Táidōng Lùyě hóng wūlóng (臺東鹿野紅烏龍) is a red oolong from Luye Township (鹿野鄉) of Taidong County in eastern Taiwan. It is a young tea: it was developed in 2008 by the Taidong branch of the Tea Improvement Station and local tea growers to revive the declining low-altitude Fulu district. Red oolong has the strongest fermentation among oolongs; its liquor is orange-red, like that of red tea, while its taste is that of an oolong — hence the name. Luye tea is protected by a certification mark of origin held by the township administration; alongside it there is a separate county mark for Taidong red oolong.
1. Classification and Origin
- Type: Oolong (烏龍茶, wūlóngchá): an article by the Tea Improvement Station in the bulletin Nongzheng yu Nongqing (農政與農情, January 2012), hereafter “the Station article”, assigns red oolong to the qingcha class (青茶, qīngchá).
- Category: Red oolong (紅烏龍, hóng wūlóng); certification mark of origin (產地證明標章). According to the summary table of marks of origin of the Taiwan Intellectual Property Office, the right holder is the Luye Township administration (鹿野鄉公所), and the term of protection runs from 1 October 2013 to 30 September 2033.
- Origin: Taiwan (臺灣, Táiwān), Taidong County (臺東縣, Táidōng xiàn), Luye Township (鹿野鄉, Lùyě xiāng), Fulu tea district (福鹿, Fúlù).
- Zone of the mark: According to a review of the marks of origin of Taiwanese tea in the blog 荼公子 (2020), it is the Luye tea district of Taidong County; the mark is applied only in Luye Township. According to the same blog, approval for use includes an on-site inspection, a check of production records, a pesticide analysis, and an assessment of quality and packaging.
- County mark: According to the same review, the second red oolong mark is held by the county government; its zone is Taidong City, the townships of Luye, Beinan, Taimali, Jinfeng, Yanping and Haiduan, and Guanshan Town.
2. History and Cultural Significance
- History:
- Beginnings. According to the website of the Luye administration, the Luye plateau (鹿野高台) has been a red tea base since Japanese times; the Station article and Chinese Wikipedia date the beginning of small plantings to the 1960s — first the Assam bush for red tea, then baozhong (包種茶).
- April 1982. According to the township website, Li Denghui, then chairman of the Taiwan Provincial Government, at the request of tea growers gave the local tea the name “福鹿茶”; after 1988, when he became president, the tea was nicknamed the “president’s tea” (Chinese Wikipedia).
- 1980–1995. Heyday: according to the Station article, the gardens covered 500–600 ha.
- After 1996. Decline: Taiwanese-style tea from China and Southeast Asia came onto the market (Chinese Wikipedia), and the area shrank to about 200 ha (the Station article).
- 2008. Red oolong was launched in Luye. The aim, according to the Station article, was to bring the mid- and low-altitude district out of its difficulties and to find a use for summer and autumn leaf.
- October 2020. A red oolong cooperative was founded: according to the outlet 上下游新聞, at the time of publication it had 38 members with an average age of 33.
- Name: “Red” refers to the orange-red liquor, similar to that of red tea (Chinese Wikipedia). For its honey note the tea is also called “蜜香紅烏龍” — “honey-scented red oolong”.
3. Botanical Description and Raw Material
- Variety: A mandatory variety is not found in the sources consulted. According to Chinese Wikipedia, the raw material is oolong varieties from mid- and low-altitude gardens, above all Daye Wulong (大葉烏龍, dàyè wūlóng); according to the Station article, Hualian and Taidong are the largest area of this variety in Taiwan.
- Varieties of the Fulu district (according to the township website): Qingxin Damao (青心大冇), Qingxin Wulong (青心烏龍), Jinxuan (金萱, 台茶12號), Cuiyu (翠玉, 台茶13號) and a little Foshou (佛手), Wuyi (武夷) and Sijichun (四季春).
- Flexibility of raw material: According to the Station article, the raw material depends little on season, variety and pests, and the garden can be managed without pesticide spraying.
- Harvest: According to Chinese Wikipedia, the leaf is picked in summer and autumn, and machine harvesting is suitable; machine-harvested raw material, according to the Station article, goes into cold and canned drinks. The brand website of Taidong red oolong names picking between 11:00 and 14:00 as the best; picking ranges from “a bud with two leaves” to “a bud with four”.
4. Terroir and Cultivation Features
- Fulu district. According to the township website, it is the largest tea district of Hualian and Taidong: the villages of Yong’an (永安) and Longtian (龍田) of Luye Township and the village of Yongkang (永康) of Yanping Township, more than 400 ha and more than 400 t a year.
- Altitude: About 300 m (Chinese Wikipedia); on average 300–400 m (上下游新聞).
- Topography: To the east lies the Coastal Range with Dulan Mountain (都蘭山), to the west the Central Range (Chinese Wikipedia).
- Climate: According to Chinese Wikipedia, humidity is sufficient and the difference between day and night temperatures is large; the winter harvest comes a month later and the spring harvest a month earlier than in the high mountains. According to the outlet 上下游新聞, Luye has plenty of sun and humidity below 70 %, which suits heavy fermentation. The assessments of humidity differ.
