What is "Alpine Tea"? At present, there is no disagreement on the definition of altitude, but in terms of altitude, although some manufacturers start from the altitude of 800 meters or 1400 meters, on the whole, the tea planted in tea gardens above 1000 meters is still the mainstream. As for the current height of tea planting in Taiwan Province Province, the upper limit is 2600 meters above sea level. However, the term "Alpine Camellia" is often applied to high-quality tea produced in high mountains, but the producing areas are not widely known, or a few producing areas are located in plateau valleys at an altitude of less than 1000 meters, full of alpine flavor. Therefore, "Alpine Camellia" does not refer to the tea produced in a certain place, but a conceptual term relative to "Flat Tea", but it is an indisputable fact that good tea is produced in the mountains.
Why do mountains produce good tea?
God has given Taiwan Province a natural environment for the growth of alpine tea, which can be described as "unique". Within the island's area of about 36,000 square kilometers, the area outside the contour line of 100 meters accounts for 68.7%, and the mountainous area above the contour line of 500 meters accounts for 45.2%. There are really "mountains" everywhere. Most of the alpine tea gardens in Taiwan Province Province are reclaimed from old forest land and bamboo forest land. They are rich in soil fertility and contain a lot of organic matter, which is suitable for the development of tea trees. If it is an area with abundant sunshine and average rainfall, it is the best place to grow tea.
Tea produced in high mountains naturally has the following two advantages. First, the cold climate, fog in the morning and evening, and short average sunshine time lead to the decrease of bitter components such as catechin in tea bud leaves, and then increase the components that contribute to sweetness such as theanine and soluble nitrogen. Secondly, it is precisely because of the large temperature difference between day and night and the long-term cloud cover in the afternoon that the growth of tea trees tends to be slow, which makes tea leaves have the advantages of soft buds, thick mesophyll and high pectin content.
The original name of Longan Village is "Longan Forest". Because there were many alpine longan trees in the old society, it was called longan forest.
Although the tea cyanine produced in the mountains has the above advantages, it is still difficult to make tea in the mountains. First, the labor cost of planting and making tea is high; Moreover, camellia cyanine must be produced on site, and the foggy environment in the afternoon often affects the success rate of tea processing in the later stage. Therefore, the top good tea can only be seen by looking at God's face.
On the whole, whether it is "Alishan Bamboo Dew Tea" or "Lishan Tea", it can actually be classified as a kind of alpine tea, which symbolizes that high mountains produce good tea. It is indeed a well-known fact. The charm of Alpine Camellia lies in the lingering fragrance and intriguing sweetness after brewing. After drinking a cup, I feel the harmony between man and nature, which is the main reason why Pingdi tea is difficult to compete with Alpine tea.
Located in the tea garden below Hongye Primary School in Renai Township, Nantou County. Generally speaking, although alpine camellia is widely loved by all walks of life, for producers, the conditions for making top-grade tea are actually quite strict, because it must be made locally.
The origin of alpine tea in Taiwan
The mountainous areas in Taiwan Province Province are widely distributed, and there are many places where alpine tea is produced. However, Chiayi County and Nantou County are still dominated by emerging tea areas with an altitude of 1000 ~ 1400 meters.
(1) chiayi county
When it comes to Chiayi County, we naturally think of many nouns with equal symbols, such as the Alishan forest train winding in the mountains, or the Shenmu tree retired after success, or the mouth-watering Fenwei Lake lunch box. And then show the richness of natural resources in chiayi county. At present, it is also an important producing area of Alpine Camellia in Taiwan Province Province. The main planting areas are Meishan, Zhuqi, Fan Lu and Alishan.
