Ep 31 | Elena Liao About Te Company

Aug 3, 2013

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A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:

Our guest on this episode of Talking Taiwan is Elena Liao, the owner of Té Company. She won last year’s Entrepreneur Challenge and Competition (ECC). To learn more about the ECC listen to the previous episode about the Entrepreneur Challenge and Competition. The name of her company, comes from the word “Té,” for “tea” in Taiwanese Hokkien.

Elena, the owner of Té in New York. Elena, founder of Té Company, is an avid tea drinker and a dedicated food enthusiast living in New York City. She was born and raised in Taiwan, then moved to the US in her early teens.

Like most Taiwanese families, drinking oolong tea was part of her daily ritual growing up. Living in the food mecca of New York City, Elena was surrounded by foodies alike celebrating hand crafted espresso and the complex bouquet of artisanal wine.

As her appreciation and knowledge for fine culinary craft blossomed, she found herself increasingly drawn to the delicate flavors of oolong teas. The childhood tea drinking tradition became more than a passtime. It became a culinary exploration, which led her to study oolong tea’s history and artistic craftsmanship.

Elena’s love of tea was first nurtured by her family and her passion for it shines through in this interview. Our conversation turned out to be a deep dive into the world of tea. She spoke to me about artisanal teas, how tea can be aged like wine, and even used in cooking and baking.

Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:

What the name of her company Te comes from
Her participation in the Entrepreneur Challenge and Competition (ECC), which is organized by TAP-NY and the Taiwanese Merchants Association
How she prepared her proposal for the ECC
What advice she would give to anyone preparing to go through a competition like the ECC
What she things is the one thing you need to succeed in participating in a competition like the ECC
What she did with the money she won from the ECC
How she got on the path to starting Te Company
The research she’s done about tea to prepare herself to be a tea merchant
Her visits with tea framers in Taiwan tea leaves are picked in Taiwan
How white, green, yellow, oolong and black tea can all be made from a single plant
How tea is similar to wine or whiskey
How tea ceremony can affect the taste of tea
What is espresso tea
The difference between drinking tea from a tea bag vs. loose leaf tea
How tea can be aged
How Elena comes up with new tea blends
The difference between ice tea and hot tea
How she uses oolong tea in cooking and baking
What’s next for Te Company