly to component parts, some judicial cleaning and repairs, should see us good for another hundred years.

Old fasteners: . back in the day when “slotted” screw heads were the only offering.Finishing this drawer, draws the the finish nearer

Stuff …

Scientists are nibbling at our foundations, can we achieve speed in excess of: 299,792,458 m/s. I would say that its relatively easy, what is not, is to travel faster than an ever evolving list of “Things To Do”

Andrew stopped by for a few hours on Saturday. In town for a wedding (not his) then back to Texas on Monday .. major score for me .. Pair of Oakley Livestrong Jawbones .

.

Robbie is off globe hopping .. LA to Manila to Singapore to Jakarta to Manila to Anilao to Manila to LA .. About a month of SCUBA .. some pics:…..

Let’s see if the upcoming long weekend can make a dent in that list of projects. If you resonate to these terms you know the plan ahead: Threshold, Jamb, Head Jamb, Stop, Hanging and Casing.

A stitch in time saves nine.

Three FedEx packages, 46.6kg. What could it be?
Clue #1: Least said soonest mended.
Clue #2: It’s the Singer not the song.
Clue #3: A Greek Tragedy, Euripides Eumendides
Friday Sept. 23rd.  Update:……..
All is now revealed … What is behind Door #3 …..
An 1899 Model 27 K / 28 K, cordless, wireless, HPTSM

Human Powered Treadle Sewing Machine. Manufactured by: Singer Manufacturing Company, between 1899 and 1913.The ultimate in “Going Green” and getting Off the Grid.

Life’s a Birch

Red Birch, “heartwood” of the Yellow Birch tree. A visually pleasing hard wood, a little tricky to work, but with sharp tools and patience you can win the day. (patience is not my long suit) Surface finishing is the tedious part, but that’s a few days away.

A new load of lumber, filled with promise: You just cannot have enough clamps. (hint for Christmas booty) Many hands make light work, thx Sean. My favorite part of the project .. letting the glue dry .. Oh and look, its 5 past Tea-Time

Labour Day–A day to “putter”

First Monday in Sept. here in the colonies is when we celebrate and remember to party with friends and relatives … So while we head off to enjoy .. back at the ranch, I leave some Oak in a tight place. Nice 3-Day weekend.

A week later sees this one Plumb Hung .. updated 9/11/11

The Door Saga Perpetuates

Doors in a house seem to reproduce like rabbits. These three can only bring the finish line closer. 

China Buys tea from Taiwan

Taiwan highland tea breaks into Chinese market
2011/08/31 20:44:26

Taichung, Aug. 31 (CNA) An order for 2,326.8 kilograms of Taiwan highland tea was shipped to retailers in Jiangsu Province in China on Wednesday, marking the largest sale to China for Li Shan tea farmers.
The order was placed in mid-August when Taichung City officials visited Changzhou City in Jiangsu Province, one of the major tea consumption areas in China, according to the Taichung City Agriculture Bureau.
The bureau said Chinese people are quite taken with Taiwan's highland tea, especially the fragrant variety from Li Shan in central Taiwan that has a nice finish because of the high altitude.
After having tasting Taiwan's highland tea, Chinese retailers in Jiangsu placed an order for NT$11 million (US$379,250) worth of tea and requested that it be delivered as soon as possible, the bureau said.
Tea trees have better soil and water conservation attributes than fruit trees, therefore, if the sale to China is a success, the bureau will start assisting fruit farmers in the Li Shan area to switch to tea, said Tsai Ching-chiang, Chief of Agriculture Bureau for Taichung

COMEBUY teashops

Comebuy teashops enter Europe

Taipei Times Story:  Staff Writer, with CNA (pictures from web)

People in Germany are now able to have a sip of authentic Taiwanese tea and enjoy its famed bubble milk tea, a local teashop chain said yesterday.

With a stated goal of becoming “the Eastern Starbucks,” the Taipei-based Comebuy teashop chain has almost achieved its aim of extending its reach to six countries outside Taiwan, with outlets in China, Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia in addition to the imminent Berlin opening, and with plans for a Japanese presence approaching the final stages.

The grand opening of its first German store in Berlin on Sunday last week made it the first Taiwanese teashop chain to set up in Europe. “We’d like to introduce good Taiwanese tea to our foreign friends,” said Sam Lin, executive director of Comebuy International Co (長沅國際實業). http://comebuy2002.com/

Many similar local businesses have expressed interest in the European market, but so far only Comebuy has set up a store after meeting strict EU standards, he said.

Besides strengthening training and tightening quality control, Lin said his company had to rebuild its “tea espresso machine,” which cost NT$120,000 (US$4,134), to allow it to get the “Conformite Europende” mark. As is the case with other overseas shops, there will also be subtle changes to the flavors and packaging of many of its products to suit German consumers.

“For our Berlin store, we’ll have products specially flavored with yogurt,” Lin said.

Established in 2001, Comebuy opened its first teashop in Taiwan in 2002, but has since switched its business focus to overseas markets. Besides setting up in Germany’s largest city, the teashop chain is planning to gain footholds in the UK, France and the Czech Republic, Lin said. “In fact, India is also one of our extension options,” Lin added.

Comebuy currently has 92 stores in Taiwan and 59 outlets overseas.