Exploring Taiwanese tea
Taiwan makes a narrow range extremely well, and the variables that matter are elevation, cultivar and roast. Each leg holds two of them steady and moves the third.
Who this is for
Someone who has had one high-mountain oolong and wants the rest of the island.
What you should come away with
The ability to tell whether you are tasting altitude, cultivar or fire, which is the whole skill in Taiwanese tea.
Leg 1 · Cultivar against elevation
Si Ji Chun's aroma imitates high-mountain character convincingly on the first sip. Alishan shows what elevation actually adds, which is body and length rather than aroma.
Starting point. Everything after this is measured against it.
Strongly floral for the price, with less body and a shorter finish than high-mountain tea. Its aroma is often mistaken for elevation.
Why this step follows
The clearest lesson in Taiwanese tea: Si Ji Chun’s aroma is cultivar, Alishan’s thickness is elevation, and the two are constantly confused.
Thick, creamy and floral with a cooling finish that carries on well past the swallow — the clearest example of what elevation does.
Why this step follows
From the reliable winter harvest to the irregular late one. Lighter, sweeter and only available in mild years.
Lighter and sweeter than the main winter harvest, with less body. Availability depends entirely on the weather.
Leg 2 · The bred pair
A change of variable. Cui Yu and Jin Xuan were released together as a deliberate contrast — sharply floral against creamy, from the same programme.
Starting point. Everything after this is measured against it.
Bright and sharply floral without Jin Xuan’s milkiness. Anyone who dislikes that creaminess usually likes this instead.
Why this step follows
The pair as bred. Cui Yu is sharply floral, Jin Xuan is creamy, and they were released together precisely so a drinker could choose.
Recognisably creamy without being artificial, sitting a little softer and rounder than an equivalent high-mountain oolong. Grown at lower elevations it is a modest everyday tea; grown high it is very good indeed.
Leg 3 · Roast
The third variable. Both are Taiwanese rolled oolongs and the only thing that changed is how long they spent over charcoal.
Starting point. Everything after this is measured against it.
Baked fruit and caramel over the familiar rolled-oolong base, with far more warmth than the modern light style.
Why this step follows
Both roasted Taiwanese oolongs, one moderate and one taken to the edge. The step up is in roast depth rather than in oxidation.
Deeply roasted without being charred, which is the whole difficulty of the technique. Poor examples taste of nothing but burnt sugar.
Read alongside
- Exploring oolong styles
The widest-ranging category in tea, organised by two independent axes — how far oxidation ran and how much roast followed. Knowing which corner you are in explains most of what is in the cup.
- What is oolong tea?
Partially oxidised tea, bruised deliberately and often roasted. It is the widest-ranging category in tea, and calling it 'halfway between green and black' is the most misleading simplification in the subject.