My girlfriend is Chinese Malaysian and I’m flying to her hometown next month to meet her parents. She said I should bring tea as a gift but I’m not an expert, so I don’t know which kind or how to judge quality. Preferably I’d like to buy a Taiwanese sourced tea and my budget isn’t too limited, can spend over $100 USD if its’ worth it. So where can I find high quality tea in Kaohsiung that will impress her parents?
They won’t consider 100 USD tea “high quality”.
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I may be of limited help. But i find historic streets have shops that sell high quality tea.
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I’m not familiar with Taipei or Kaohsiung unfortunately but I would say at least 150 but more likely 200-300 USD. Anything below 100 will just be “oh foreigners are weird. They think this is good tea”.
If they like Pu’er it’ll be easier for you to find “good ones” because it’s kind of the shop’s prestige item but it’s gonna get expensive fast.
Edit: I put good ones in quotes because Pu’er is disgusting imo lol.
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What type of tea? I live where the best tea in Taiwan is grown. Alishan. Oolong Tea, black tea? There are many flavours. Where I am you buy directly from the growers not through tea shops.
So you might buy Oolong tea aka Green Tea but there are many flavours.
Do you want expensive healthy tea or expensive tea that tastes nice?
This Shopee seller is pretty good for Pu’er:
It’s not my favorite type of tea and I hated it the first time I tried it, but now I like it from time to time. It’s obviously not Taiwanese.
Personally I’d be buying from a reputable online store with good reviews rather than going into a physical shop (they seem way overpriced to me). You should probably ask your girlfriend for tips, since she’s the one who recommended it and presumably knows what her parents like.
You find it in Alishan where you go to where the tea farms are and get a personal tour of the tea farm and try different teas. It’s where I live.
Schwing!
Could you say that in a huskier voice?
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There are tea plantations in the mountains of Kaoshiung also, maybe the tea isn’t as good but it’s an easy day trip from the city. I did Christmas camping up there last year
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Easy to get to my place. There is a bus stop right in front of my property if you don’t drive or ride up.
People do day trips here from Kaohsiung. OP didn’t write he lived in Kaohsiung but wanted to find a place in Kaohsiung to buy tea from. Lots of shops see the clueless coming and sell them tea from Vietnam as Taiwan tea.
Well he could overnight here. Plenty of places to stay. Why not impress the GF’s parents with pictures of standing in the tea farm where you bought your tea from?
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I done day trip there with a car. That being said, if you just want to buy tea do it online, it would seem a long way to go for a gift. Its nice place to cool off (though its colder by the day, maybe too cold for some) and see IF it interests you as not make a long trip, if you can buy online. Also for me, I would like to a local tea (vs some from China or elsewhere) in Taiwan, Ali-Shan teas seem the best. (Also too expensive may be be subject to customs tax)
We have people coming from Czech Republic to stay at my wife’s guest house to visit their source supplier here on Monday. A wee bit further than Kaohsiung. lol
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This.
I buy mine from a guy who travels around Taiwan collecting teas from all the best farms. I just dropped $2000 on 4 bags of Alishan Goashan Oolong tea. Award winners I’ve been told. The story sounds good so I bought.
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How much is a bag? 200-250 grams? That doesn’t sound too bad if so.
Just weighed them up. 153g each.
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@Satellite_TV @TT Thanks for the suggestions, I’m actually in Kaohsiung for the month of October but won’t have time to travel to an actual tea farm. I’m more looking for reputable tea shop recommendations in Kaohsiung that sell high quality, locally sourced, teas, budget is not an issue (can do $200 USD+ if it’s really worth it, just want it to show I’m serious about my girlfriend). Although, a picture in the tea fields with a bamboo hat would definitely make them laugh 