A customer asked me the other day, “Why does your Lishan high mountain tea cost NT$3,000 per 600 g, while other places sell it for just NT$600?” I get asked this all the time, so I’m addressing it here once and for all~ 👩
Let’s break down the production costs of high mountain tea for you: the picking wage alone for raw tea leaves is around NT$65 per 600 g of tea leaves. Since it takes about 3 kg of raw leaves to make 600 g of finished tea, the raw material cost alone comes to around NT$300. Factor in the tea master team, facility fees, utilities, and gas, and you’re looking at about NT$350 per 600 g. Add fertilizer, pesticides, irrigation water, and farm management labor at another NT$200. That brings us to NT$850, and this is just for ordinary high mountain tea regions—ultra-high elevation regions cost even more. 😅
In places like Lishan, Biluxi, and Dayuling, the raw tea leaves alone cost upwards of NT$400 per catty (600 g), meaning the raw leaf cost by itself hits NT$2,000. Bottom line: it’s simply impossible for genuine Lishan high mountain tea to sell for NT$600 per 600 g. 😊
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A tea factory owner once told our manager about a time he was busy making tea when a tour bus group of aunties dropped by wanting to buy tea. The factory doesn’t normally take walk-in retail visitors, but figuring they had traveled a long way, he felt bad turning them away and personally brewed tea to host them. Throughout the tasting, the group complained about everything—first saying the tea stems were too long, then that the flavor was too light. The owner figured everyone has different tastes and didn’t mind the criticism.
Yet after complaining endlessly, they still wanted to buy, so the owner quoted them NT$3,000 per 600 g. The visitors complained it was too expensive and tried to bargain, but the owner just smiled and said he couldn’t go lower as it was already a fair price. To his shock, one of the aunties blurted out, “Well, XXXX (an online tea merchant) sells Lishan high mountain tea for only NT$800, why are you so expensive?” The factory owner said that the moment he heard that, he just snapped, didn’t bother arguing with them, and walked away to get back to making tea. 😂😂😂
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Fellow tea lovers~ Lishan high mountain tea won’t be sold to you for NT$600 or NT$800 per 600 g unless the factory owner is your close friend or sworn brother. Stop and think about it: would anyone in the market run a tea business at a dead loss selling Lishan high mountain tea for NT$600 per 600 g? 😂😂😂