5. Production Technology
According to the Station article, the usual oolong technology is withering (萎凋, wěidiāo), stirring (攪拌, jiǎobàn), fixation (炒菁, chǎoqīng), rolling (揉捻, róuniǎn) and drying (乾燥, gānzào). Red oolong is made more simply, without night work, with the emphasis on withering and stirring and with the highest fermentation among oolongs. Chinese Wikipedia estimates it at 80–90 % and writes that the method borrows the fermentation of red tea but keeps the oolong fixation.
Details from secondary sources:
- Order of operations. The outlet 上下游新聞 quotes a specialist of the branch: the once secret key of the technology lies in the order of rolling and fixation. The source does not disclose it in more detail.
- Formula. The tea blog 荼公子 sums it up in three words: heavy rolling, heavy fermentation, heavy roasting (重揉捻、重發酵、重烘焙).
- Roasting. According to the outlet 上下游新聞, medium-heavy, but lighter than that of Dong Ding Wulong and Tieguanyin; it enhances the honey aroma from the leafhopper bite (著蜒, zhuóyán) and sometimes gives a woody note close to hinoki cypress. The brand website names 20–60 hours of roasting.
- Roasting tolerance. According to the Station article, a light roasted tone is acceptable, a heavy or burnt one is not.
6. Organoleptic Characteristics
- Dry leaf appearance: Hemispherical pellets of a dark red color with a sheen (the Station article).
- Dry leaf aroma: A separate description is not found in the sources consulted.
- Liquor aroma: Ripe fruit (the Station article); a honey aroma with sweetness and a natural floral note (Chinese Wikipedia).
- Taste: Rich, rounded and smooth, lively, sweetish (the Station article).
- Liquor color: Amber orange-red, clear and bright (琥珀橙紅，明亮澄清), according to the Station article.
- Spent leaves (wet leaves): There is no separate description; in a comparison with red-water oolong, the Station article calls the leaf of red oolong amber.
7. Chemical Composition
Physico-chemical data on Luye red oolong are not found in the sources consulted.
8. Brewing
Class practice for a heavily fermented oolong.
- Water temperature: 90–100 °C. According to the tea blog 荼公子, hotter is more aromatic, cooler is sweeter; in summer about 92 °C, in winter 100 °C.
- Tea amount: 5–7 g per 150 ml.
- Teaware: A gaiwan or a clay teapot.
- Process: The first infusion is 40–60 seconds, each subsequent one slightly longer; for hot water the blog 荼公子 advises 30 seconds per infusion. According to the Station article, the tea withstands many infusions.
- Cold brewing: According to the Station article, one of the best materials for cold brew; it gives no proportions.
9. Storage
Class practice. In airtight packaging, in a dry and dark place, away from foreign odors. According to the Station article, in long storage red oolong deteriorates little, and it can be aged as “old tea” (陳年茶).
10. Price and Counterfeits
According to the outlet 上下游新聞, the price of Luye red oolong is from 1200 to 8000 New Taiwan dollars per jin. At the first open auction of red oolong, held in the Luye tea district in June, 30 lots were put up; the best went for 1500 per two liang, that is, 12,000 per jin.
- How to avoid counterfeits:
- Look for the Luye mark and do not confuse it with the county mark of Taidong red oolong, whose zone is eight units of the county.
- The name “紅烏龍” by itself does not point to Luye: according to the Station article, red oolong can be made in any tea district of Taiwan.
11. Interesting Facts
- The Luye plateau is known not only for tea: according to the township website, it is also a paragliding site.
- Spring tea of the Fulu district begins to be picked as early as March and is called “早春茶” or “不知春” — “not knowing spring” (Chinese Wikipedia).
- The Luye Farmers’ Association has its own logo — the mythical beast pixiu (貔貅), which is also called the “heavenly deer” (天鹿).
12. Comparison with Other Taiwanese Teas
- Hongshui Wulong (紅水烏龍): According to the Station article, a different tea: lighter fermentation, an orange-yellow or amber liquor, green leaf with a red edge, a rolled shape; red oolong has an orange-red liquor and dark hemispherical pellets.
- Dong Ding Wulong (凍頂烏龍): Roasted more heavily (according to the outlet 上下游新聞) and hand-picked as “a bud with two leaves” (Chinese Wikipedia).
- Shanlinxi Hong Wulong (杉林溪紅烏龍): A high-mountain red oolong made with the technology born in Luye.
- Taiwanese honey-scented red tea (臺灣蜜香紅茶): A red tea, not an oolong; according to Chinese Wikipedia, it came from Wuhe in Ruisui Township of Hualian County and is also made in the Fulu district.
In Conclusion:
Táidōng Lùyě hóng wūlóng is a low-altitude East Taiwan oolong with the strongest fermentation in its class, hemispherical dark red pellets, an amber-orange liquor and an aroma of ripe fruit and honey. It was born in 2008 as a response to the decline of the Fulu district; its mark of origin is a township mark, and it should not be confused with the Taidong county mark.
Sources
Geographical indication
Full list — on the Sources page