The central part of the island of Taiwan, Nantou and Chiayi counties, is where high mountain teas are grown, on the following mountain ranges: Hehuanshan, Alishan, Lushan, which is where our black and green teas come from, Wu She, and Lishan, Shan Li Xi and Da Yu Ling, the last three all on the same mountain range. Lishan oolong is grown at around 2,200m above sea level (7217ft), and produced the most expensive tea in the 2000s at around $200 per 600g. 600g or 1 jin (斤) in Taiwan is a traditional unit of measurement for weight. Each mountain has its own flavour from differences in the terroir, which includes things such as soil, drainage, weather and mist that relate to the location. When I was first learning about teas and heard the names of these mountains I thought that they each stood on their own, but actually they are more like interconnecting mountain ranges, as we could drive from one to another without going down to sea level. A few years ago on ground level in the town of Puli, I remember that I was surprised to see signs pointing to these different mountain ranges. When we actually got there, the mountains looked very similar to each other with narrow roads, and the same almost jungle-like vegetation coating the sides of the mountain ranges, as well as stunning views over valleys to high, distant blue-green peaks in the distance and white rocks on river beds, with small villages and farms at the bottom.

There are two main harvests for high mountain tea, are winter and spring. Winter teas have a lower yield as they are harvested in November and December during the middle of domancy and are rich, full-bodied and balanced. Spring teas are harvested between March and May and have a larger yield. They taste more aromatic and floral after the dormancy period. However, the nature of the teas seem to be increasingly decided by factors that occur during each individual growing season, rather than simply defined by whether the tea was harvested in winter or spring. However, Spring teas seem to be more naturally popular for their fragrance and flavour whereas Winter teas are more expensive due to smaller yield but in demand in Taiwan for Chinese New Year gifts.

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