Customer Inquiry: I wanted to buy authentic Lishan tea and started looking on online auction sites. A seller quoted me hand-picked Lishan spring tea for just NT$400 per 600 g, and swore it’s genuine Lishan tea. While I’m skeptical, they claimed it’s so cheap because it’s leftover stock from last season. Is Lishan tea really that cheap?
Chang-Hsing Tea: Hello, Mr. Liu. Lishan tea is very unlikely to cost only NT$400 per 600 g. Even for summer or autumn teas, we have never seen it sold at NT$400 per 600 g. Taking the 2013 spring season as an example, near the Huanshan Tribe at an altitude of 1,700 meters, the price was around NT$1,600—and that was the wholesale price for buying 18 kg at once. Even if it’s not spring tea, Lishan autumn tea prices are still above NT$1,000 per 600 g, and winter tea is even 30% more expensive than spring tea.
▲ Near the Huanshan Tribe at an altitude of 1,600 to 1,700 meters, Lishan tea here costs about NT$1,600 per 600 g. This is the wholesale price.
Given the current situation in the Lishan tea region, it’s not just Taiwanese tea merchants scrambling to buy; buyers from China, Hong Kong, Macao, and Japan are all purchasing it. The reality is that much of the tea is reserved by connoisseurs even before it fully grows. The remaining portion, less than half, sells out within a month after harvesting. For instance, the tea near the farm in the spring of 2013 was sold out before harvest, making my trip there a waste of time. I find it very unlikely that the seller on the auction site is offering leftover tea from the previous season.
▲ The highest tea region in Lishan: Tianchi.
The biggest red flag is the selling price. At NT$400 per 600 g, this price wouldn’t even cover the cost of tea leaves (tea resin), let alone fertilizer, land rentals, tea master fees, and transportation costs. There is probably no tea producer in the world this generous. We recommend shopping around and comparing a few more places. If you can’t find any, you are welcome to contact Chang-Hsing Tea. Our Lishan tea isn’t the cheapest, but we guarantee it’s 100% authentic.