If you are interested in Taiwanese tea and wander up to a tea store, then you will definitely find products with the words ‘Taiwan Alpine Tea’ printed on the shelves. In fact, ‘alpine’ is not the name of the variety, nor is it the name of a specific place of origin, but a generic term for the cultivation area. We generally take the altitude of 1000m as the boundary, and the tea grown in tea plantations above this altitude line is ‘alpine tea’. This also includes rare teas whose tea plantations are higher than 2000m above sea level. Although people also grow varieties of white tea and green tea in high mountain areas, the names of these high mountain teas often carry category names, such as high mountain white tea and high mountain green tea. Those who only write ‘Taiwan high mountain tea’ can basically identify it as oolong tea.
When you hear about places with an altitude of 1000-2000m, you probably associate it with a group of ski resorts that are known for their high quality powder snow. With both fresh air and a large temperature difference between day and night, there is no better environment to grow good tea than this. The famous high mountain tea producing areas also have one thing in common, that is, they are surrounded by higher mountains than it is. These conditions come together to create the fog over the tea plantations. Moist air currents rise all the way along the stream valleys, and once they drift above 1,000m above sea level, the water vapor condenses into fog. The fog blocks the direct sunlight and makes the tea leaves more fresh. The quality of high mountain tea also perfectly reflects these blessed natural conditions.
Basically, the price of tea is directly proportional to the altitude of the tea plantation, but in addition to the taste and aroma of the tea itself, the rarity also has a great impact on the price.
Post time: May-19-2023