The Ultimate Buyer's Guide for Purchasing Xindian Construction

If you’re planning a trip to Taiwan and need travel advice, I’ve got a huge amount of Taiwan content on this site. Start with my 50 favorite places in Taiwan and my 50 favorite places in Taipei! If you’re just here for tea info, then read on!

Here’s a discount code for my favorite Taiwanese tea provider, Eco-Cha: if you click this link then select any teas, a 10% discount will be applied at check-out. Eco-Cha supports small-scale farms using sustainable methods and can mail internationally.

Please note, if you represent a tea shop outside of Taiwan and are looking for connections to tea farmers or organic teas in Taiwan, I’m sorry that I don’t have any specific leads (I often receive emails about this).

Best Tea Tours in Taiwan

There are some great tea-related attractions that you can explore as day trips from Taipei, which I will cover in detail in this article. This tour focuses mainly on the tea plantation, while this similar tea day tour also includes the Maokong tea growing area in Taipei City.

Learn about the different types of Taiwanese tea and tea ceremony in this tea tasting class. If you prefer being on your feet, try this customizable walking tea tour, which takes place in one of my favorite Taipei neighborhoods, Dadaocheng.

In southern Taiwan, this day tour from Taitung includes a visit to a tea growing area in Luye.

If you’d like a fully customized tea tour of Taiwan, I recommend Life of Taiwan. They run high end tea tours staying in some of the country’s top hotels, but with high personalized experiences such as meeting tea farms and touring tea farms and enjoying tea ceremoney in natural locations. If you contact them, please let then know that Nick sent you over.

The two main varieties of tea are Camellia sinensis var. sinensis (Chinese tea) and Camellia sinensis var. assamica (Indian tea). Caffeine levels vary in tea, but contrary to what some say, your typical cup of tea has less caffeine that a cup of coffee. Tea may be higher in caffeine by volume, but quite a bit less tea leaves are used than coffee beans to brew a single cup.

While the majority of Chinese and Taiwanese teas are unflavored, you may encounter some with flavors, which may be real or artificial. Popular ones include jasmine (茉莉) and lychee (荔枝). Herbal (花草茶), fruit (水果茶) and flower (花茶) teas are also common in China and Taiwan, but are not true teas.

A Short History of Taiwanese Tea

Taiwan actually has an indigenous tea that early settlers found growing in the mountains and being used by the aboriginals. Some believe that it may be a tea variety of its own, Camellia formosensis.

Camellia sinensis (Chinese tea) was first brought over to Taiwan in the 19th century from Fujian province in China, where the famous Wuyi tea region is located. Many of Wuyi’s teas are known as yancha (rock tea or 岩茶) after the distinctive rocky terroir they are grown in). Oolong tea was found to grow particularly well in Taiwan after it was planted in the Lugu area of Nantou and in northern Taiwan.

Following the First Opium War and Treaty of Tianjin, Taiwan was forced to open its ports to trade with the West. Tea became a major export, and around the time the capital of Taiwan was moved to the north, a thriving riverside port called Dadaocheng developed around the tea trade. The neighborhood remains one of the best places to experience Taiwan’s tea culture. See more details in my walking guide to Dadaocheng neighborhood and see some of Dadaocheng’s incredible temples in my guide to the best temples in Taipei.

After Taiwan became a Japanese colony in 1895, the Japanese shifted from oolong to black tea production in Taiwan to compete with the British. They planted Camellia assamica (Indian tea) in the Sun Moon Lake area (see my complete article on Sun Moon Lake’s incredible black teas).

The Japanese also established the Tea Research and Extension Station in 1903, which sought to develop new cultivars and improve or perfect existing ones. To this day, the institution has developed 22 or more new cultivars, some of which are internationally sought and even grown in other countries, such as Thailand. See more details on that in my guide to tea in Thailand.

After the Japanese left in 1945, production of black tea dwindled, but a small industry remains, with Ruby Red (TRES tea #18), which is a cross between native Camelia formosensis and Camelia assamica from Burma, pretty much universally accepted as the best black tea made in Taiwan, thanks to its very unique minty and cinnamon notes.

The Push to Go Higher

Starting in the 1980s, the TRES and Taiwanese government began encouraging local farmers to experiment with growing tea at higher altitudes. Little did these early pioneers know that they were onto something that would have a massive impact on the Taiwanese tea industry.

The oolong tea grown at higher altitudes was found to have an incredible flavor. Lower amounts of oxygen in the air meant that the tea plants grew slower, with flavor chemicals becoming more concentrated in the leaves. Damp air from the sea and misty slopes of the Central Mountain Range were found to produce teas so fine, the name High Mountain Tea was coined. The Alishan region was the first testing ground, and even today, Alishan High Mountain Tea remains the most famous. See more details in my guide to Alishan’s teas.

Teas grown at 1000 meters of higher are considered high mountain, and most of Alishan’s teas grown around 1000-2000 meters. However, farmers have tried to go even higher in other parts of Taiwan, under the assumption that the higher you go, the better the tea will test. Some of Taiwan’s most expensive teas are grown as high as 2600 meters at Dayuling.

High mountain tea farming is known to be bad for the environment, as it leads to deforestation and soil erosion, so the government is even dismantling some of its high mountain tea farms. What’s more, demand for Taiwanese teas far exceeds production, which has even led to the phenomenon of “counterfeit” Taiwanese teas, which are typically grown in Southeast Asia.

