Why the Price of Oriental Beauty Has Risen

This year the price of Oriental Beauty has risen sharply.

The honey-like flavor of Oriental Beauty comes only from tea leaves bitten by leafhoppers. This year there was a great deal of rain, so few of these leafhoppers appeared.

Producers made Oriental Beauty this year just as they always do, and the volume is the same. But because there were so few leafhoppers, the tea has a flavor like black tea, and tea with the honey-like flavor is very scarce compared with most years. Producers want to enter what little there is in competitions, so still less reaches the market, and the price has risen.

In addition, the exchange rate is raising the price, with a stronger Taiwan dollar and a weaker yen. One Taiwan dollar was about 3.6 yen in 2020 and is about 4.95 yen this year.