Taiwan’s most heartwarming “Port Tea” from Kenting – Shortens the distance between people in just 10 seconds

Beyond enjoying the two major music festivals, Spring Scream and Spring Wave, Kenting actually offers many more “hidden gems.” This time, ETtoday EBC News Cloud specially headed south before the start of the spring music season to deeply explore Hengchun’s lesser-known attractions and delicious food. We hope everyone will sway along with the music while also exploring the “Kenting secrets” around Spring Wave.

Reported by Lin Yuling / Kenting

How long has it been since you sat around a table with family or friends, sharing a good cup of tea and some casual chat? When you come to Kenting, the southernmost tip of Taiwan, aside from enjoying the beach parties and bikinis at Spring Wave, you should definitely try a pot of tea brimming with warmth. The “Port Tea” here is known as the “tea for insiders” and isn’t available at ordinary tea shops. It can be brewed up to eight times, with the shortest brew time being just 10 to 20 seconds. Once you finish drinking, pour another, and once that’s gone, drink again—fully experience how warmly the locals enjoy their tea, and feel the distance between people shorten a bit.

▲ In Kenting, aside from Spring Scream, you can also experience the fun of picking and brewing Port Tea locally. (Photo / Reporter Yu Ru)

Many assume that tea grows better at higher altitudes, but that’s not necessarily true. “Port Tea” is grown in the southernmost and lowest-altitude tea region in all of Taiwan. It carries a faint sea breeze flavor, making it a very unique and high-quality tea—it’s also one of the “Three Treasures of Hengchun.” Initially called hybrid tea, because the tea-making equipment back then wasn’t very good and ingredients like jasmine were added for flavor. But after years of improvement, the tea-making equipment has now been completely upgraded, so it has been officially renamed Port Tea.

Grown under the sea breeze and bathed in the abundant sunlight of southern Taiwan, “Port Tea” faces very few pests or weeds, so pesticides aren’t needed at all. Over time, it has become an organic tea favored by many tea enthusiasts. Moreover, the tea fields are mostly small, with tea farmers hand-picking the leaves themselves. The yield is low—it’s not exported, let alone sold at ordinary tea shops. Currently, in Manzhou Township, Pingtung County, only about four or five tea farming households grow it, making it truly the “tea for insiders.”

▲ The Port Tea fields are not large, use no pesticides, and all harvesting is done by hand. (Photo / Reporter Lin Yuling)

The “Yixin Tea Garden” in Manzhou Township welcomes visitors to experience the joy of picking, rolling, and brewing tea firsthand. The owner, Yu Xiu-zhu, greets everyone warmly and offers unlimited tastings of freshly brewed Port Tea. She insists on the principles of “only selling to those who genuinely enjoy drinking it” and “no buying too much at once!”—all to prevent this rare and precious tea from going to waste.

After picking a few leaves of Port Tea, you can roll and brew them on the spot. Yu Xiu-zhu’s cousin, Li Zhi, also enthusiastically helps out and even quotes a tea ceremony instructor from YunTech: “Plants are living beings. When rolling the tea, be very gentle, imagine you’re in love with the leaves—the tea brewed this way truly tastes different!” Indeed, the tea aroma carries a faint sea breeze essence, and the taste is smooth and not bitter, refreshing and thirst-quenching. It can also be made into a refreshing cold-brew tea to beat the summer heat.

%Just enjoy the scenery, and you’ll forget about time, while savoring both the food and the tea. (Photo / Reporter Yu Ru)



▲ After just one round of drinking, the owner brews another pot. It only takes 20 seconds. Drink, pour again, and repeat—fully experience the locals’ passionate tea culture. (Photo / Reporter Yu Ru)

Yu Xiu-zhu’s son, Xiao Xiong, even developed his own “Tea-Love Steamed Buns.” He is one of the few filial young people who returned home for work. After nearly a year of research, he created handmade steamed buns in matcha-red bean, pumpkin, and brown sugar flavors. They’re chewy and soft—perfect as tea snacks. Take a bite of bun, sip a pot of fine tea, bask in the sun while gazing at Kenting’s mountains and waves, and feel the down-to-earth lifestyle of the locals—a joy that words can hardly describe.

%Xiao Xiong, Yu Xiu-zhu’s son, independently developed these “Tea-Love Steamed Buns.” (Photo / Reporter Zhong Bo)