In fact, Taiwan produces such a limited amount of tea that almost none of it is exported, and the country has to import a large amount of tea to meet local demand, particularly for bottled and iced tea beverages, which are massively popular among all ages in Taiwan.

This is why you may find that tea from Taiwan is quite expensive by international standards, and export is mainly limited to small artisanal distributors like Eco-Cha. It’s just really damn good, and there isn’t much of it.

Main Varieties of Tea

The amount of oxidation, or fermentation, that tea leaves undergo after being harvested determines the variety of tea. The following are in order from least to most oxidized.

White Tea (白茶)

This is the least processed of all teas and has an extremely mild flavor and light yellow color (the name “white” comes from the tiny silvery-white hairs found on the unopened buds of the plant). White tea comes from Fujian province in China, and as far as I know it is not produced in Taiwan.

Green Tea (綠茶)

Like white tea, green tea is totally unoxidized, but has a stronger flavor. Green teas tend to be sharp and possess citrus or vegetal undertones. It is believed that by roasting or pan-firing the leaves immediately after harvesting, they retain much of their natural flavor.

China and Japan produce most green teas. Taiwan produces some green teas, but they are far less common than oolongs. A flavored green tea I’ve come across often in Taiwan is sweet osthmanthus green tea (桂花綠茶).

Oolong (Wulong) Tea (烏龍茶)

Oolongs are semi-oxidized teas, generally ranging from 10% (lighter, closer to a green tea in characteristics) to 80% (darker, more robust, closer to a black tea). As such, oolongs are highly varied. They can be steeped multiple times, and each steeping produces different flavors. Taiwan’s oolong teas are prized by tea connoisseurs around the world and can fetch astronomical prices.

Black Tea (“Red Tea” in Mandarin) (紅茶)

Black tea leaves are fully oxidized, giving them the most robust flavor. They are the most common kind of tea consumed in the West, and produced mainly in India and Sri Lanka, though China does produce some as well. Many of them are blends, and sometimes flavors are added (for example the addition of oil of bergamot to produce Earl Grey tea). Sun Moon Lake’s black teas are the best in the country, especially Ruby Red #18.

Another type of Taiwanese black tea that has become increasingly common in recent years is honey-scented black tea (蜜香紅茶). The honey scent is a natural aroma that results from the bites of little bugs on the leaves, just like the more famous Oriental Beauty (see below).

Pu Er Tea (普洱茶)

Pu Er tea is a fully fermented, aged tea that is unique to Yunnan province in southwestern China. Pu er is truly “black” tea, being extremely dark, earthy, and robust in flavor, and it often comes packed in large dense round cakes like in the picture below.

It is very easy to find in Taiwan but it is not produced here. You can even find mini one-pot sized balls of it (center of below image) in Dadaocheng tea shops.

Taiwanese Oolong Tea: Taiwan’s Best Tea

Baozhong (or Pouchong)

“wrapped variety” (包種茶)

You can from Taipei. Baozhong tea is a personal favorite of mine.

Iron Goddess (Tieguanyin)

(鐵觀音茶)

Alishan High Mountain

(阿里山高山茶)

Alishan tea is usually around 40% oxidized, so it is light to medium in color. The tealeaves are usually rolled into dense little balls that unfold when you add hot water. It has a creamy mouthfeel that seems to coat the mouth, and a sweet, long-lasting aftertaste.

Dayuling

(大禹嶺)

Oriental Beauty

(東方美人 or Dongfang Meiren)

Dried oriental beauty leaves have white tips, so it is sometimes called “white tipped oolong”. In a market where high mountain oolongs reign supreme (which personally I kind of get bored of sometimes), Oriental Beauty is refreshingly different.

How to Order Tea from Taiwan

A solid choice for buying Taiwan tea online from anywhere in the world is Eco-Cha, which sells artisanal teas from producers that practice sustainable farming, and has a great tea of the month program. Use this link to browse their teas and get 10% off your Eco-Cha tea order or enter the discount code NKTEA when you check out!

Global Tea Hut, an international meditation and tea center run by an American monk and tea expert and headquartered in Miaoli, Taiwan, also has a great tea of the month + tea magazine program. The magazine is extremely information and I would highly recommend it for tea (and meditation) lovers who want to take their love of a tea to a higher level.

I wrote a whole article about an inspiring visit that I had to the Global Tea Hut’s meditation center, Tea Sage Hut.

Where to Buy Tea in Taiwan

One interesting method for buying tea in Taiwan is to visit a tea producing area and buy tea directly from the growers or in local shops in that area. Easily accessible tea growing areas include Sun Moon Lake, Alishan, and Luye. Buying tea in this way creates an association in your mind between the tea and your experience in that area, making it all the more enjoyable when you brew it later. See more details about these regions below.

You can find many stores specializing in Taiwanese tea in all the major cities, many tourist centers (especially Alishan and Sun Moon Lake), and even at the airport and in most grocery stores. Just beware that with such high demand for certain Taiwanese teas, like Alishan High Mountain tea, some tea that is now sold as these varieties is actually grown outside of Taiwan, such as in Vietnam.

If you are not in Taiwan or able to travel to around the island, try ordering Taiwanese tea online from the sites I mentioned above, or see below for the best place to buy tea in Taipei. Truthfully speaking, though, I can’t imagine any teas sold in Taiwan are ever really ‘bad.’

in Taitung County. You can always taste before you buy!