The disappeared Chashan 02 "tea area has shrunk, but there are more than 5,000 kinds of" frozen top tea "participating in the competition. where does the tea come from?

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The industry is booming, but the tea area is shrinking, which is a strange phenomenon in the Lugu Frozen Top Tea area.

Over the past few years, there are still more than 5,000 tea samples participating in the Frozen Top Competition, ranking first in the country, so where do all these "Frozen Top teas" come from?

In fact, everyone knows very well that the tea samples of the Frozen Top Competition come from Alishan in Chiayi, as well as from Chushan and Shanlin Creek in Nantou, and many tea merchants go to various places to buy alpine tea cyanines and buy them back to refine their own roasting fire to participate in the competition.

As long as the local characteristic tea is popular in the market, the tea producing area has a tendency to expand externally, just like Alishan alpine tea, which now generally refers to the tea produced in the tea area of the Great Alishan Township.

Foreign tea mixed as an expansion event, Lugu Tea Township relies on the competition to support the tea facade?

In fact, the original purpose of the tea competition is to improve Taiwan's tea-making skills and promote the sale of tea with local characteristics. Now, by participating in the competition, as long as you enter the competition, the price has immediately increased several times, thus attracting heroes and speculators from all sides. The award-winning competition tea seized in 2017 came from as far away as Vietnam.

This kind of problem not only occurs in the frozen top. A tea farmer surnamed Liao in Wenshan District told me that the local low-cost overseas tea mixed with Taiwan tea, deceiving many people participating in the competition, but the trend of benefit, people are difficult to guard against. According to the regulations, the tea samples participating in the competition must be tested for pesticides, but the analysis of the ingredients of the origin can only be carried out through a report.

Since it was first held in 1976, the scale and price of the Frozen Oolong Tea Competition have repeatedly reached new highs. The tea sample of the 2018 Winter Tea Competition has reached a record of 6777 points. The elimination rate is as high as 46.3%, and the competition is fierce, making it the most exciting competitive carnival in Taiwan's tea industry.

"this event has exceeded the scale of its own industry. Lugu Tea Township is currently supported by competitions. If the largest tea competition in Taiwan collapses, Taiwan's tea industry may collapse!". Such a warning was issued by the people concerned.

Two leaves with one heart (Photo / Tsai Jiashan)

Faced with the transition intersection, how to adhere to the origin of tea?

The process of frozen top tea is complicated and highly technical. now it is faced with changes in market taste, and its quality wants to be the same as that of Gaoshan tea, but after the increase in farming and production costs, the market price is unable to catch up, resulting in a dilemma that the quality and price are not up or down.

While reviewing the rise and fall of Frozen Ding Tea, she tried to drink the old tea stored by Lin Constitutionalism 31 years ago. When Frozen Ding Tea was facing unsalable difficulties, the merchants wanted to buy it at a price of 1/3, but Grandma Lin Cheng-hsien insisted on not wanting to sell it at a low price. So he saved it.

Fine taste of this tea, slightly emitting plum and sun flavor, the fragrance is introverted, although the appearance is not particularly good, but it has a contemplative charm. "if we hadn't done enough fermentation and roasting, and the quality of the tea was enough, I'm afraid we wouldn't have been able to transform it so well." Lin Constitutionalism said. As long as "start work" to make tea, time is your most powerful guarantor!

Frozen top tea used to be the pride of Taiwan. if the tea area continues to shrink, and if we cannot keep the traditional method of making tea, will one day we will not be able to drink real frozen top oolong tea?. (full text)