Customer Inquiry: High mountain teas are usually so expensive that I just can’t bring myself to buy them. Are there any affordable, Taiwan-produced high mountain teas available? The cheaper, the better—ideally under NT$600 per 600 g.
Chang-Hsing Tea: Hello, Mr. Chang. Affordable high mountain tea does exist. Taiwan’s Alishan and ShanLinXi tea regions also produce tea in the summer and autumn. Autumn tea is slightly inferior to winter tea, and summer tea is a bit behind autumn tea, but overall, the quality is still superior to lowland tea. Some high mountain autumn teas even approach the standard of winter tea. These high mountain teas are of great quality, and the best part is that they cost only half the price of spring and winter teas, ranging around NT$1,200 to NT$2,000.
Many autumn high mountain teas on the market are of such high quality that tea merchants pass them off as winter tea. I’ve heard from tea masters that the higher the altitude, the slower the tea trees reach their peak nutrient absorption period. They only get the best nutrients from the soil in June and July, so the quality of autumn tea is by no means inferior to spring tea. Last year, Chang-Hsing Tea also sourced Alishan autumn tea. Not many people know that Alishan produces autumn tea, so we were able to keep the price down to NT$1,200 per 600 g. The customers who bought it were so surprised, thinking we had accidentally sent them winter tea.
The Alishan autumn tea we bought last year was hand-picked, and we also offer machine-harvested autumn and summer teas at even more budget-friendly prices. If you’re looking for delicious yet affordable high mountain tea, you can still find it in the Alishan and ShanLinXi tea regions. Feel free to contact Chang-Hsing Tea if you need any.
▲ Autumn high mountain tea is affordable and of excellent quality.