Taiwan’s Gourmet Teas: Delicate, Fragrant and Substantive

Taiwan has a long history with tea, albeit, a slow growing one. But, its combination of ideal climactic conditions and unique teas are making Taiwan a growing force in the global tea industry. In 2011, Taiwan’s gourmet tea production amounted to 21,000 metric tons. Domestic consumption is high and the 4,000 tons of tea exports focus on premium quality wulong teas. Discovered by Portuguese explorers in 1542, Taiwan was then named “Formosa,” meaning “the beautiful,” for its scenic coastline and landscape. Situated about 150 miles off the Chinese mainland, Taiwan stretches north to south along the shores of Fujian province and is home to a population of 23 million people. Although two indigenous tea bushes were discovered in the 17^th century, they had little economic value because their leaves were bitter and brittle. It was in the 18^th century, under the Qing Dynasty that quality tea seeds and tea plants were brought to the island by farmers from Fujian, who left the mainland during episodes of bad harvest to escape starvation. Settling first in the northern region they introduced their teas there. In the 19^th century, more land was cleared along the central mountain range and even up onto their high slopes for planting more tea. British industrialist, John Dodd, who visited Taiwan in the 1860s, became aware of the particular fragrance of the local teas. He decided to export some to London and to New York, and it was in America that these fine teas immediately attracted interest. There were requests for more and this early fame became the foundation for the prosperity and reputation of the Taiwan tea industry. During the Japanese Colonial Period, which lasted from 1895 to 1945, tea growing was further expanded and concentrated on the current plant varieties, all belonging to the Wulong tea family. In 1926, the Japanese introduced tea plants from Assam to see if these could adjust to the Taiwanese climactic and soil conditions and produce some good quality black teas. The attempt proved to be successful and generated the renowned Sun Moon Lake black tea, also called Taiwan No. 18. In order to foster the tea industry, the Tea Research Institute was set up in 1903 with the objective to improve both yields and cup quality. Step-by-step, this has progressed into today’s catalogue of Taiwan-specific cultivars, which are the basis of the current high quality teas that prosper in the island. The mild climate and good rainfall offer ideal climactic conditions for fine teas and the 14,000 hectares of tea plantations are divided into nine main tea regions. Each has its own traditional ways to pick and process hence the great diversity of taste profiles. The chairman of the Taiwan Tea Manufacturer’s Association, Norman C. SHU, has suggested distinguishing three main wulong tea categories based on their degree of leaf oxidation, as follows: Jade Wulong teas: have dark green leaves rolled into tea pearls, with a light oxidation between 8-10 percent for the Bao Zhong (or Pouchong) and 15-20 percent for the Dong Ding; feature subtle and intensely fragrant cups. Amber Wulong teas: with an oxidation between 30-40 percent, and which undergo additional baking, they are also rolled up in pearls. Tie Kuan Yin teas, with their strong flavored yet mellow cups, also fall into this category. Formosa Bai Hao teas: also called “Oriental Beauty,” a unique tea that does not grow anywhere else in the world and is harvested only once every year during a fortnight in early summer. This premium tea is rich in buds that show up as white streaks amongst the reddish brown twisted leaves. Formosa undergoes the strongest oxidation of up to 60 percent, which gives the fruity peach and honey flavor to the cup. Some experts attribute this exquisite fragrance to the leaf-biting of a small insect, but this is a controversial matter. There is also a fourth, highly specialized category, Gao Shan or “high mountain” wulong teas. They are grown above an altitude of 1,000m on the slopes of several high mountains in the central part of Taiwan, in the districts of Chiayi and Nantou.

The most famous mountains are Li Shan, Ali Shan, and Yu Shan. Providing clean air, cool temperatures and long misty periods, these special locations allow for slow growth only. Therefore the leaves are only harvested once or twice per year, hence the rich and crispy fragrance of these cups. Very lightly oxidized and subject to minimal baking the winter, high mountain wulongs in particular have an intense, sweet taste and are usually very highly priced.

Whilst renowned mainly for its exceptional wulong teas, Taiwan also has an interesting, albeit, small black tea production, picked from tea fields near the scenic Sun Moon Lake in Yunlin County. Only small amounts are available, therefore, they are very expensive and almost too special to be appreciated outside the country. Another important aspect of Taiwan’s gourmet tea industry concerns the various cultivars that have been developed in the country over the past more than 100 years. It has been assumed that the Dong Ding wulongs were initially been brought to Lugu village in Nantou county by a local scholar, Lin Feng Chi, to thank the villagers for having allowed him to study in Fujian. This was in 1832 and according to the story, he brought with him 36 wulong bushes from the Wuyi Shan area that have prospered since and are the ancestors the famous Dong Ding wulongs of today. It is also believed that Tie Kuan Yin wulong bushes were brought from the Anxi district in southern Fujian. These bushes have prospered in the Taipei area and today provide leaf for the amber wulong teas, such as the Mucha Tie Kuan Yin. There are also research institute cultivars that have been developed to suit the local soil and climate conditions whilst providing highly flavored leaf for fine cups: Qing Xin: meaning green heart, is a small, dense bush with strong veined leafs. It is suitable for wulong in general, and for Bao Zhong. Qing Xin Da You: with greater leaf yield and better disease resistance, is suitable for wulong in general and Bao Zhong. Jin Xuan: also called Taiwan No. 12, has a particularly fragrant taste with notes of creaminess, like butter or milk. It is used to make milky wulong, although sometimes the flavor is reported to be enhanced during the production process. Cui Yu: meaning grass green jade, also called Taiwan No. 13, is located in steep areas and is suitable for hand picking. It has an intense floral aroma and taste. The development of the tea industry has resulted in an important assortment of high-profile premium teas. Buyers from Europe and the USA sometimes have to accept sitting on waiting lists for a few kilograms of precious pickings. That is not just good marketing, but the result genuine quality based on unique locations, specific plant material and highly diversified processing. Fujian and Taiwan are neighbor territories and they share similar climactic and soil conditions, which has made them the cradle of wulong teas. Although other producing countries are now currently using the process of semi-leaf oxidation, their teas remain different from the traditional century old wulong teas varieties grown in southern China and Taiwan. These genuine terroir teas cannot be matched, nor can they be copied. This article was written by Barbara Dufrene and was first published in Tea & Coffee Trade Journal in January of 2013.