Yang Tea Farm

Yang Tea Farm

Location & Elevation

Lishan (梨山), Taichung County, Taiwan (~2,000 metres)

Farming Model

Smallholder & Partner Regional Collection

Farm Origins

Established in the late 1990s

Teamakers and Masters

Iris and José (Founders of Yang Tea Farm), Iris' Brother (2nd generation), and their father (Master Teamaker of the family farm)

Tea Featured

Vintage Imperial Concubine Oolong Tea (2016, harvested 2007)

All About Yang Tea We are tea lovers! We like to drink it in a daily basis and several times per day. We study about its culture, its production methods and the art that surrounds it. Tea is much more than a drink, it is the atmosphere that surrounds it from its birth to your cup. At Yang Tea Taiwan we humbly learn season after season, we are in contact with the farmers who care for their plants, with the masters who produce the tea, and with the artists who give it deep meaning. We are Iris & José

High-Altitude Terroir & Sourcing Philosophy

Perched at an elevation of 2,000 metres near Lishan Village in Taichung County, Yang Tea Farm sits in one of Taiwan's most recognized high-mountain tea regions. At this altitude, the tea bushes deal with sharp temperature swings between day and night, frequent mountain mist, and bright sun. These conditions slow down leaf growth and build up natural sugars and aromatic compounds inside the leaf.

Yang Tea Farm takes a practical, artisan approach to Taiwanese tea production. While they grow tea on their own plots in Lishan, Master Yang also selects raw leaves from trusted family farmers across the surrounding mountain ranges. By combining these harvests with their in-house processing and precise roasting, the family keeps quality consistent while respecting regional character.

A Family Tradition of High-Mountain Craft

The farm's story started in the early 1990s, when Master Yang began making tea in the Alishan region. By the late 1990s, he moved his operations to Lishan and established the current farm. After over thirty years in the trade, Master Yang is passing the work down to the second generation, his daughter Iris and her brother. Having worked alongside their father for four years, they continue to run the daily crafting and processing.

Making tea at 2,000 metres means dealing with unpredictable mountain weather. Conditions inside the processing facility change quickly, so the teamakers constantly adjust humidity and temperature during withering and oxidation to bring out the best in every batch.

The Vintage Gui Fei Oolong

This batch offers a look into high-mountain tea history. Picked during the Spring 2007 harvest, the leaves went through a unique transformation right on the bush:

  • Natural Insect Biting (Jacobiasca formosana): Before harvest, small green leafhoppers (Jacobiasca formosana) bit the tea leaves. This insect activity causes the plant to produce defensive compounds, creating the sweet, honeyed aromas that define authentic Gui Fei Oolong.

  • Long Withering & Intensive Tumbling: The leaves were processed over a 36 to 40 hour window, with longer withering and heavier tumbling than standard high-mountain oolongs to bring out deeper flavour notes.

  • Re-Roasted Across Generations: Over nearly twenty years of aging, keeping this tea pristine required periodic light roasts to rest and refresh the leaves. First produced into its Imperial Concubine form in 2016, the mantle was passed to Iris and her brother in 2025 to executed a gentle finishing roast under Master Yang's guidance. By holding the temperature at a precise 90°C, the second generation preserved the clean tropical fruit profile while elevating its natural sweetness, turning a single 2007 harvest into a collaborative, generational masterpiece.

"Take a calm moment to enjoy this tea, it is aromatically complex and with good body, so every sip will taste slightly different. The more you drink it the more aromas you will discover."

— Iris & José, Yang Tea Farm
A wrapped tea gift box tied with a blue and white tie-dye furokshiki cloth, featuring a dark brown paper band labelled 'Vintage Imperial Concubine Oolong Tea (2016)' from Cha Cha Chan.
A wrapped tea gift box tied with a blue and white tie-dye furokshiki cloth, featuring a linocut postcard in the design of tea fields. This is the 'Vintage Imperial Concubine Oolong Tea (2016)' from Cha Cha Chan.
A tea gift box, featuring a linocut postcard in the design of tea fields. This is the 'Vintage Imperial Concubine Oolong Tea (2016)' from Cha Cha Chan.
A tea gift box with a tie-die furoshiki cloth. This is the 'Vintage Imperial Concubine Oolong Tea (2016)' from Cha Cha Chan.
A wrapped tea gift box tied with a blue and white tie-dye furokshiki cloth, featuring a dark brown paper band labelled 'Vintage Imperial Concubine Oolong Tea (2016)' from Cha Cha Chan.
A wrapped tea gift box tied with a blue and white tie-dye furokshiki cloth, featuring a dark brown paper band labelled 'Vintage Imperial Concubine Oolong Tea (2016)' from Cha Cha Chan.
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