The origins of our Sun Moon Lake Taiwanese Black Tea
If the evocative name of our beautiful Taiwanese tea doesn't tempt you to purchase a caddy, then its rich, creamy flavour certainly will. Grown in the lush, mountainous landscape of Nantou, central Taiwan, Sun Moon Lake is a spring flush, single-origin tea that will leave you feeling balanced and refreshed.
Also known as Red Jade Ruby tea (Hongyu 日月潭紅玉), Sun Moon Lake offers a ruby coloured infusion with a natural fragrance of cinnamon and mint that helps awaken the senses morning or afternoon. Grown at 600m from the Assamica cultivar, our black tea is artisanally produced – hand-rolled, mildly oxidised and dried into long twisted black leaves with full buds, delivering a harmonious caramel-floral flavour.
Sourced by Formosa Farms, which specialises in micro-batch Taiwan teas, Sun Moon Lake is harvested in the vibrant green fields of Yuchi, located in the renowned tea-growing county of Nantou, a mountainous region in central Taiwan. Grown organically, with no pesticides or chemicals, this Sun Moon Lake tea is cultivated by a nurse turned tea farmer, high above the tranquil body of water that gives the infusion its name. It was Ms Liu who picked up her family's five-generation legacy of sustainable tea farming, turning the care and passion used in her previous career to create teas of outstanding quality.
You won't need to add anything to this delightfully restoring brew. Instead, enjoy it black for an antioxidant-rich vegan tea that comes with the added health benefits of vitamins C and B6, plus minerals including potassium and manganese.
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What are Formosan Farms?
Founded by Dr Yvonne Han, Formosan Farms produces premium, single-origin teas organically grown by select family-run tea farms in Taiwan. The sustainably grown teas are 100% pure, with no added chemicals or pesticides, and are supplied to various grades, all of the high quality. Each contributing farm has a sustainable ethos that ensures the methods used in cultivation are eco-friendly and place the environment front and centre. The farmers' love for their work is reflected in their teas, and we are very proud to launch our new range of teas with them.
Other loose leaf alternatives to this black tea
For more beautifully complex teas sourced by Formosan Farms, start with a caddy of Native Mountain Tea, organic and grown in the mountainous Nantou County of Taiwan. Our Oriental Beauty Taiwanese tea is another exceptional style that combines sweet yet aromatic characters. At the same time, Ali Shan and Supreme Oriental Beauty each offer a stunning example of an oolong tea with a strong sweet character. You can compare these with Chinese oolong such as Phoenix Honey Orchid – mildly smoky with distinctive nutty notes.
Discover more about the history of Taiwanese tea culture in our Tea Journal.
