Alishan: Rising Fog and the Future of Tea

As temperatures rise and rainfall dips, the future of Alishan’s High Mountain Tea industry is called into question. The following photo essay documents my learnings in Alishan from January 24 to January 26, 2022.

Trails in Meishan Township (梅山) reveal vast expanses of mountains and tea farms under clear blue skies. Photo by Keerti Gopal.

Tea has been grown and produced in Taiwan for over two centuries, but the esteemed Alishan (阿里山) region, located in Chiayi County (嘉義）is relatively new to the scene, with the first tea farms dating back to the early 1900s, and production truly ramping up as recently as the 70s and 80s.

It’s said that the high quality of the region’s tea comes from a combination of elevation — the farms sit at altitudes between 1,000 and 2,300 m — and plentiful fog that allows for tea to grow slowly, continuously nurtured by nutrient-rich soil and, often, natural irrigation from high mountain springs.

Elevation is said to be correlated with tea-quality, with higher farms often producing more expensive tea. Photo by Keerti Gopal.

One of Alishan’s most famous features is the “sea of clouds” (雲海), seen here from a lookout on the trail to 二尖山 (Èr Jiān Shān). Photo by Keerti Gopal.

Dr. Cho-Ying Huang of National Taiwan University’s Geography department, who first introduced me to the region, is studying the impacts of climate change — particularly rising temperatures and increasing drought — on land ecosystems.

One aspect of Dr. Huang’s research project involves tracking fog levels through sensing stations at 15 locations in the tea farming regions, taking photos and sending photos to his lab at 10 minute intervals throughout the day in order to record changes in density and elevation.

The site of one of Dr. Huang’s devices. Photo by Keerti Gopal.

Two of Dr. Huang’s research assistants from NTU’s geography department, 李欣儒 (Lǐ Xīn Rú) and 張桔云（Zhāng Jú Yún) adjust one of their lab’s recording devices. The batteries have to be replaced approximately every two months. Photo by Keerti Gopal.

Dr. Huang told me that warming temperatures are pushing the fog to higher elevations, and said that some farmers have already begun to notice a declining quality in their tea due to the relative absence of fog.

A hiker walks through heavy afternoon fog (霧) on a high mountain trail, descending from the peak of Da Jian Shan (大尖山) in Yunlin County. Photo by Keerti Gopal.

Lin Jing Yin (林淨因), one of the owners of the guesthouse where I stayed during my trip, said the changes in climate since she was a child have been clear, noting that winters have become much more mild and rising temperatures have caused summer heat of an intensity that they never used to experience.

“This was just the place where we lived our lives,” said Lin Jing Yin, pointing behind her to what are currently the guest rooms of her her family’s 民宿 (mín sù, guesthouse). Photo by Keerti Gopal.

The view from the front yard of the Lin family’s guesthouse. Photo by Keerti Gopal.

Ms. Lin and her two older siblings grew up in Meishan County, on the same land where their guesthouse and tea farm now reside. They started growing tea in 1976.

She said that rising temperatures have influenced cloud coverage, which can powerfully influence soil quality and water drainage. Ms. Lin also noted that there’s a declining understanding of tea drinking practices amongst younger generations.

“It’s not that young people don’t drink tea,” she told me. “But they may have the impression that this kind of [tea-drinking] is for old people.”

林淨因 (Lín Jìng Yīn) prepared her family’s tea for us several times over the course of our stay. She explained that to sit down and make tea (泡茶) should be a slow process, involving boiling water, smelling and straining the tea leaves, and savoring multiple pours. Photo by Keerti Gopal.

2021 brought record droughts to south-central Taiwan, and many Alishan tea growers were hit hard during the spring harvest season, where yields were very low. Dr. Huang said that for many of the tea farmers he works with, the year was a wake up call.

“No cash crop is more sensitive to climate than tea,” he said, adding that the economic impact of the droughts was particularly hard on farms that have typically relied on natural irrigation.

Alishan is known for a cool, moderate climate, but its summers are getting increasingly hot. Photo by Keerti Gopal.

Wang Jia Yu (王家裕), who moved back to his childhood home in Alishan six years ago to manage his parents’ tea farm, said the economic impact of last year’s drought has been severe.

“The influence of climate change is that everyone is afraid,” he said, adding that it is becoming increasingly difficult to predict a season’s weather or rainfall, and that the unpredictable climate is putting a strain on farmers.

王家裕 (Wáng Jiā Yù) stands above his farm in front of tables with trays full of coffee beans. He said his family is in their third year of growing coffee in addition to tea. Photo by Keerti Gopal.

The Dr. Huang’s team’s data collection setup on Wang Jia Yu’s farm. Mr. Wang said he believes the data from the project will be helpful for his business in the future. Photo by Keerti Gopal.

Ye Wei Xiang, who manages one of the farms that his collaborating with Dr. Huang’s team on data collection, said that last year’s drought had a significant impact on his farm — and his neighbors’ — and added that they’re still waiting to see if this April will bring enough rain for a better harvest.

Mr. Ye and Mr. Wang are part of a younger generation of tea farm managers who moved away from Alishan for work or study, and have now returned to take over their family’s farms.

When asked how he feels about the future, Mr. Ye, who has two young children, said he feels worried, and noted that though he would like to pass down his family’s knowledge, he is unsure if working in the tea industry will be an option for his kids.

葉偉翔 (Yè Wěi Xiáng), 36, who returned to Alishan to help his mother manage the farm after going away for his studies, says that tea has been a part of his family’s life since he was a child. Photo by Keerti Gopal.

“I can’t be sure,” he said. “In recent years, particularly the past few years, because of the influence of environmental issues, climate change, the economy, and people’s [declining] interest in tea, we can’t be certain of what will happen in the future.”

A mountaintop view of Alishan tea farms. Photo by Keerti Gopal.