• Species or Names of the Tea?
• Special Teas in Taiwan
• Specialty of Port Tea
• Brew Tea
• QUiz for Art of Port Tea

Special Teas in Taiwan

Taiwan is the kingdom of tea leaves. Besides the common teas in the market that we see every day, there are also some teas that only exist in some corners of Taiwan. These teas are the treasure of the whole world. We must get to know them better since we wouldn’t find them elsewhere than Taiwan!

White Tipped Oolong

White Tipped Oolong, also known as “Oriental Beauty Tea” or “Puff Tea,” is the most famous Taiwan tea which could not be found elsewhere than Taiwan. To make this tea, the tea farmers collect only the fresh tips of Chin Shin Dapang which has been eaten by smaller green leafhopper. The fermented degree of White Tipped Oolong is controlled by manual stirring, so the tea leaves contain a special sweet taste like sugar or mature fruit. This tea is specially cultivated in BeiPu ( Hsin Chu), Emei and TouFen (Miao Li). White Tipped Oolong wins its name by its white tips; the more the white tips, the better the tea quality is. The outlook of the tea leaves is not messy with all tips tight together, but each tip could be clearly seen. One could even examine the connection between branches and leaves. With colors like a mixture of white, yellow and red brown, the tea is colorful as a flower. The brewed tea is the color of amber with fragrance like mature fruit or sugar. The taste of this tea is mellow and thick.

Taiwan High Mountain Tea

The High Mountain Tea is the semi-ball type Paochung Tea (Oolong Tea in common names) produced by the tea gardens located at the altitude of over 1000 meters. The tea is mainly produced in the “new area” where the altitude is between 1000~1500 meters in ChiaYi, YunLin and Nantou, In the mountains, the clouds and fogs covered the sky in the mornings and at nights. Add up with a wide temperature difference from day to night and strong ultra-violet light, the tea leaves here contains lower catechin and therefore tastes less bitter. Also, it contains more teamine and dissolved Nitrogen, both the elements contribute to sweetness. The Taiwan High Mountain Tea’s tips are soft, the leaves are thicker and the portion of pectin is high. Therefore, the high mountain tea leaves have a color of fresh green and taste sweet, mellow, soft and smooth. The fragrance is light but elegant, the tea is the color of a honey green with a bit yellow and the tea leaves could endure long steeping time.

Manjhou Port Tea

When producing Manjhou Port Tea, the tea farmers skip the process of “Sunlight Withering” and directly take the fresh tea leaves to stir-fried. With a low temperature and a longer frying time, the mature flavor of Oolong tea is brought out. Strictly saying, this tea is categorized between the Green Tea and the half-fermented Mee tea. Manjhou is the only area in Taiwan where the tea is cultivated by seedling, the tee trees therefore has a highly-developed main root. Though there are lots of sub-species, the flavor and quality remain rather identical. Manjhou Port Tea is one of the few special ones in Taiwan that follows the ancient procedures in producing. Its flavor is unique with a heavy bitter taste. The yearly production of Monjhou Port Tea is low, but there are a lot of pirated ones.