Jiaoxi Wufeng TeaJiaoxi Wufeng Tea
Flavour
Light-fragrance style
Wufeng tea comes from the hills beside Wufeng Waterfall in Jiaoxi, at around 300 metres. Tea was planted here as far back as Liu Ming-chuan's governorship in the Qing period, making it one of Taiwan's earlier districts.
Yilan is wet, and the local answer is to hold both oxidation and firing at two: a light style, but with some fire. Firing drives out moisture taken up during a damp withering, and wet districts often use it to steady quality.
Honey-yellow liquor, light orchid with a note of the hills, and it takes many steeps.
⚠️ Yilan's output is small and mostly sold through the farmers' association or direct from growers.
Fair priceestimated
One jin is 600 g. Below NT$500, be sceptical.
A reasonable range is NT$900–2,000 per 600 g. Below NT$500, ask more questions. This range is estimated from nearby regions and elevation; it has not been verified against listed prices.
What to ask when buying this
This price range is estimated from nearby regions and elevation and has not been verified, so compare for yourself.
Spring and winter lots fetch the highest prices and the best aroma; summer and autumn are a step down in both.
If they will not let you taste but want you to buy 600 g of something expensive, walk away. It is the simplest and most effective filter there is.
A scannable producer record beats any verbal assurance.
Specifications
About the origin
The oldest tea district in Yilan. Liu Ming-chuan is said to have encouraged farmers of the Lanyang plain to open gardens on Linmei mountain in Jiaoxi, a spur of the Xueshan range, beside what is now the Wufeng waterfall. The gardens sit between two hundred and fifty and seven hundred metres, planted with Qingxin Oolong and TTES No. 12 and No. 13. There were fifty hectares in 1977; eight remained in 2019. The name was settled by the growers themselves, in a meeting of their joint working group.
These figures will be updated if they change.
Brewing
Why this temperature
Ball-rolled oolong is tightly wound, and the first pour only reaches the outside of the pellet, so it needs water close to boiling to open at all. If it does not open, the later steeps swing between thin and heavy. The first and second steeps often take the same time or less, because the leaf does not truly unfurl until the second.
Temperatures follow the official category guidance. Source: TRES — Effects of water quality and temperature on tea liquor
Common mistakes with this tea
95°C or above. Too cool and the roast aroma never opens, leaving it flat.
Rolled-ball leaf needs the first infusion to open up; the second is then shorter.
Best drunk within two months.
The most common beginner regret is buying 600 g on the first try. Buy a jin only after you know you like it.
What to eat with it
Glutinous rice clings and the sweetness lingers on the tongue. A tea with some astringency clears it away.
This one is Taiwan-only — not available overseas
Location accuracy: township level (24.8360, 121.7400). This marks the growing area, not one specific garden.
Lanyang Tea Region4
What there is to do here
2 routes Day trip Datong: Yulan・Dongshan: Zhongshan
Yilan grows its tea low — Yulan at around 150 m, Dongshan under 500. Low does not mean lesser: the rain and humidity here make a tender leaf and a delicate, high-toned aroma. An hour from Taipei through the Xueshan tunnel.