Reader Question: While browsing a tea shop, the vendor recommended a black tea, claiming it is Dayuling black tea grown at an altitude of 2,300 meters, priced at NT$1,500 per 600 g. Is the quality of Dayuling black tea good? Where are the producing regions?
Chang-Hsing Tea: Hello, Ms. Ho. Dayuling at an altitude of 2,300 meters is likely located above the 97K marker of the Central Cross-Island Highway. We rarely hear of tea leaves from here being made into black tea. Due to the climate, the spring tea in this region is harvested in late May, and the winter tea is harvested from mid-October to early November. Although another round of tea grows in between, most farmers do not harvest it to protect the tea trees. A few do harvest it, but it is exclusively used to make autumn tea. It is very rare to hear of it being made into black tea.
As far as I know, Dayuling autumn tea produced in tea gardens above the 100K marker is entirely made into oolong tea, with wholesale prices starting at NT$2,000, and it sells quite well, so there is really no need to convert it into black tea. Tea regions above 2,000 meters rarely produce black tea. High-mountain black tea is more commonly found between 1,000 meters and 1,500 meters. Ms. Ho, you may want to ask a few more questions and confirm the origin before making a purchase.
▲Dayuling tea region rarely produces black tea due to its high altitude, low tea yield, and high price.