Mountain Stream Teas wrote: ↑Fri Apr 16, 2021 8:53 amEast coast, both above and below 1000m, are doing fine, if a little dry. Higher elevations are doing ok, maybe on the dry edge of normal. The cold snap we have had the last couple days mixed with some rain might mean an amazing tasting, slightly below average yield, 2021 harvest. None of my friends in the high mountains(1000m+) have mentioned the drought and I have been in touch with every region so far except the south west, but that area has been in drought for 2+ years so me phoning usually just adds stress.
There absolutely are some farmers suffering but they are in the lower, dryer plains areas of Taoyuan/Miaoli and some areas of Nantou. No one I source from has stopped harvesting or been strongly impacted.
Drought in Taiwan is very strange. It can build slowly and seriously for a long time, but one big rain 'fixes' it for a couple months. Not to say it can't get very, very bad in some areas of the west side of the island, but the relief usually comes before long. That being said, we haven't had a large typhoon hit the island for 4 years and that has never happened in recorded history. If one of those big rain events doesn't hit us soon there will be some population centers, and farms, that will be hard hit.
I will be doing a grand tour of the mountains in the next couple weeks. Off to Lalashan tomorrow to help with the harvest. Will most likely head to Alishan after a day or two as things are getting started seriously there this week as well. Shanlinxi in early May. Then the high stuff starts. I will post if the weather conditions become more serious/widespread.
Interesting, thanks for sharing! Looks like a lot of the island might get lucky with some rain next weekend; here in Tainan it's been bone dry for months now it seems. Typical for the winter but by mid April there's usually a bit of something during or after Qingming. Looking forward to the harvest and happy to pay a little more for a smaller yield if it comes to that