The 7 stages of High Mountain Alishan and Dong Ding Oolong

Posted by Anita - May 21, 2011

Taiwan is renowned for its wonderful oolong teas and one area that is no exception is Alishan, renowned for the quality oolong tea grown on its range of high mountain slopes.

Alishan Oolong Tea

The most famous Alishan tea areas are Zhong Shu Hu and Shi Zou. The scenic beauty of these areas is well known and consequently is a busy tourist area. Within the mountain range, the climate for growing tea is ideal as Alishan is considerably cooler than the coast and experiences rapid changing weather systems from clear skies to mists, and torrential rain, but humidity is always high.

Dong Ding Oolong tea

Another area of Taiwan famous for a tea made very similar to High Mountain Ali Shan is Luku, Nantou County which is located in the middle of the island. Legend states that in 1855, a tea farmer by the name of Mr Lin Fong-Tsu brought back 36 Chi-hsin Oolong tea seeds from Wuyi Mountain located in the Fujian province in China and planted them on Dong Ding Mountain in Luku. Only 12 seeds survived but from these seeds, tea bushes were planted throughout all areas of Luku. More recently in 1971, more tea bushes were planted throughout Nantou county and tea from this area now accounts for nearly 40% of the total tea produced from Taiwan. Producing oolong tea can vary, but High Mountain Ali-Shan and Dong Ding oolong are made using a very similar process which involves 7 stages:

1. Solar withering - At around midday, the famers place the freshly plucked leaves are laid out in the sun to wither for about 10 - 30 minutes. This will evaporate some water from the leaves.
2. Indoor withering (about 8% - 25% oxidation) - the leaves are then placed on bamboo plates indoors to continue the oxidation process (or fermentation as it's also called). The leaves are stirred twice by hand every 1!/2 - 2 hours and a further 2 times by machine. After 8 - 10 hours the withering process is complete and the fresh green leaves will have started to change their colour and produce a wonderful flowery aroma.
3. Pan Firing - the time the leaves are pan fired is determined by the skilled tea master and will depend very much by the conditions under which the leaves were grown. The timing of the pan firing ultimately determines the teas quality. The leaves are put into a pan firing machine which stops further oxidation (or fermentation) from occurring.
4. Rolling - After pan firing, the leaves are placed under rolling machines that will cause the tea leaves to become tightly rolled.
5. The leaves are now transferred into a hot rolling machine to fire before being placed in a cloth, packed in the shape of a ball and then pressed and rolled for about 3 - 4 minutes. This process is repeated about 10 times to ensure any water is removed and the leaves are rolled very tightly. This makes the tea ideal for multiple infusions.
6. Plucking - any remaining tea stalk are now removed by electronic plucking machines.
7. Drying - The leaves are now dried for about 40 minutes under a drying machine at a temperature of about 120° C to a level where the moisture content is reduced to 5% or less. This ensures the tea will store well and maintain its fresh aroma and qualities.

Alishan Mountain Railway

Not only famous for its wonderful oolong tea, Alishan Mountain has its own narrow gauge Railway originally built by the Japanese to transport felled trees, the railway is now a popular visitor attraction.

It has 71.34 kilometres of track starting at Cia Yi City to Alishan where the terminus is at an altitude of 7,270 ft. On its journey the train passes through 50 tunnels and across 77 bridges and is considered to be one of the oldest in the world. Unfortunately following typhoon Morakot, the railway experienced severe damage and is expected to be closed until later this year (2011).