Li Shan
Among the highest commercial tea in Taiwan, grown above two thousand metres among fruit orchards. Only two harvests a year are possible at that altitude, and the slow growth gives a tea of exceptional thickness and a sweetness that reads almost as fruit rather than as flower.
Character
The thickest and sweetest of the Taiwanese high-mountain teas, with a fruit character the lower mountains do not reach. The cooling throat sensation practitioners call hou yun is at its most obvious here.
- Flavour
- Floral, Creamy, Sweet, Fruity
- Aroma
- Orchid, Stone fruit
- Mouthfeel
- Full bodied, Silky, Rich
- Complexity
- Layered
- Notes
- ripe pear, cream, gardenia, sugarcane
- Aftertaste
- Thick, sweet and strongly cooling, lasting well beyond the cup.
Moderate intensity: noticeable weight or grip, but neither dominates the cup.
Provenance and production
- Origin
- Taiwan
- Region
- Li Shan
- Cultivar
- Qing Xin
- Oxidation
- Lightly oxidised
- Harvest
- Spring
- Processing
- Withering → Bruising (shaking) → Kill-green (fixation) → Rolling and shaping → Drying
Authenticity: Elevation is the whole price argument, and elevation claims are the most inflated in Taiwanese tea. A named plot, a named producer and a harvest date together carry far more weight than the mountain name alone.
Brewing
Gongfu brewing (gaiwan)
5–7 g/100 ml · 90–95 °C · 6 authored infusions
Western brewing (teapot or mug)
1.5–2.5 g/100 ml · 90–95 °C · 2 authored infusions
No caffeine estimate is authored for this tea. TeaHQ does not infer one from its category, because category predicts caffeine poorly — matcha and gyokuro carry more than many black teas.
If you like this
Grouped by why they were suggested, strongest reason first. Nothing here is a blended score — a suggestion appears under the best reason that exists for it, and never under a weaker one as well.
Editorially linked
Someone wrote down why these two belong together. The note below is theirs.
- Da Yu Ling
Both Qing Xin high-mountain oolong; the difference is elevation and price rather than character.
- Alishan oolong
Two Taiwanese high-mountain oolongs. Li Shan is higher, thinner and more floral; Alishan is creamier and easier to find.
Similar sensory profile
Shares controlled flavour, aroma and mouthfeel descriptors. A looser match — two teas can share descriptors and still taste nothing alike.
- Zhangping Shui Xian
Shares 7 descriptors with Li Shan: floral, sweet, creamy, full bodied, silky, rich and orchid.
- High mountain oolong
Shares 6 descriptors with Li Shan: floral, creamy, sweet, full bodied, silky and orchid.
- Jin Xuan
Shares 6 descriptors with Li Shan: creamy, floral, sweet, silky, full bodied and orchid.
- Mi Xiang oolong
Shares 6 descriptors with Li Shan: sweet, fruity, floral, full bodied, silky and stone fruit.
- Shan Lin Xi
Shares 6 descriptors with Li Shan: floral, creamy, sweet, full bodied, silky and orchid.
- Song Zhong Dan Cong
Shares 6 descriptors with Li Shan: floral, sweet, fruity, full bodied, rich and orchid.
Written comparisons
Where TeaHQ has set this tea against another in full, rather than deriving the comparison.
- Li Shan vs Alishan — Two Taiwanese high-mountain areas whose names are similar enough to confuse and whose elevations are not. The names are similar enough that substitution is routine, and the elevations are not similar at all.