Hilltop views, tea history, and a light-hearted tasting combine in a fun excursion from Taiwan’s main city
The drizzly February afternoon did not matter. But an afternoon riding through Taiwan’s hilltop tea country on a half-day Taipei tea tour did.
Our English-language tour would come complete with views of terraces and lakes, a museum with interactive exhibits that engaged our 10yo and 13yo, plus a low-key tea tasting finale. It was exactly what we were looking forward to, not to mention a chance to get a dose of green space and hot tea.
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“It was exactly what we were looking forward to, not to mention a chance to get a dose of green space and hot tea.”
Snapshot of our Taipei tea tour experience
We happened to visit Taipei in winter. Cool days could turn drizzly or rainy, but we also woke up to sunny days too. We brought jackets and umbrellas with us, and had no trouble with the weather, which for us felt fairly temperate with a touch of chilly.
In any season, tea tours like the one we took take about half a day. It got us just outside the city enough to get a taste of Taiwan’s centuries-old tea country.
Our small group tour had five other people, plus a guide who also spoke English. We rode in a comfy van, setting off around 1:30 from a park-side meeting spot. The tour had 3 main components:
- Ride and viewpoint stops along hilltop terraces, with explanations about the culture and history of tea in Taiwan
- A self-guided wander through a tea museum (also a handy indoor respite when it’s raining or a hot day)
- A private curated tea tasting at a village tea shop
Our guide dropped us off in front of Taipei 101 around 5:30. If we hadn’t already checked out Taipei 101’s 89th floor observation deck, we might have considered heading up one of the world’s tallest buildings after a snack. As it was, we headed to the basement food court for dinner.
Mobility tip
Talk with your guide about your accessibility needs for the tour. Jodie is an above-knee amputee who uses a prosthetic leg for her mobility, and she augments her walking with a trekking pole. The hilltop roads were paved, but had some steeper short sections that were more challenging, especially when wet.
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Why take a tea tour in Taipei?
Tea has been part of Taiwanese culture for centuries. It’s the drink of choice when visiting bubble tea cafes and booths throughout the country. From oolong to milk tea, Taiwanese enjoy a variety of teas both for special occasions and as an everyday simple pleasure.
Above all? The finale tasting introduced us to teas, how to taste them in depth, and showed the kids what it was like to enjoy tea in a different and more involved way.
“The memory of our tour and the sense memory of the views and tasting stayed deep within us.”
Taipei tea tours can be kid-friendly day trips
A tea tour can bring up concerns about whether or not it will work for kids. After all, tea can be seen as a formal occasion, steeped not only in hot water but important social traditions.
A tea tour can be a more relaxed introduction to tea’s role in everyday Taiwanese life.
We chose our tour for its more laid back yet respectful approach. The early outside time gave the kids some chances to move around in the fresh air, especially after the van ride. The museum was a quieter experiment, but its interactive exhibits engaged both adults and kids.
Is it an experience more for the adults? Sure. But kids can get plenty out of it too. A Taipei tea tour is a low-stakes way to engage in Taiwanese culture, get into the countryside, and try different teas.
“A tea tour can be a more relaxed introduction to tea’s role in everyday Taiwanese life.”
Our experience on a Taipei tea tour with kids
While we were visiting Taipei during its mild winter season, this tour gave us time in nature too.
Pickup spots will vary by tour and other factors, but our journey began at a park in Taipei. Aster took a chance to play on the playground for a few minutes. We also ducked into a 7-11 across the street for a few road snacks.
A trip to tea country overlooking Thousand Island Lake
An hour drive soon had us winding up 500 meters and along the green forested hills east of Taipei. Our guide shared tidbits about tea’s attributes, such as how Taiwan’s most popular tea, oolong, is a semi-oxidized midpoint between green tea and black tea.
As we crossed the mountains between Taipei and the tea country beyond, we caught glimpses of the ocean and a turtle-shaped island.
From tea’s Persian origins, it moved east, across India and China. Cultivation in Taiwan began with initial Chinese immigration to the island starting around 400 years ago, but production began in earnest in the 1800s.
Around us as we looked out toward Xingdao Lake, or Thousand Island Lake, tea farms raised rows of bushes under the drizzly sky. Surrounded by thick greenery and the stepped rows of terraced tea, we breathed in fresh air and enjoyed walking the winding, albeit rain-slippery, lanes.
