
Taiping TeaTaiping Tea
Flavour
Delicate aroma, mellow and sweet
Taiping sits at 1,300 m inside the Alishan National Scenic Area, and the country is beautiful. Sun and cloud take turns over the bush, which gives a fresh high-mountain floral. The liquor is a clear honeyed green, crisp and smooth, clean and sweet with the scent of the hills in it.
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. 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
One region can span 700 m to 1,700 m, with several times the price difference. The same name does not mean the same grade.
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
In Taiping Village, Meishan Township, Chiayi, at about 1,300 m — one of Meishan's main producing areas, with gardens spread across the slopes around the Taiping Suspension Bridge.
These figures will be updated if they change.
Brewing
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
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 (23.5730, 120.6400). This marks the growing area, not one specific garden.