Da Yu Ling (大禹嶺) is a high-mountain green wulong from Taiwan’s Taroko (太魯閣) National Park. Da Yu was the founder of the mythical Xia dynasty and is still celebrated for his achievements with regulating the wild waters of China.
Da Yu Ling is one of Taiwan’s most renowned tea growing areas, as it is the home of the highest tea gardens all around the World. These high-altitude gardens tend to have higher humidity, lower temperatures and scarcer sunshine. This results in extremely fine and green buds and leaves, which gives the tea an almost gyokuro-like character.
It is interesting to note here that teas from this area have been and will continue to be increasingly more expensive. The small tea bushes’ roots cannot penetrate the soil deep enough to keep it together. Hence, the area’s hills and mountains, which are almost exclusively covered with tea gardens have been gradually deteriorating. To forestall the accelerating erosion of the soil, the government has been busy afforesting the region, which results in shrinking tea growing areas and skyrocketing prices.
