Reader Question: I heard that Winter Sprout Oolong has a very unique taste—kind of like winter tea, but also like high mountain tea. I’d love to try some, but online shops sell it anywhere from NT$400 per 600 g to NT$1,500 or even NT$3,000 for Lishan High Mountain Winter Sprout Oolong. What is a reasonable price for Winter Sprout Oolong, and is the Lishan version actually better?
Winter Sprout Oolong Price Range
Liao Chang Xing: Winter Sprout Oolong only happens during warm winters. Although yields have been a bit higher over the past couple of years, it remains quite rare. Hand-picked Winter Sprout Oolong requires about 2.4 kg of fresh tea leaves to produce 600 g of finished tea. Factoring in production and overhead costs, the base cost for 600 g is around NT$700. Allowing for a 30% profit margin each for the tea farmer and the vendor, a price of NT$1,000 from the farmer and NT$1,300 from the vendor makes for a fair and reasonable range. Premium-grade Winter Sprout Oolong can sometimes go for over NT$2,000, and whether that’s worth it is really up to the individual buyer.
Is Lishan High Mountain Winter Sprout Oolong Always Better Than Lowland Winter Sprout Oolong?
Unlikely. While Taiwan has experienced many warm winters lately, in high mountain regions like Lishan—where elevations exceed 1,700 meters—the tea plants go into dormancy the moment the northeast monsoon arrives. This causes the tea leaves to undergo rapid lignification, draining away their nutrients quickly. As a result, Winter Sprout Oolong made from these leaves is of extremely poor quality, yielding lots of broken leaves and a very weak brew. We definitely do not recommend buying it. Under normal circumstances, Winter Sprout Oolong from tea gardens below 800 meters actually outperforms high mountain versions in both yield and quality.
As for the online listings selling Winter Sprout Oolong at NT$400 per 600 g, that price doesn’t even cover manual harvesting costs, so it’s likely machine-harvested. Buyers are advised to check the origin and production method carefully before purchasing. Meanwhile, Winter Sprout Oolong priced at NT$1,500 is still well within a reasonable range if the quality is good.