Alishan High Mountain TeaAlishan High Mountain Tea
Where to buy it
Flavour
Osmanthus and gardenia, pure and sweet
Alishan high-mountain tea is an umbrella for several townships in Chiayi County: Meishan, Zhuqi, Fanlu and Alishan itself, 1,826 hectares between them in 2019.
Altitudes run from 800 to 1,700 metres, so two teas under the same name can taste very different.
Mostly Qingxin Oolong, with some Jinxuan — the Jinxuan carries a natural milky note that comes from the plant itself.
Ask which village. It tells you far more than asking whether it is Alishan.
Fair priceverified
One jin is 600 g. Below NT$1,200, be sceptical.
A reasonable range is NT$2,000–4,000 per 600 g. Below NT$1,200, ask more questions. "High mountain tea" has no legal definition in Taiwan. Ask for the exact elevation and the road marker (K number). Competition-grade lots command a large premium. Ask which association ran the competition, which year, and for the seal.
What to ask when buying this
"High mountain tea" has no legal definition in Taiwan. The K number is a road milepost — the most concrete way to pin down origin. Asking it signals you have done your homework.
Grading standards differ between associations, so awards are not comparable across competitions. Genuine lots come with a seal and certificate.
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.
Specifications
About the origin
Alishan high-mountain tea is a name covering several townships in Chiayi county. The 2019 breakdown: Meishan 818 hectares, Alishan 359, Zhuqi 338, Fanlu 310, Zhongpu 1 — 1,826 in all, yielding 1.92 million kilograms a year. High-mountain tea appeared when it did because the market turned. As exports fell away, tea was sold at home instead; incomes rose, and drinkers began wanting to know which mountain and which slope a cup came from. Cool air and a wide day-night swing at altitude are what answer that question.
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.
The window for temperature and timing is narrow. On your first try use slightly less leaf and shorter steeps.
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
A chilled jelly has almost no flavour of its own; a heavily roasted tea would bury it. A fragrant, lightly oxidised tea lifts it instead.
Location accuracy: named locality (23.5100, 120.8030). This marks the growing area, not one specific garden.
Alishan Tea Region9
What there is to do here
6 routes Two days possible Meishan: Ruili, Ruifeng, Taixing, Taihe・Zhuqi and Shizhuo・Dabang, Tefuye, Lijia — Tsou villages
This district has the most itineraries, and nearly all of them run two days. Ruili, Ruifeng, Taixing and Taihe in Meishan are threaded together by old trails, bamboo, waterfalls and suspension bridges, and the guesthouses are the tea growers themselves. Further up are Zhuqi, Shizhuo and the Tsou villages. Every month of the year has its own crop.