Black Teas Deep Dive II
Mountain Stream Teas Teaducation Subscription Service
October, 2026
Better know for oolongs, Taiwan also has some of the best tasting and innovative black teas in the world. This month we take a look at some Taiwanese Black teas from all over the island to compare and contrast the huge differences in flavor and styles of perhaps the least appreciated of the Taiwanese tea genres.
What are the teas we will look at this month?
Included this month are:
1. Sun Moon Ruby 18, 400m elevation, 100% Oxidization, hand picked in summer, 2026, Sun Moon Lake, Nantou, Ruby 18
Tasting notes: Spice, mint and red fruit
2. Sun Moon #8 Assamica, 400m elevation, 100% Oxidization, electric roast, hand picked in summer, 2026, Sun Moon Lake, Nantou, #8
Tasting notes: Strong black tea flavor, next level Lipton
3. Summer Luck — 4 Seasons Black Tea, 400m elevation, 100% Oxidization, machine picked in summer, 2026, Mingjian, Nantou, 4 Seasons
Tasting notes: Smooth warm sweet malts
4. 2011 Four Seasons Black, 400m elevation, 100% Oxidization, machine picked in 2011, Mingjian, Nantou, 4 Seasons
Tasting notes: Hint of age, hint of florals, smooth malts
5. Honey Black Oolong, 300m elevation, 90% Oxidization, hand picked in spring, 2026, Luye, Taidong, #22
Tasting notes: dark cherries, honey, smooth malts
BONUS: 2000s Alishan Black Tea — From the ‘Storage Wars’ series of teas this one we only had in very small amounts, just enough to for the subscription boxes. It is a very rare aged tea and, well, is a little strange…
Tea Breeding In Taiwan
The Taiwan Tea Research and Extension Stations (TRES) dotted around Taiwan’s tea growing regions have had some amazing tea breeding successes. Through years experimentation and skillful propagation many new tea cultivars have been created for the Taiwanese market, and in this month’s box we will look at two of the cultivars that they use: #18 and #8.
Ruby 18, officially released in 1999 after over 50 years of development, is a hybrid of native Taiwanese wild mountain tea (formosensis) and Burmese Assam tea (assamica) that has a flavor profile like no other! While not the exact cultivar that was bred to make Ruby 18, #8 Assamica is very similar to it and driving them together is a great opportunity to both taste and ‘feel’ the difference in breeding and cultivars for these similar but very different teas!
Should We Age Black teas?
Yes, but not too long! The sweet spot for aging Taiwanese Black Teas is the 2-7 year time frame. Fresh Black Teas can be a little ‘wet’ and catchy in the throat but after a year of decent aging they come into their own, or ‘turn’ as we say in Chinese. From 2-7 years they just get better and better but at around 10-15 years they tend to hit a wall for pleasantness. The 2000s Alishan Black has hit that wall while the 2011 Four Seasons seems to have jumped over it. Or at least we think so!
How to Brew Taiwanese Black Teas
95c(205f) water and short steeps(10-15 seconds) are best for most Taiwanese black teas as the assamica style teas can get very, very strong if brewed too hard. The other cultivars on the other hand, do very well in a western brew, and are much softer and smoother when brewed strongly. Unlike most Taiwanese oolongs, you really do have to pay attention to the brewing instructions with these teas!
Teas To Compare and Contrast
1. Summer Luck and the 2011 Four Seasons — Basically the exact same tea just 15 years apart!
2. #8 and #18 — How cultivar makes a big difference.
3. Honey Black Oolong and the rest — Although right on the edge of a black tea and oolong, Honey Black Oolong lives up to its name. The particular floral flavors are only available with partial oxidization! Compare this tea to the rest of the teas to taste the difference.
4.Bonus Alishan and 2011 — Aged black teas are a gamble after 10 years. How do you think these two did?
The Mystery Tea
Can you tell the difference between the #8 and #18 cultivars? This one isn’t that hard to guess, but drinking these two teas side by side is extremely useful in understanding cultivar, breeding and terroir!
The November Box
The November box will be filled with the wonderful treasures we find at the 2026 International Tea Expo in Nano that we will be visiting this month, like we happily do every year.
Black Tea Again?
This month’s topic was flexible and the plan was to travel to an area of Taiwan to do a mountain study. Unfortunately a sickness got in the way and we had to change the topic, and forgot that last March was already a Black Tea Deep Dive. Sorry about that. We promise not to do a black tea box for at least another year!
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