Tea, Tea Knowledge
Taiwan’s Most Expensive Tea: High-Mountain & Award Tea 2026
Taiwan’s most expensive tea: what does the price describe?
Taiwanese tea auction records can reach hundreds of thousands or millions of New Taiwan dollars per jin. An auction result, a competition-tea offer and an everyday retail price describe different purchases. Start with the year, transaction type, award and weight before comparing the figures.
A million-dollar tea naturally invites curiosity: what might that cup taste like? There is room to enjoy the story without letting its price set the budget for the kitchen shelf. For the next tea to drink at home, familiar aromas, a favorite cup and a comfortable budget offer a gentler starting point.
This update was checked on October 24, 2026. Official examples are added below; the earlier article’s dates, historical prices and regional notes remain further down.
From historic auctions to 2026: reading four official examples
| Source date | Reported information | How to read it |
|---|---|---|
| 2007 retrospective | An agriculture ministry publication recalled an earlier auction figure of NT$2,560,000 per Taiwanese jin. | 2007 dates the account; it does not establish the transaction year. Official account |
| June 1, 2019 | One jin of Special Prize Baozhong had a NT$50,000 starting bid and sold for NT$1,000,000. | A particular auction result, distinct from its starting bid. Auction report |
| June 5, 2025 | An Excellent Award Baozhong half-jin gift box was offered at a promotional NT$1,188. | A dated retail promotion for that award and quantity, rather than a Special Prize auction or current offer. Promotion report |
| June 19, 2026 | A June 20–21 market event offered a “million-dollar champion tea” tasting to shoppers spending NT$2,000. | A spending threshold for that event; the tasting name does not announce a new auction result. 2026 announcement |
Keeping dates and transaction details beside the numbers makes these stories useful. Different teas and selling conditions cannot be arranged into a year-by-year price trend for the same product.
Auction results, competition tea and everyday retail prices
| Price type | What is being offered? | What to check |
|---|---|---|
| Auction result | A particular lot and quantity | Which event and batch? Starting bid, hammer price or total with fees? |
| Competition-tea offer | A product identified by competition, year and award | Does it match the winning batch? Original seal or repacked? What net weight? |
| Everyday retail price | Loose tea, tea bags or a gift set | Do the quantity, flavor, packaging and brewing format suit the occasion? |
Competition tea may also be sold at retail; the award and batch details are the additional things to verify. Our 2026 champion tea guide explains those checks. For the costs behind an everyday purchase, the premium tea price and value guide explores origin, craftsmanship and packaging.
Historical prices and regional notes
The earlier tea-price stories follow. Read dates such as 1982 and 2022, and the older wholesale ranges, in their original context. For a purchase today, confirm the current batch, quantity and offer with the seller.
Where is the most expensive tea in Taiwan? There are literally hundreds of types of tea in Taiwan, all of which are of excellent quality. Foreign consumers are very fond of Taiwanese tea, so the price of Taiwanese tea sold abroad can expectedly be much higher than that in Taiwan. On the whole, the most expensive teas in Taiwan are competition certified; participating Taiwanese teas are knowingly produced in Lishan and Dayuling regions.
Oolong and high mountain oolong are representative of the most expensive teas in Taiwan, accounting for just 2% of the global output. Taiwanese high mountain oolong tea is affected by climate and altitude, and its output is scarce which makes it so precious. Usually the higher the altitude, the better the price, so the representative areas of high mountain oolong tea include Alishan & Shanlinxi.
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The Most Expensive Taiwanese Tea
1.Most Expensive Taiwanese Tea – NTD$2 million+ Tea
A Council of Agriculture account published in 2007 (ROC year 96) recalled earlier national tea auctions reaching NTD$2.56 million per Taiwanese jin. This is a historical auction figure; in 2007 the program moved to awards and prize money in place of the auction.
This tea was won by tea farmer Liu Jiaen who has won the “Special Prize” seven times in a row in Zhushan and Lugu. He said: Five years ago, Lugu Dongding Oolong Tea cost about NTD$40,000 per catty, and he set a reserve price of NTD$70,000 after he won the prize; Zhushan Shanlinxi tea also won the special prize, and it has climbed from about NTD$10,000 per catty to a staggering NTD $30,000, which is still in short supply.
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2.Most Expensive Taiwanese Tea – Post-Competition Tea Prices
Competition awards may influence a particular batch’s price; the event, award level and transaction still need to be identified. People who like to collect tea say, “For good tea, if you drink one pack, the less will exist, the value-added will be greater.”
Some collectors choose competition tea for its year and award story; storage condition and the actual offer still matter. Through such a virtuous circle, tea farmers will plant tea trees more carefully in order to produce better tea.
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Oriental Beauty Tea Competition Price
The 2022 Oriental Beauty Tea Grand Prize was won by Xu Yaoliang, a well-known tea maker. Taking the price of the peasant association in Emei Township as an example, tea in first place comes in at around NTD$56,000 per catty. It is really the most appropriate adjective to say that high-quality tea is “tea gold” after participating in the competition.
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Lugu Dongding Oolong Tea Grand Prize Price
First, second, third, three plum blossoms, and two plum blossoms prize divisions in the Dongding Oolong Tea Competition in Nantou Lugu all fetch vastly different prices. The first division of the 2022 Lugu Dongding Oolong Tea was awarded to Ms. Qiu Susuyun. In 1982, the price of premium Dongding Oolong tea reached a high of NTD$1.6 million per catty, which shows that winning positions strongly influence price.
