Due to the pandemic, prices across various tea regions have dropped over the past two years, but a few areas have bucked the trend and gone up. As the store manager, I think Dayuling and the HuaGung summit have seen the steepest hikes.
Everyone knows why Dayuling prices surged. Starting in 2015, tea plantations were progressively cleared, leaving less than a tenth of the original production. With supply plummeting, prices naturally skyrocketed. As for the HuaGung summit, I believe its price increase is also tied to the clearing of Dayuling’s tea gardens.
As you may know, Dayuling used to be Taiwan’s highest-altitude tea region. In the high mountain tea market, where altitude dictates value, it naturally commanded the highest prices. Before it was cleared, Dayuling’s 105K Truffle tea plantation went for NT$12,000 per 600 g. So here’s the question: once Dayuling lost its crown as the highest tea region, which one took its place? That’s right! Today’s star: the HuaGung summit tea region.
Ten years ago, the wholesale price for HuaGung summit tea was generally under NT$4,000. Now (in 2022), it sits at NT$6,000 to NT$8,000, officially overtaking Dayuling. When I asked locals in the industry why it got so expensive, I was told it was due to rising labor and fertilizer costs. Well, I wasn’t born yesterday, so of course I didn’t buy that!
I suspect the main reason for the price hike is simply that “the HuaGung summit claimed the title of the highest tea region,” and everything else is secondary. Otherwise, why didn’t other tea regions see such massive increases?
Don’t get me wrong though—I’m not complaining about the price rise. On the contrary, I think it’s completely justified. After all, it genuinely is the highest tea region, offering exceptional quality and limited production. As long as consumers are willing to pay, it’s a fair price, right?
The reason I thought of HuaGung summit’s price rise is because I saw a competitor selling it the other day for NT$1,600 per 600 g with a buy-one-get-one-free deal, and I couldn’t help bursting out laughing. All joking aside, with wholesale prices sitting at NT$6,000 to NT$8,000, what do you fellow tea lovers think is a reasonable retail price?