Mobility tip
There is some walking along the hilltop areas, but it’s pretty minimal overall. Mainly we followed a few paved or gravel paths, such as one path about 25 meters from a parking area to an overlook in a garden space. We also followed one steeper section of paved road, which can be slippery in the rain.
Interactive and immersive exhibits at the intriguing Pinglin Tea Museum
Following the lake east along the Pinglin River, we headed to our second destination, the Pinglin Tea Museum.
While most exhibits were in Chinese, some had English placards. Even though we couldn’t read most of the signs, the museum’s design, organization, and exhibit flow helped us move through tea’s history and place throughout Taiwanese culture, from royalty and porcelain, to everyday bubble oolong tea on ice in plastic cups.
Favorites for us included what looks like a large wooden disc, carved with an ornate image of a Chinese-style dragon. This Modern Dragon Phoenix Cake isn’t made of wood though. It’s made of tea, dried and compressed so well that it can take a detailed, intricate design. Downstairs, an exhibit of various tea vessels and implements added color, texture, and interactive fun, especially for the kids.
We found the Tea Museum well organized, without being jumbled, stuffy, or so rigid that it felt too formal. Instead, the flow and interactivity had us forgetting that we couldn’t read most of the signs. Plus, it was easy to hone in on anything we wanted to spend time with or be up close to.
Mobility tip
Steps and ramps provide access to the main entrance. Inside the museum, most pathway areas are broad.
Stairs and an elevator provide access to the downstairs level. We found this area most worthwhile, especially with kids. The exhibits and displays here had a light-hearted element that made them even more approachable and fun.
Laughs, slurps, and an unnecessarily long spoon at a finale tea tasting along Pinglin Old Street
A few minutes after leaving the tea museum, our driver dropped us off at a quiet village street. After walking a couple hundred meters, we left the cool late afternoon air and entered a serene tea shop. Warm lights brightened the space as we made our way to a large wooden table in the back.
Our group sat in wooden chairs curving around both short sides and one long side of the table. Across from our four seats on the long side, a carved platter of thick gray stone sat before an older man.
Our tea tasting began.
From the terraces to the shops, picking leaves to pouring a fresh brew, the older man understood Taiwanese tea from throughout the island.
Behind him, an electric kettle stayed at the ready. He passed around tea leaves for us to smell, and showed us the light greens and deep browns that a tea could range in the cup.
Aster giggled at what she described as the “unnecessarily long spoon” he used to stir tea in the pot.
3 teas
We sampled 3 teas, including teas from the Pinglin area:
- Baozhong Oolong Tea (locally produced). Brew one minute at 90-95ºC. Can rebrew seven times.
- Honey Scented Black Tea (locally produced). Honey-ish aroma and slight astringency in flavor. Brew 5 seconds at 80-90ºC. Can rebrew 10 times.
- High Mountain Oolong Tea. High means that it was grown at an elevation over 1000 meters. Brew one minute at 90-95ºC.
For each brew, our tea master rinsed and warmed the cups with hot water, then poured our brew. First we smelled the freshly brewed and poured tea. With the taste of each brew, he instructed us to slurp, swish, gargle, and pucker, to get as full a range of the flavor, aroma, and nuance.
After that, we enjoyed the remainder of the cup as we wished, but we always let the tea warm us inside and out, sip by sip.
While Jodie and I were partial to the Baozhong Oolong Tea, Connor preferred the Honey Scented Black Tea. Aster was okay with the teas, but mostly enjoyed the warmth of the cups in her hands.
Take a tea tour and tasting during your stay in Taipei, Taiwan
Back in Taipei, our guide dropped us off at Taipei 101, and we headed into the basement food court for dinner. We reflected on the tour: the history of tea cultivation, exhibits we found most interesting at the museum, and the tea and laughter shared around the table during our tasting.
A tea tour gives insights into the history and presence of an everyday feature of Taiwanese life. It’s informative yet fun, cultural yet light-hearted. We could enjoy the tour and the tasting. So could our kids.
The memory of our tour and the sense memory of the views and tasting stayed deep within us too. Along with the cooking class where we made bubble tea from scratch, we thought about our tea tour every time we went out for a bubble tea in Taipei.
