Da Yu Ling vs Li Shan
The two highest commercial tea areas in Taiwan, and the point at which altitude stops being a marketing adjective and becomes an agricultural constraint. Both crop once or twice a year rather than four or five times, and both are priced accordingly.
growing region
What is being compared
Point by point
| Aspect | Da Yu Ling | Li Shan |
|---|---|---|
| Elevation | 2,000 to 2,600 metres — the highest commercial gardens on the island. | 1,700 to 2,600 metres. |
| Harvests per year | One or two. | Two. |
| Setting | Strung along the Central Cross-Island Highway near the Hehuan pass, across three counties. | Planted among fruit orchards well above two thousand metres. |
| Character | The most concentrated expression of the high-mountain profile; thick, cold and long-finishing. | Very similar, with slightly more floral lift by the usual account. |
| Planted area | Small, and constrained by terrain and by land-use policy. | Small. |
| How much of the name is genuine | Little. Da Yu Ling is among the most over-claimed names in Taiwanese tea. | Also heavily over-claimed, though less acutely. |
The short answer
Above about two thousand metres the differences between Taiwanese mountains narrow considerably, and what separates these two in the cup is smaller than what separates either from a thousand-metre garden. The practical advice is to buy on evidence of elevation rather than on the specific ridge name, because the ridge name is the part that gets invented.
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