Customer Inquiry: I recently went to Alishan to source tea and noticed that Qingxin Oolong is generally higher in price than Sijichun and JinXuan, often selling for NT$1,200 or more per 600 g. I’ve heard that machine-harvested oolong tea is also of good quality, but I’m not sure if that’s true. If so, how much does machine-harvested oolong cost per 600 g?
Chang Hsing Tea: Hello Mr. Lin, thanks for reaching out. Qingxin Oolong is the most widely planted and highest-yielding tea variety in Taiwan. It has long been popular for its exceptional aftertaste, rich aroma, and distinctive orchid-like varietal notes. Because this tea plant belongs to a small-leaf variety with lower yields and is difficult to care for and prone to dying, its market price is relatively high.
Many people associate machine-harvested tea with inferior quality. In fact, machine-harvested tea simply has more broken leaves; as long as it goes through a stem-picking refinement process, its quality is by no means inferior to hand-picked tea. If harvested uniformly around noon and afternoon on a sunny day, it often surpasses regular hand-picked tea. Alishan’s machine-harvested Oolong tea has always received stellar reviews, especially the high-mountain machine-harvested tea grown at elevations above 1,000 meters, which has consistently been a hot commodity among knowledgeable tea merchants.
▲Alishan’s machine-harvested Oolong tea offers great quality and is much more affordable than hand-picked tea.
For Alishan’s machine-harvested Oolong tea, elevations above 1,000 meters are more expensive, priced at NT$1,000 or more per 600 g. Machine-harvested oolong from mid-to-low elevations is also of great quality, with wholesale prices ranging between NT$500 and NT$900. If you need any assistance, feel free to contact Chang Hsing Tea.