Cuifeng High Mountain

Cui Feng, or "Emerald Peak", is one of the highest mountains in Nantou, Taiwan. It is very close to the famous Li Shan 梨山, or "Pear Mountain," so most of the time teas from Cui Feng are categorized as coming from Li Shan.

We visited Mr. Li's tea farm in Cui Feng in January 2024. The 3 hour drive from Sun Moon Lake in Nantou up into the mountains is done by way of narrow, switchback roads: it feels like you're weaving your way into the clouds. When we arrived at Mr. Li's small tea farm at the peak of Cui Feng, over 8500 ft elevation, we were astounded by the view of the surrounding mountains, and at how steep the terrain was.

Cui Feng oolong has a very distinct vibrancy and brightness. This is usually referred to as the "cold fragrance," only found in very high elevation Taiwanese oolongs. This is also an exceptionally sweet year for this tea. The first infusion tastes like dissolved sugar more than anything else.

We can attribute its intense sweetness to the dramatic height of the mountain, where the difference in temperature between day and night is drastic. Here, tea plants work desperately to produce sugar for themselves. By the second infusion the leaves have fully opened and a refreshing salinity, as well as a structured mouthfeel, has emerged. Its sugaryness plays a supporting role as complexity increases, coming forward at the finish alongside a minty, tingling "cold" sensation.