Customer Inquiry: Hello! I’d like to buy some black tea. I usually drink oolong tea and don’t have much experience choosing black tea. Could you explain the characteristics of black tea and recommend some good Taiwanese black teas? Thank you!
Chang-Hsing Tea: Compared to green tea and oolong tea, black tea has a higher oxidation level, resulting in a sweeter, richer, and smoother taste without the grassy notes found in green or oolong teas. In addition to being brewed on its own, black tea pairs wonderfully with milk, simple syrup, or honey, making it a household favorite.
Taiwanese black tea mainly comes in two varieties. One is SunMoon Lake Black Tea, produced around the SunMoon Lake area, and the other is Honey Black Tea, which is more widely distributed. SunMoon Lake Black Tea is characterized by tea plants such as Taiwan Tea No. 18 and Assam varieties, which are exceptional raw materials for making black tea. The resulting tea is sweet, mellow, and exceptionally delicious.
▲SunMoon Lake Black Tea is the most famous variety of black tea in Taiwan.
The other variety is Honey Black Tea, which has the largest production volume and widest distribution in Taiwan. It is produced in New Taipei City, Taoyuan, Hualien, Hsinchu-Miaoli, Nantou, Taichung, and Chiayi. Its defining feature is that the tea leaves are bitten by the Jacobiasca formosana (small green leaf hopper), causing them to emit a unique honey aroma. Because these insects are needed to create this flavor, pesticide use is minimal, making it relatively healthy and delicious.
Over the past couple of years, the Honey Black Tea produced in New Taipei City’s Pinglin District has been of exceptional quality, rivaling that of the SunMoon Lake region while remaining reasonably priced, making it a fair and delicious choice. When you visit a tea shop, you can ask the owner to brew a tasting of Pinglin Honey Black Tea alongside teas from other regions. We are confident that Pinglin Honey Black Tea will not disappoint you.
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