I really love visiting our tea regions. Not only does it let me check on the condition of the tea gardens to guide our future sourcing, but I also always seem to run into interesting stories along the way.
Today, let’s talk about JinXuan tea (also known as No. 27 or Taiwan Tea No. 12). As one of Taiwan’s signature newer tea cultivars, JinXuan boasts fantastic aroma, generous yields, and remarkable adaptability. However, because it is so productive and its flavor profile lacks the delicate subtlety of Qingxin Oolong, its price has never quite matched up. Due to pricing and cost considerations, JinXuan is rarely grown in high mountain tea regions.
Right now, the highest tea regions where JinXuan is widely cultivated are around Meishan’s Ruifeng and Taihing areas, sitting at elevations of 800 to 1,000 meters. Anything above 1,000 meters becomes increasingly rare. I’ve occasionally spotted it in 1,500-meter regions like Dinghu, Lushan Tribe, and Zhangshuhu, and I’m always amazed that someone would grow JinXuan at such high altitudes.
Yet, at the end of April this year, my horizons were broadened even further when I stumbled upon a JinXuan garden sitting at a stunning 1,900 meters in the Cuifeng tea region.
Interestingly, this tea garden was originally planned to use JinXuan as rootstock, onto which Qingxin Oolong would be grafted, hoping to create a super-resilient Qingxin Oolong tea garden. To our surprise, JinXuan proved to be so hardy that new shoots sprouted from the base, and eventually the entire garden turned back into JinXuan tea.
I have to say, these are genuinely the most stunning JinXuan tea trees the store manager has ever seen. Their lush, glossy appearance is simply mouthwatering. At the time, there was an urge to buy a bag just to test the market, but the idea was dropped after considering the price. The manager is genuinely curious about what JinXuan tea grown at an altitude of 1,900 meters tastes like, so I guess I’ll buy 600 g to try next time.
Note 1: The photo is not of the actual tea garden. It wouldn’t feel right to post pictures without actually stocking the tea.
Note 2: A tea enthusiast mentioned that Wuling Farm also produces high-mountain JinXuan at an altitude of 2,200 meters (!!). The manager hasn’t seen it yet, but will definitely check it out next time for an eye-opener.
Note 3: For reference, here is the webpage for Wuling Farm’s high-mountain JinXuan tea: https://shop.wuling-farm.com.tw/_pages/product/show.php?num=258
Note 4: The highest-altitude JinXuan tea the manager has ever seen is at Dayuling, at about 2,500 meters, though there are only a few scattered trees, hardly a proper tea garden.