Related Tea: Muzha Tieguanyin (木栅铁观音)
Muzha is one of the most convenient tea tourism day trips I have come across. Located just outside of the city of Taipei, it is easily reachable by MRT, by first going to the Taipei Zoo station, then transferring to a very scenic and inexpensive 4km gondola ride to the top of the mountains at Maokong Station (猫空战). From the center of the city, the trip can be done in less than an hour.
The gondola up the mountain
A view of Taipei city from the gondola with Taipei 101 poking above the surrounding hills
Maokong Station at the top of the gondola route
A map of the walking paths near Maokong Station
The route to the left when exiting Maokong Station. The arrow to the Tea Promotion Center (茶推广中心) caught my attention.
The entrance to the Tea Promotion Center
A highlight of the trip – drinking tea and conversation with local Tea Master Chen (陈茶师)
I believe it is only a matter of time that Tea Tourism follows in the footsteps of Wine Tourism. Tea Master Chen shared with me his plans to build a small boutique hotel in the surrounding mountains where guests would be able to partake in the entire process of picking, manufacturing and then drinking tea themselves. He is thinking of charging $150 / night. The project is not yet complete, but contact him directly below to inquire about the current status of his project.
Of course, I had to purchase some of Tea Master Chen’s Spring Tieguanyin (春天铁观音). Tea with a memory/narrative also seems to taste better.
One of the many tea houses dotting the mountain trail
One of Tea Master Chen’s demonstration tea fields just up the hill from the Maokong Station.
One last view of Taipei before heading back down to the city. Supposedly, the city lights are amazing to experience at night.
