In early August, the store manager headed up to the Qilai Mountain tea region to check out the autumn harvest. Much like the Cingjing tea region on the opposite ridge, Qilai Mountain autumn tea delivers exceptional quality. While it might not be quite as over-the-top as the spring harvest, the manager easily gives it a
I absolutely love Lishan. From Huanshan, Songmao, and Xingjiayang to HuaGung, Cuiluan, and Dayuling—I make several trips there every single year. In my heart, Lishan is nothing short of paradise. The only downside? There are quite a few flies in the summer. I bring up the flies because I just got back from Lishan, and
Typhoon Hinnamnor was originally headed straight for Taiwan, but made a turn right at our doorstep. Not only did it spare Taiwan from major disasters, but it also helped resolve our drought crisis—truly a model student among typhoons hitting Taiwan. Taiwan saw very little rainfall in July and August, until a round of rain arrived
The shop manager headed up to Lishan over the past couple of days, originally planning to check out the tea plantations in the Sinjiayang settlement, but to our surprise, the road is still impassable. With the winter tea season just around the corner, Sinjiayang’s tea farmers are really in for a headache. You might not
Lishan winter tea will be heavily harvested around October 12. A few days ago, the shop manager went to Lishan to check on the tea growth, and unfortunately, this year’s winter tea won’t be a bumper crop. This year’s Lishan autumn tea was a huge success, with quality and yield arguably the best in recent
The Cuifeng Autumn Oolong (harvested on August 13) is completely sold out. Thank you all for your support! We still have some Cuifeng Autumn Oolong (harvested on August 11) in stock, so if you missed out on the 13th batch, don’t miss this one. /*! elementor – v3.7.8 – 02-10-2022 */ .elementor-widget-image{text-align:center}.elementor-widget-image a{display:inline-block}.elementor-widget-image a img[src$=”.svg”]{width:48px}.elementor-widget-image
Compared to the Cuifeng tea region we checked out a few days ago, things are looking much more normal over in Cingjing’s Meifeng and Songgang. The farmers say harvesting will kick off around October 8, with some of the more tender tea gardens starting around the 15th. While there’s a slight drop in yield compared
A few days ago, I mentioned that Lishan winter tea had the potential to be ‘low in quantity but high in quality,’ but the store manager has to take that back. This year’s Lishan winter tea will be a year of ‘few good teas’ and ‘low yields.’ I went to check on the tea a
This year, many tea buds in Lishan failed to grow properly, and I was really worried Cuifeng might face the same issue. So, I headed up today to check on the Cuifeng tea leaves myself. What I found was a mix of relief and concern—sure enough, many tea bushes are just like the ones in
Affected by Typhoon Nesat, all tea growing regions in central Taiwan experienced rain on October 16. The northern areas—Lishan, Xijiayang, and Cuiluan—saw rain throughout the entire day. Further south, Cuifeng, Cingjing Meifeng, Songgang, DongYanShan, and Qilai Mountain experienced lighter rain, which stopped by late afternoon. The weather forecast indicates that it will turn sunny starting
People keep asking when HuaGung Ding and Dayuling will be available. HuaGung Ding was harvested back in September, but I didn’t get to taste it and didn’t stock any. Dayuling harvesting started just a few days ago, and barring any surprises, we won’t be buying any either—so tea lovers can stop waiting. Wholesale prices for
In early November, the store manager visited Zhuqi and Meishan in Chiayi to check out the tea harvest, and to put it bluntly, “it’s an absolute disaster.” This year, winter tea yields are scarce from northern to southern Taiwan, and Alishan winter tea is no exception. It’s bad enough that there’s less tea this year,
Apologies to everyone, but due to quality considerations, we will not be purchasing many items of this Winter Oolong season. Cingjing Meifeng, Cingjing Songgang, Qilai Mountain, Tunyuan, and DongYanShan are officially “sitting this one out,” so tea lovers don’t need to wait for them. The Winter Oolong from these tea regions can only be described
The Xinjiayang tea region is located in Lishan, Heping District, Taichung City. It generally spans between the 68 km mark (Deji Police Station) and the 76 km mark (Xinjiayang Tribe / Lingfu Bridge) of the Central Cross-Island Highway, with elevations ranging from 1,500 to 2,050 meters. Table of Contents The Largest Tea-Producing Area in Lishan
Last year, while chatting with a Lishan tea farmer, I learned that his 0.6-hectare farmland cost NT$450,000 a year to rent. I was shocked by the rent back then, and this year I got shocked all over again—this time, a 1-hectare vegetable plot costs a whopping NT$1.3 million to rent. Last year’s tea plantation was