Meishan Township is not only an important producing area of citrus, Liu Ding and bamboo shoots in Tainan, but also the foothills of Ali Mountain are densely covered with oolong and Jinxuan Alpine Tea, accounting for half of the planting area in Chiayi County. Meishan Township is divided into 18 villages, 90% of which belong to mountainous areas. Tea gardens are mainly distributed in Taiping, Longyan (the end of longan forest), Dianzai, Zhangshu Lake, Bihu, Taixing, Ruili, Ruifeng, Taihe and Taixing villages in Meishan Township. At present, the total area of tea gardens is about 1 10,000 hectares, with an altitude of 900-654,300. County Road 162 A line is an important route to visit tea gardens in this township. From Taiping to Ruili, you can see tea gardens all over the mountains in any village.
It is worth mentioning that Longyan Village in Meishan Township (about 1200m above sea level) is the origin of Taiwan's alpine tea. The tea trees planted here are mainly pure heart oolong. Although the reputation is not as loud as before, the scale of the tea garden is still spectacular. As for Zhuqi Township, Xiangxiang Township and Alishan Township, most tea-producing villages are located beside Tai 18 (Alishan Highway), such as Laitou, Xieding, Shantou, Guanghua, Shizhuo, Crossroads, Dabang, Fengshan and other mountain tribes. The tea produced in these villages is usually called "Alishan Tea", but there are also teas called "Alishan Bamboo Dew Tea" or "Alishan Youlu Tea". In particular, "Alishan Bamboo Dew Tea" is the most famous, which can be described as the "green gold" of Zhuqi villagers. This kind of tea is produced on a stone table. In Shizhuo tea area of Zhuqi Township, the planting area of tea garden is about 400 hectares, which is distributed between about 1.200 ~ 1.400 meters above sea level and concentrated along Peizi Tonglin Road. The main planting variety is Qingxin oolong tea. Because of its rich aroma and mellow taste, tea is widely loved by tea drinkers.
(2) Nantou County
Nantou County, located in the center of Taiwan Province Province, is the only county and city in Taiwan Province Province that is not coastal. Surrounded by mountains and rolling hills, the climate changes day and night, which is suitable for tea growth. The towns and villages that mainly produce alpine tea are Zhushan Town, Renai Township, Shuili Township and Xinyi Township.
Located in the tea garden beside Dalin 'an Road, Zhushan Township, Nantou County, the white pole in the picture is an automatic sprinkler. After decades of development, the tea gardens in Zhushan Town are located from streams to mountains, which is the largest tea planting area with the highest altitude difference in a single administrative region of Taiwan Province.
Tea garden in Da 'an, Zhushan. Because most areas producing alpine tea in Taiwan Province Province are developed along the existing local industrial roads, if you want to visit, you'd better drive a four-wheel drive with a high chassis. As for accommodation, it is not a problem, because local tea farmers also run homestays.
Jinxuan Tea Garden is located in a quiet tea area. Renai Township is the fourth largest tea-producing area in Nantou County, followed by Mingjian Township, Zhushan Township and Lugu Township. 9 1 year, the annual output of tea in nantou county is1100 metric tons, and the harvest area is 8075 hectares. The annual output of tea in Renai Township is 77 1 metric ton, and the harvest area is 847 hectares, accounting for about 6.9% of Nantou County.
Zhushan Town is the earliest developed place in Nantou County. Since ancient times, Zhushan Town has been the hub connecting the underground and the back mountain, because it has another name of "the first city in front of the mountain". In Zhushan Town, a large number of tea trees in Zhao Jingshan have been planted since1980s. At present, the tea gardens in this town are distributed in Zhao Jingshan, Houpu, Sheliao, Jolie, Daan, Ruian, Liutengping, Shanpingding, Shanlinxi, Yanping, Yanshan, Yangtouwan and Longfeng Gorge. As for the areas producing alpine tea in this township, Shanlinxi and Da 'anshan are the main areas, especially "Shanlinxi Tea".
Renai Township is located in the middle of Taiwan Province Province, northeast of Nantou County. The territory is divided into 66 tribes in 15 village. The economic cultivation of tea in this township was first introduced by Rentian Enterprise in the late 1960s, and began to spread in Wushe, Gao Feng and other areas. So far, the planting area has reached more than 800 hectares, with an annual output of more than 680 metric tons, making it the fourth largest tea-producing area in Nantou County. From Wushe to Qingjing Farm, tea shops, tea factories and homestays can be seen everywhere, and green tea trees with contour lines even appear beside the platform of provincial highway 14 and14 A. The tea garden here, because it is located deep in the central mountain range, has low temperature and large temperature difference all the year round, and maintains high-quality camellia seeds.
