Da Yu Ling
Da Yu Ling is the highest-grown of Taiwan's gao shan (high mountain) oolongs, from gardens above roughly 2,200 m on the high cross-island ridge near the Taichung and Yilan border. At that altitude growth is slow, days are short and nights are cold, and the result is a famously thick, sweet, intensely floral oolong with a long honeyed finish; elevation is the whole story here, and it is priced like it.
Tightly rolled, dense jade-green balls that open into large, intact, supple leaves with visible stems. The cup should be thick and silky with a pronounced high-mountain sweetness, layered florals and a cooling, long finish (the gao shan qi enthusiasts chase). Thinness, grassiness or a quick finish suggests lower-elevation leaf sold under the name. Because demand far exceeds the tiny genuine supply, source traceability matters more here than with almost any other Taiwan oolong.
Da yu ling refers to a small, very high cluster of gardens on the ridge near the Taichung and Yilan border, with named roadside plots (such as the well-known 88K and 95K highway markers) prized by collectors. Some of the highest original plantations were cleared under government reforestation policy in the 2010s, tightening an already small supply. The cultivar is overwhelmingly Qingxin, the same as most prestige Taiwan high-mountain oolong; here it is altitude, not cultivar, that sets the tea apart.
Gongfu: 6-7 g per 100 ml in a porcelain gaiwan, 90-95°C, first steep 40-60 seconds, ascending; the dense balls open slowly and reward patience, giving 6-8 infusions. Western: 3 g per 200 ml, 90-95°C, 2.5-3 minutes. Keep the water just off the boil to protect the high florals.
Genuine da yu ling starts around €60-120 (about $65-130) per 100 g and climbs steeply, with traceable top-plot competition lots well above €150 (about $162) per 100 g. Cheap tea labeled da yu ling is almost always lower-elevation leaf.
Prices reviewed June 2026
Li Shan
The other ultra-high Taiwan oolong and da yu ling's closest peer in altitude and prestige; the two sit together at the summit of the gao shan hierarchy.
Ali Shan
A more accessible, slightly lower high-mountain zone, creamier and softer where da yu ling is more intense and structured.
Gao Shan (High Mountain, General)
The general high-mountain category that da yu ling sits at the very top of; useful for understanding how elevation drives both character and price within Taiwan oolong.
Da yu ling's scarcity is partly policy-made: reforestation programs reclaimed some of the highest tea land on the ridge in the 2010s, so part of what you pay for is a genuinely shrinking supply of the very highest-altitude plots, not merely marketing.