Nestled within Taiwan’s mist-kissed mountains, the most expensive teas emerge, embodying the island’s essence, where the soil, climate, and devotion of the tea masters converge into liquid elegance, a sip of Taiwan’s soul.
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The high-priced tea leaves in Taiwan are concentrated on the high mountains. The wholesale price of Lishan tea in the Lishan area of Taichung, which is more than 2000 metres above sea level, ranges between NTD$2,500 and NTD$10,000 per catty; However, the tea found in the same area with approaching altitudes of 2800 metres can wholesale for as much as NTD$12,000.
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Factors affecting the price of Taiwan High Mountain Tea
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Market Price Factors: High Mountain Tea tree varieties
Most varieties used in Taiwanese Oolong tea production are: Tieguanyin, Qingxin, Jinxuan, and Cuiyu. If it is from a tea area dominated by high mountains such as the Alishan tea area, which is famous for high mountain tea, Qingxin Oolong is primarily produced. But when the altitude drops between 1000 metres and 1200 metres, you end up with varieties such as Alishan Jinxuan which is not only used for making Oolong, but also Alishan black tea.
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Tea Market Price Factors: Competition participation
The “Excellent Tea Competition” is where the organiser notifies tea farmers within its jurisdiction to provide 11 to 23 catties of tea to the competition venue during a certain tea picking period. The number of samples in Taiwanese tea competitions can exceed 7000, making it fiercely competitive. The earlier article used NTD$300,000 per catty as an example of high-priced award tea; it is not a common starting price for all winners.
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Tea Market Price Factors: Tea Origin
For consumers who are not familiar with tea, the place of origin can be said to be one of the best factors to distinguish, especially in well-known tea producing areas. In the case of Alishan high mountain tea, the price of the place of origin is usually based on the altitude.
The highest production areas in Taiwan are the Dayuling and Fushoushan Farms, the height of these two places are more than 2000 metres above sea level; then within the 1800-1600 metre range, there is the Qingjing Farm, Lushan Mountain, Shanlinxi, etc.
Further descending, there is Dongding and Pinglin, among others at altitudes of 1000-800 metres. The altitude will be the basis that mainly affects the price. The main reasons being that not only are high altitude areas difficult to plant, harvest and manage, but also the quantity is scarce and the labour is expensive.
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Tea Market Price Factors: High Mountain Tea Seasons
Winter and spring usually fetch the highest tea prices throughout the year, particularly winter due to production scarcity. To elaborate, summer and autumn teas are 65%~70% the price of spring tea, with further price gaps seen when compared with winter tea. Alishan Alpine Oolong tea is sourced from an altitude of 1600 metres.
Due to the high altitude and cold climate, spring tea is harvested from the end of April to mid-May, while winter tea is harvested after the lunar calendar year.
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Taiwan’s most expensive teas are a testament to the artistry of tea cultivation, where leaves become poetry, steeped in the mystique of the island’s terroir, each cup a journey through the landscape’s finest nuances.
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Recognize good merchants to avoid buying fake tea
According to statistics from the Taiwan Tea Association, Taiwanese drink more than 45,000 tons of tea a year, but Taiwan produces less than 15,000 tons. The 30,000 ton gap is filled primarily by imports from Vietnam and China. There are many unscrupulous products on the market posing as Taiwanese tea.
Therefore, in addition to identifying certification of origin labels, always purchase from merchants with a high degree of trust to ensure you are consuming the genuine article.
ABoxTik specialises in selling Taiwanese tea from small independent producers. We welcome you to visit the official website of ABoxTik to access some of the highest quality authentic Taiwanese teas!
Choose a tea for the way you actually drink
A small pack is a comfortable first step into an unfamiliar tea. Set aside an unhurried afternoon, follow the brewing guidance and notice the aroma, texture and finish. Those observations give the next purchase a more personal point of reference.
- For a slower tasting: begin with the Taiwanese tea flavor guide. Decide whether fresh floral notes or a warmer roasted character sound inviting before choosing a batch.
- For a weekday mug: explore the two-selection tea bag gift set. Check the included teas and serving sizes against the way it will be brewed.
- For a thoughtful gift: compare the four-selection classic Taiwanese tea bag gift set. Knowing the recipient’s preferred flavors and everyday cup can be more helpful than simply increasing the budget.
How can different pack sizes be compared?
Use price ÷ net tea weight in grams × 100 for a price per 100 g. As an arithmetic example only, two NT$600 packs weighing 150 g and 300 g work out to NT$400 and NT$200 per 100 g. This compares quantity; flavor, award batch and packaging still need their own consideration.
Questions about high-priced Taiwanese tea
Does “million-dollar champion tea” in 2026 mean a new million-dollar sale?
Look for an actual transaction date, quantity and winning bid. The 2026 market announcement above describes a tasting experience. Its spending threshold is not a per-jin tea price.
Does winning an award guarantee a higher price or NT$300,000 per jin?
There is no common price across all competitions and award levels. The 2019 auction and 2025 gift-box promotion concern different years, grades, quantities and transactions. Ask for the offer for the specific batch.
Is the most expensive tea the right one for everyday drinking?
Start with a flavor and brewing format that fit comfortably into the day, then decide whether an additional expense brings something to enjoy. A tea that makes room for a quiet break—or a conversation shared across the table—already has a place worth keeping.