I know many of you already know this, but as long as even one person doesn’t, today’s chat is well worth it~ Today we’re talking about “tea from outside Fushou Mountain Farm“.
Tea from outside Fushou Mountain Farm is also referred to as farm-edge tea, Fushou Lishan tea, or simply “outside-farm tea.” As the literal name suggests, it is tea produced by private plantations surrounding Fushou Mountain Farm. Because it is close to the farm, its mountain aroma and character are similar to the tea grown inside. Combined with its relatively accessible price, outside-farm tea is quite popular. Wholesale prices have climbed from NT$2,000 a decade ago to anywhere between NT$2,800 and NT$5,000 today, so it isn’t quite as cheap as “accessible” might imply.
As for which specific plantations count as being “outside Fushou Mountain Farm,” there is no fixed definition. Over the past decade or so, the store manager has heard that anything along Fushou Road counts. In recent years, even areas stretching from downtown Lishan up to the upper slope of the Central Cross-Island Highway at 87K, as well as the plantations above New Jiayang, are considered outside-farm tea. This category enjoys high market recognition, and everyone wants to ride its coattails to boost sales.🙂🙂
Based on the store manager’s sourcing experience over the years, well-managed tea from outside the farm is just as good as the tea grown inside. At ultra-high elevations between 2,000 and 2,250 meters, the mountain character is exceptionally good. Plus, priced at only about two-thirds of the farm-grown tea, it’s a very sensible choice by comparison.
Note 1: Not all tea from outside the farm is of good quality; the tea bushes in a few plantations are in very poor condition and not worth spending a lot of money on.
Note 2: The highest altitude tea from outside the farm is located near the Fushou Mountain Farm ticket booth, at around 2,250 meters. Tea from outside Fushou Mountain Farm does not exist above 2,300 meters.
Note 3: The tea plantation in picture 4 is located not far from the entrance of Fushou Mountain Farm and was planted only in recent years. The tea bushes are very young and it is likely the second-highest altitude plantation outside the farm, sitting at 2,250 meters. Owned by a major local tea manufacturer, you can tell a lot of effort has gone into caring for it. As long as they resolve the issue of pollution from neighboring vegetable farms and boost the growth of the tea bushes, this has the potential to become a standout star plantation among teas from outside Fushou Mountain Farm.