Sun Moon Lake
Taiwan's home of black tea — Ruby 18's natural cinnamon-mint over a smooth, honeyed body.
Sun Moon Lake (日月潭), in Yuchi Township, Nantou County, is the home of Taiwanese black tea. In 1925 the Japanese colonial government imported large-leaf Assam tea seed from India and planted it around Puli, Shuili and Yuchi, and in 1936 established a black-tea research station (the forerunner of today's Tea Research and Extension Station Yuchi branch) on the shore of the lake, aiming to build a black-tea export industry to rival the British Empire's. At its peak the region exported thousands of tonnes of black tea.
Production collapsed after WWII and lay dormant for decades until the release of the Ruby 18 (Hong Yu) cultivar in 1999 — a cross of Burmese Assam with native Taiwan wild tea — revived Sun Moon Lake as a premium origin. Today Yuchi's lake-moderated, misty 600-900m terroir produces Taiwan's most distinctive black teas: Ruby 18 with its signature natural cinnamon-and-mint aroma, the rarer Hong Yun (TTES No.21), and classic Taiwan Assam.
Signature teas
- Sun Moon Lake Ruby black tea (Hong Yu)
- Taiwan Assam black tea
Tea types produced
Cultivars grown
- Ruby 18
- Hong Yun
- Taiwan Assam (TTES No.8)
- Qing Xin Gan Zai
Processing focus
Harvest seasons
- Summer (June-August)
- Autumn (September-October)
Flavor signature
Notable producers & areas
- Yuchi Township
- Maolan Mountain
- Antique Assam Tea Farm
Brands carrying Sun Moon Lake tea
Brands in our directory that carry tea types this origin produces. Direct-sourcing brands shown first.