Chien Shun-yih looks out over his withering tea fields in Taiwan's picturesque southern Meishan township and lets out a sigh.
Tea harvesting staff collect tea leaves on a plantation in Jiayi, Taiwan, May 7, 2021. Staff are paid based on the weight of the tea they collect, however, the drought has caused a decrease in growth which affects the amount of money they can earn per harvest.Taiwan's tea output does not come close to matching China or India's, but what it lacks in quantity it makes up for in quality, especially the high mountain premium Oolong variety that Meishan specializes in.
Lin Shiou-ruei, a government researcher helping Meishan's farmers, said another problem the extreme weather brings is pests that attack the young tea buds. Her boss, senior agronomist Tsai Hsien-tsung, said they began monitoring weather changes in the tea country four years ago and have already seen the crop's flavor alter with the seasons.
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