Mountain Ali Tea No.35 — Restaurant in Alishan Township

WARNING: DO NOT BUY THEIR TEA LEAVES- likely a scam, seller is dishonest

I wish I read the google reviews first before spending such a large amount of money on their tea leaves. There were numerous other similar very negative reviews also about getting poor quality expensive tea leaves and their bought tea leaves being very different from what they tried (ie unscrupulous seller).

In summary: extremely high prices, relatively low quality tea leaves (mostly stem), DISHONEST SELLER (very likely let me try a very different batch of tea leaves from what I bought), pressure sales tactics, generally not allowed to try tea before buying. However interior of the cafe is nice and aesthetic, suitable for an (expensive) date

I was walking around alishan enjoying the scenery when I stumbled upon this cafe with a cute little museum at the bottom. Wanting a snack, I went up to the cafe and was immediately turned off by the exorbitant prices and so turned to leave the cafe. I was stopped by the lady boss who offered to let me look at her tea leaves and so I did as I love taiwanese teas. I thought the prices would be steeper given that it is a cafe rather than a traditional tea house so I again left. Lady boss called me back and kept going on and on and on about how their jinxuan won ?first prize for one of the competitions and was bought by the Taiwanese president for foreign dignitaries and therefore I must absolutely buy their tea and not anyone else's as theirs is the absolute best. Almost all tea houses let you try their tea before you buy, but she refused to let me and instead said I had to pay their cafe price for a pot of tea (which was also ridiculously high about 400NTD if I recall which is about USD 12 or SGD 17). I think it is fair given that they are after all primarily a cafe rather than a tea store but I was not prepared to pay the equivalent price of a full 150g bag of tea leaves just to try one pot of tea so again I turned to leave (for the 3rd time), and I was also running a little late.

The lady boss called me back again and offered to let me try the tea before I buy, which was very nice of her. The jinxuan that I was offered was one of the best I have ever tasted- fragrant aroma, smooth creamy mouthfeel, long and full aftertaste. I bought one box of 300g normal (non competition) jinxuan as a result, spending about 2000NTD if I recall which is extremely expensive. For context at shizhuo which is the main area where alishan tea is grown, 150g of jinxuan oolong typically costs 400-600NTD depending on where you buy it, and even competition grade tea usually costs less than 1000NTD for 150g (for those that ranked less than the top 10% in that competition- prices go up exponentially thereafter). But I thought this cafe's jinxuan very pleasant and so I was willing to pay more.

HOWEVER, lo and behold, 1 month after my trip as I am brewing my tea now, the tea I am drinking now is very different from what I was served. The aroma was thin, taste was not particularly sweet, mouthfeel not particularly creamy. This was in spite of me using more tea leaves compared to water than I usually do, and brewing slightly longer as well. And more importantly the leaves are quite different from what I saw in the cafe, and instead had a disappointedly high volume of stems instead of leaves. I think it is not unreasonable to conclude that what I tried was different from what I ended up buying.

Tldr likely dishonest seller. Expensive tea that is not worth. You are better off buying from shizhuo or even other touristy places. My 400NTD for 150g jinxuan I got from shizhuo (aka shizhao) was tastier than what I have now. Purchasing experience was also unpleasant and I was constantly pressured to buy and buy more. This is in sharp contrast to usual Taiwanese hospitality, and the first time I have been treated this way in a Taiwanese (or any) tea shop; even touristy and higher priced tea shops in Taipei do not do this. Buyer beware. These people ought to be ashamed of themselves for bringing disrepute to...

Tea shop owned by a local tea sommelier who has won tea competitions for 30 years in a year. The owner grows his tea in the mountains of Dabang (Tapangu) village, the largest Tsou indigenous village in Alishan. The owner also roasts his own tea, managing the whole soup-to-nuts process. This tea house is located on the hike up to the Xiaoliyuanshan Lookout 小笠原山360度觀景台, a less crowded space for viewing the famous Alishan sunrise. After the sunrise, guests can sip tea outdoors amidst the beautiful forest at this tea house. The owner's sister speaks English, Mandarin, Taiwanese,...

阿里山日出旁唯一一間有質感的茶室，闆娘介紹我們是國家授權經營。這裡早餐盤有饅頭加上切塊水果盤，總統級茶席。還能買到老闆娘熱情推薦的總統府伴手禮茶品，以及台灣品牌「上作美器」得獎日本Good Design作品。 當天我們在老闆娘的推薦下購買了茶與一只價格4800的「無我茶海」，此作品在該品牌「上作美器」官網售價為1800。看到這個2.6倍價差，不清楚在茶田35號是否買到如淘寶的假貨，通常品牌和供應商的價格應該要有一致，如同我們不會在國家級的商店買到貴兩倍的iPhone 。 總之，這裡如果賣的是真貨，那上作美器這個品牌在各通路商的售價是沒有經過控管的。實在愧對台灣阿里山第一日出的美名，對比這樣的旅遊體驗，實在感到非常失望。

The only tasteful tea house beside the Alishan sunrise, the owner proudly informed us that it’s licensed by the government. Their breakfast platter includes steamed buns and sliced fruit. You can also purchase tea, passionately recommended by the owner, which is branded as a souvenir from the Presidential Office, along with award-winning items from the Taiwanese brand “SZMQ Studio,” a recipient of the Japan Good Design Award.

That day, based on the owner’s recommendation, we purchased some tea and a tea set called “Wu Wo Tea Sea” for 4,800 NTD. However, upon checking, we found that the same item is listed on the brand’s official website for 1,800 NTD. With such a 2.6x price difference, we can’t help but wonder if we ended up buying a fake, similar to those found on Taobao. Generally, brand prices should remain consistent across suppliers, just like how one wouldn’t expect to pay twice as much for an iPhone at a government-run store.

In short, if what we bought is genuine, it reflects poorly on “SZMQ Studio” for allowing such unregulated pricing across different channels. This whole experience feels like an insult to the famous Alishan sunrise, leaving us deeply disappointed...