Qingjing Farm Tea Garden is an alpine demonstration tea garden, which should be opened in 1976. Covering an area of 6 hectares, Qingxin Oolong and Jinxuan Tea are planted. Because it is often foggy and lasts for a long time, it is named "Cebu Tea".
Zhonghe village stone table tea area. Tea gardens in Zhuqi Township are distributed in Zhonghe Village, Guanghua Village Village, Renshou Village and Jinshi Village.
Qingxin oolong tea tree is the longest cultivated and most widely distributed variety in Taiwan Province Province. At present, the market situation, in terms of a single variety, is only slightly inferior to Zheng Yun Tieguanyin.
In addition, due to the vast territory and sparsely populated area, the tea-producing areas here are extremely scattered, so although most of them are called "Alpine Camellia", there are still many famous teas, such as Tianwu Tea (Wushe), Tianlu Tea (Lushan Mountain), Cebu Tea (Jing Qing Farm Tea Garden), Biluxi Tea, Wudun Tea (Red Fragrance) and Dongyan Tea (Northeast Eye Mountain). As for the tea-producing villages in Renai Township, there are Jiujiu, Wu Jie, Datong Mountain, Beidongyan Mountain, Aowanda, Hongxiang, Pingjing, Wushe, Chunyang, Lushan Mountain, Cuifeng, Cui Luan, Jing Qing and other places, with tea varieties such as Qingxin Wulong and Jinxuan (Taicha No.27) as the main varieties.
Water conservancy township used to be called water conservancy pit, and the elevation of the township is above 250 meters. Tan Ming Reservoir in this township is still the largest pumped storage power station in Taiwan, which shows that the local water resources are abundant. Alpine tea was also planted in Shuili Township in1980s. At present, tea-producing villages are concentrated in Junkeng, Xinshan and Shang 'an. The tea products produced here are the most famous, such as "Yushan Tea" and "Shengfeng Tea".
Qingxin Oolong Tea Garden, planted near Tianchi in Heping Township, is about 2500 meters above sea level. When I went, most of the autumn tea at the foot of the mountain had been harvested, but it was still green and not picked. It can be seen that the tea planted in this environment grows slowly.
Xinyi Township, the second largest township in Taiwan Province, has a beautiful nickname-"hometown of childhood". Every early spring, when plum blossoms are in full bloom all over the mountain, it always attracts many foreigners to stop here to enjoy the colorful scenery of flowers and snow. Xinyi Township, like Shuili Township, began to plant tea gardens around 1980, so it also belongs to the emerging alpine tea area. The local areas where tea gardens are planted are Sanjia, Luona, Tongfu, Shenmu, Shalixian and Tataga, which are called "Yushan Alpine Tea" and are sold to the outside world. There are also teas called "Shalixian Tea" and "Other Tea".
(3) Other counties and cities
In addition, Fushoushan Farm in Heping Township, Taichung County, and Lishan and Dayuling in Hualien County are the highest tea areas in Taiwan Province, and the price of tea is also unusual.
Located in the alpine tea garden beside Dalin 'an Road, Zhushan Township, Nantou County. Although the tea areas here are scattered, the planting area of each single tea garden is extremely broad.
In recent years, although the area of producing alpine tea in Taiwan Province Province has slightly decreased, it is still as popular as alpine fruits and vegetables. In fact, most of the areas producing high mountain tea in Taiwan Province Province have the advantages of developing into sightseeing tea areas, such as Longyan Lin Wei in Meishan Township, Ruili in Zhuqi Township, Shizuishan Peak and Jing Hong fragrance in Renai Township, all of which have amazing tea garden scenery and are worth driving to. But having said that, it still needs everyone's attention and favor, just like the problem of soil and water conservation, it needs our more careful maintenance and attention. So if you have a chance, you must take a walk in the alpine tea area of Taiwan Province. The fare is definitely worth it.
