Qing Xin vs Jin Xuan
The two cultivars behind most Taiwanese oolong, planted for opposite reasons. Qing Xin is difficult, low-yielding and grown anyway because nothing else gives the same combination of thickness and floral clarity; Jin Xuan is easier, hardier and has a signature of its own.
cultivar
What is being compared
Point by point
| Aspect | Qing Xin | Jin Xuan |
|---|---|---|
| Yield and hardiness | Low yield and weak disease resistance. | Higher-yielding and considerably hardier. |
| Signature | Thick, sweet, gardenia-scented, with a marked cooling finish. | A soft buttery aroma that requires no additive. |
| Where it is grown | Almost all Alishan, Li Shan and Da Yu Ling tea. | Across the elevation range, and it changes character with it. |
| Price | High, and the plant is much of the reason. | Lower at comparable elevation. |
| At low elevation | Rarely planted; the economics do not work. | An ordinary everyday tea. |
| At high elevation | The reason high-mountain oolong is what it is. | Genuinely fine, and often better value than a low-grade Qing Xin. |
| Release | Long-established. | Released in 1981 as Tai Cha No. 12 — among the first modern tea breeding programmes to produce a household name. |
The short answer
A high-grown Jin Xuan frequently beats a low-grown Qing Xin, which is the practical conclusion the price list obscures. Cultivar and elevation are separate variables and buyers routinely conflate the two.
Not a ranking. TeaHQ publishes no ratings and does not know your occasion.