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While we originally set out on our four-day adventure in search of the best cup of tea in Taiwan, the discoveries we made along way revealed to us the beauty and excitement of Taiwan in many other ways as well. Here are some of the highlights of our journey:

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FIND | TEA

To truly understand anything in life, one must trace it back to its roots. We did this is the most literal sense by visiting a number of breathtaking“cha-yuen茶園”or farms consisting of endless rows of artfully terraced tea bushes, many of which are perched on mountain faces and ledges.

The most notable place for tea farm exploration was Alishan, 2000m above sea level. As big drinkers of Alishan High Mountain Tea back home in the US, it was very exciting to drive through the winding roads of Alishan, surrounded by the famed fields of High Mountain Tea. A local tea master took us through many of these fields, explaining the process of planting and harvesting the tea by hand on the dangerous mountain terrains – impossible to use machines up this high!

Once you find the tea, you must pick the tea. Under the guise of Tea Master Lai, we made our tea-harvesting debut at Wen-shan tea farm.

MAKE | TEA

One of the questions we wanted to answer during our journey is what makes one type tea taste different from the next. While many of the teas available in Taiwan start as the same species of tea plant, the intricacies and subtle variations in tea production yields teas that taste completely different from one another.

A great place to learn these methods was the Tie Guan Yin Tea Making Competition hosted by the Mu-Cha Tea Farmer Association. They were also kind enough to let us participate!?

DRINK| TEA

While one could write a book on the art of drinking tea (and many people have!), we mastered only the basics of how to survive in a formal tea drinking ceremony.

Whether you’re a tea-drinker or not, Maokong is DEFINITELY a place worth checking out. Maokong is essentially a mountain dotted with restaurants and upscale teahouses, most of which overlook the beautiful Taipei skyline. We put our newfound tea-tasting lessons to the test at one teahouse in particular. After hopping across the stepping-stones that cut through the turtle and goldfish-filled pond in the middle of the teahouse, we nestled in to a cozy little private room with a balcony overlooking the amazing urban skyline and Taipei 101. The tea we chose was perfectly accented by the enormous selection of snacks that was brought to us on a huge tray.

Hakkah is a prominent cultural group in Taiwan. To experience a true Hakkah cultural event, we traveled into Beipu Township to a historical teahouse dating back to 1835. A Hakkah woman there invited us to grind “Lei-Cha” with her – a mixture of green tea, peanuts, sesame and pumpkin seeds. With tired arms, we sipped this deliciously frothy and thick nutty tea beverage and chatted about Hakkah culture and history. 

EAT | TEA

A true culinary melting pot, Taiwan hosts an enormous variety of different cuisines throughout the island. In addition to variety, Taiwan is also regarded for its originality in cuisine choices. We experience this in eating food made with – you guessed it – TEA!

At Wen-shan Tea Farm, the cook prepared multiple creative and delicious dishes for us. Our favorite dish was called “Tiger eating Pig” – a green tea bun in the shape of a mouth (the tiger) wrapped around a tender piece of pork seasoned with green tea leaves (the pig). Equally tasty and unique!

We also visited two great establishments in Taichung. Chun Shui Tang Cultural Tea House, a modern, trendy, and affordable place to enjoy any kind of tea drink. We also went to restaurant called Cha for Tea – a modern combination of popular foods all using tea as an ingredient.

FEEL | TAIWAN

Although our main theme was to search for tea throughout Taiwan, the path we traveled allowed us to visit some of Taiwan's most beautiful locations, see its most spectacular attractions, and taste its most delicious food.

Sun Moon Lake is an amazing place – full of natural beauty, entertainment, and aboriginal culture. With the option of camping at the nearby Rock Camp campground for less 500NT/night, Sun Moon Lake is a very affordable place to visit. We also rented an electric scooter for 3 hours (300NT), which made navigating very fast, easy, and eco-friendly!

Despite waking up and leaving Alishan Youth Activity Center at 3:30am,(a very affordable and VERY nice place to spend the night), one of our favorite activities was taking the Alishan Forest Railway to a mountain peak to watch the sunrise and see the phenomenon known as the “ocean of clouds.” The long trek back to the visitor center through Alishan National Forest was surreal – endless miles of paths and trails winding through forests of gigantic red cypress trees, many of which were over three thousand years old! Deep in the forest, temples and food stands were not too far off the path, so we were able to treat ourselves to a hearty Taiwanese breakfast along the way.

No trip to Taiwan would be complete without a visit to one of the many bustling night markets. On our way back to Taipei, we stopped by Feng-Chia night market – one of largest night markets in Taichung City. A true sensory overload, the night market scene is filled with brightly colored merchandise hanging from store shelves and vendor carts, accompanied by the shouts of merchants promoting their wares. The smell of barbequed squid and stinky tofu (you must try!) is undeniably stimulating.

CONCLUSION

While it may not be the climactic conclusion our supporters have been hoping for, we just could not decide on a single “best cup of tea” that we had tried. Through this four-day expedition, we learned that there are so many different kinds of tea, each with their own characteristics and occasions for drinking. What we CAN conclude, however, is that there is one place to go for the best cup of tea in the world, and that is TAIWAN. And as long as your there, be sure to enjoy the other million-and-one things to do, places to see, things to eat, and friendly people to meet.