Harvests in areas below 1,700 meters, such as Sancengping and LongFengXia, wrapped up around May 10. Afterward, our store manager headed to even higher elevations at HuaGung, Cuifeng, Cuiluan, Meifeng, and Qilai Mountain. These ultra-high-altitude teas above 1,700 meters are our primary focus every year—top-tier teas akin to the legendary “Heavenly Sword” are exclusively born in these regions.
However, the weather hasn’t been cooperative this season. On May 11, the weather in Taichung and Nantou shifted from clear to rainy, cleared up briefly on the 12th, and then heavy downpours started on the 13th and lasted all the way through May 17. As everyone knows, tea harvested in rainy weather tends to suffer in quality, so our manager stopped visiting the tea gardens after the 12th.
We did receive a few tea samples during this period; the ones from the 10th to 12th were quite decent, but quality took a sharp turn for the worse afterward.
This week’s harvest is mostly coming from elevations between 1,700 and 1,950 meters. I suspect the quality from this range won’t be up to par—even if the weather clears up for harvesting, the tea leaves would likely be overmature. We don’t plan on purchasing any from this batch and are pinning our final hopes on the tea gardens above 1,950 meters.
I am writing this post on the 17th. According to the forecast, May 18, 19, and 20 are expected to bring clear skies. Our manager will head up the mountain first to check on the condition of the tea leaves, and make a purchasing decision based strictly on the quality.
Many tea friends have been asking lately whether we will be stocking the high-altitude spring teas from HuaGung, Cuifeng, Cuiluan, Meifeng, and Qilai Mountain. To be honest, “it’s not guaranteed.” Even though these are star tea regions, if the quality isn’t there, we simply won’t buy.