The village in the picture is Shantou, which is located beside Alishan Highway. At present, the main varieties of alpine tea produced in Taiwan Province Province are oolong tea and jinxuan tea. In order to distinguish it from Pingdi tea, or to facilitate marketing, local tea merchants usually add "Gaoshan" before the word "tea species" to show the difference, such as "Gaoshan oolong tea" or "Gaoshan Jinxuan tea", but if it is only called "Gaoshan tea", it almost exclusively refers to the tea made from Qingxin oolong tea species.
Taiwan Alpine Tea in Tangquan Tea
At present, the main varieties of alpine tea produced in Taiwan Province Province are oolong tea and jinxuan tea. In order to distinguish it from Pingdi tea, or to facilitate marketing, local tea merchants usually add "Gaoshan" before the word "tea species" to show the difference, such as "Gaoshan oolong tea" or "Gaoshan Jinxuan tea", but if it is only called "Gaoshan tea", it almost exclusively refers to the tea made from Qingxin oolong tea species.
Oolong tea is the earliest tea made in Taiwan Province Province, which can be said to be the ancestor of Taiwanese tea and the most famous tea in Taiwan Province Province in the world. In China, according to the fermentation degree of tea and the color of tea soup, it can be divided into six categories: green tea, white tea, yellow tea, green tea, black tea and black tea. Commonly known as oolong tea is green tea.
European and American countries are divided according to the degree of fermentation. The unfermented one is called green tea, the fully fermented one is called black tea, and the semi-fermented one is called oolong tea. But in any country, the word oolong tea should refer to semi-fermented tea made according to certain practices, not to a specific tea variety. However, in Taiwan Province Province, what the locals call "oolong tea" is not only semi-fermented tea, but also tea made from oolong tea varieties. More famous teas will be added with local names, such as "Frozen Top Oolong Tea" and "Yushan Oolong Tea" which are familiar to the public. Most of the tea planted in Taiwan Province Province is oolong tea, especially high-grade tea. So over time, the proper term "oolong tea" was replaced by "oolong tea".
Autumn tea picking of tea farmers in Bitou tea area. Bitou is located in Gongtian Village, Fanlu Township, Chiayi County, with an altitude of about1200m. In addition, according to the introduction of Taiwanese tea by the tea authorities in Taiwan Province Province, it can be divided into two categories according to the production methods of tea: bagged tea and oolong tea, and oolong tea refers to the re-fermented Bai Hao oolong tea. But now the name "Oolong Tea" represents many meanings in Taiwan Province Province, which is not as strict as in China. With the split between the two sides of the Taiwan Straits and the progress of tea-making technology in Taiwan Province Province, it gradually differs from China, and even produces many new varieties. In addition, many new tea-producing areas have appeared in Taiwan Province Province in recent years. In order to promote their local tea, many places will be named in their own way. Therefore, it is also oolong tea, and its naming methods are more diverse.
Therefore, from the point of view of Taiwan Province people, when we talk about oolong tea, we must refer to the tea made of oolong tea varieties. The fermentation degree is 15%~25%, the shape is hemispherical or spherical, the tea soup is golden yellow or light brown, the fragrance is slightly sweet-scented osmanthus or light honey, and the taste is mellow and sweet.
Due to the numerous producing areas of Taiwan's alpine tea, the quality control and production procedures are different from place to place, which often leads to buyers not knowing how to start. Mr. Lin Shuming, artistic director of Tangquan Tea Industry, with decades of tea tasting experience and the most rigorous and responsible attitude, carefully selected high-quality camellia from all over the world, taking semi-fermented oolong tea in Taiwan Province Province as the content, making the "Taiwan Province Camellia" launched by our company not only value for money, but also a noble and inexpensive tea, which can make you relax and drink tea, put aside all the troubles of buying tea, and ensure full throat rhyme.