Ethena

Bug-bitten oolong? The secret behind Taiwan’s rare honey-flavored tea — and where to enjoy it
Ethena

As the leaves rustle atop the hills in Nantou, Taiwan’s largest tea-producing area, the farm suddenly comes alive, millions of tiny green bugs hopping into the air.

While many farmers might frown at the sight of these pests munching on their crops, Lee Ming-cheng, a third-generation tea farmer and maker, can’t hide the broad smile on his sun-kissed face.

This “green insect fog,” as locals call it, is a sign they’ll have a good harvest of Gui Fei Oolong (also known as Honey Flavor Dong Ding Oolong or Concubine Oolong), a special tea that’s prized for offering a hint of honey flavor.

And it’s these endemic insects, called Jacobiasca formosana, or tea jassids, that are to thank for it.

When the jassids feed, the leaves go into defensive mode and produce a sweetened hormone that tastes and smells like honey, creating one of the world’s most intriguing teas: mixiang cha, or honey-fragrance tea.

The bug-bitten leaves are oxidized and roasted to create a variety of beverages. There’s mixiang black tea (made with fully oxidized leaves) and oolong teas like Oriental Beauty (partially oxidized and not roasted) and the previously mentioned Concubine Tea (partially oxidized and roasted), to name a few.

Unlike Taiwan’s ubiquitous bubble tea, mixiang tea is still highly limited and largely off-the-radar. But what was once a hidden gem among serious tea lovers is now starting to gain international attention.