Hsinchu

Hsinchu County in northwestern Taiwan — and specifically Beipu and Emei townships — is the historical home of Oriental Beauty (Dong Fang Mei Ren / Bai Hao Wulong / Pengfeng Cha). The tea is unique in that its young summer leaves are deliberately left to be bitten by the tea jassid (Jacobiasca formosana); the insect's saliva triggers terpenes and the heavy oxidation that follow give Oriental Beauty its signature honey aroma. No insecticide is used — the bug bite is the production input.