In Alishan’s key tea regions, Shizhuo and Xiding, this season’s winter tea growth is rated “above average.” Considering the severe drought at the beginning of the year, bouncing back this quickly is practically a miracle, though unfortunately, yields are slightly lower. The main winter tea harvest entered full swing in late October and was nearing its end by mid-November.
This year’s spring tea in Shizhuo and Xiding could be called the worst season in Alishan tea history. Not only did production drop to 30%, but severe water shortages also caused widespread leaf deformation, and overall tea-making quality was subpar. Figures 2 and 3 show photos from the spring harvest: tea gardens that should have been harvested in early April didn’t sprout until late April, and harvesting dragged on into June—effectively turning the spring tea into summer tea. 😓😓
Because the spring tea was such a disaster, we didn’t have high hopes for the winter tea. To our surprise, the condition turned out quite well. Aside from the tea trees that withered and couldn’t be revived, the rest have recovered by about 90%. It looks like next year’s spring tea is well on track for a full recovery.
Winter tea in Shizhuo and Xiding is much like Meishan’s: the main issues are that “the weather isn’t cold enough” and “the growing period is too short.” Tea harvested before early November still tastes a bit “light,” but quality has been on an upward trend since the beginning of winter (Liqiu) on the 8th. There are still a few tea gardens above 1,300 meters that haven’t been harvested yet. Today (November 13th), a cold front is arriving, with forecasts predicting nighttime temperatures of only 10°C, and dropping to as low as 7°C in a few days. This kind of weather is prime for producing exceptional, top-tier batches, so we plan to head back up the mountain to source some great tea in a few days.
