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The earthquake that hit central Taiwan on September 21, 1999, destroyed buildings in distant Taipei, but it reserved most of its destruction for hilly Nantou county. Even now, cracked and abandoned buildings are common in Nantou, and so are tilted sidewalks, fissured roads, and collapsed houses.

But this quake had a silver lining. It focused attention on Nantou, a region of rolling foothills that borders the forbidding central mountain range. It is home to two of the island’s top tourist sights: Sun Moon Lake, and the bamboo forest of Hsitou. It has a host of more modest attractions, like hot springs, mountain temples and hilltop pagodas. Most of all, it has the best tea in Taiwan.

Tea was first planted in Nantou 150 years ago, and the moist hills, cool weather and podzolic soil turned out to be perfect for tea growing. The signature Nantou variety, Dongding oolong, is now a famous and expensive tea, the most sought-after leaf in the country. Tourists have always come to Nantou to see the tea fields and visit the curing sheds and tea shops, but this year, for the first time, they came for the tea festival.

If not for the earthquake, there would not be a tea festival in Lugu, a small town in the heart of the Nantou tea-growing area. Prior to the quake, there was no building in Lugu big enough to hold the fair. But after the temblor demolished a city government building and 15 nearby homes, city planners were able to build an exhibition center and launch the annual festival during the spring harvest in April and May, when the first tender shoots are picked.

Lugu is a slow-paced village that offers panoramic views of the surrounding mountains. It has a population of about 20,000, of whom 60 percent are in the tea trade. Visitors can come to Lugu and learn about tea any time of year, but the festival is like taking a crash course.

The first thing any tourist will notice is the aroma of tea, moist and sweet, like springtime. Two dozen species of tea plants are on display, ranging from delicate green teas destined for the refined palates of the Japanese, to the black pekoe favoured by the English. But the Taiwanese reserve most of their enthusiasm for three local teas: Dongding oolong, Lishan oolong, and Oriental Beauty.

The signature tea of Lugu is Dongding oolong, a plant so common that it rings every road and hillside in Lugu. The nearby mountain of Dongding, or Frozen Peak, is often covered in cloud and mist, just the way the tea plants like it. Tea needs a cool climate: if the weather is hot, the leaves grow too fast and become tough and stringy, with a bitter taste. The Dongding oolong is mild, sweet and refreshing, with a welcome hint of caffeine. Tea experts especially love the spring tea for its mildness and fragrance.

The stand that sells Dongfang Mei Ren, or Oriental Beauty tea, is especially popular. According to locals, the name was chosen by Queen Elizabeth, who loved the tea. Oriental Beauty is no ordinary cup of brew - its flavour comes from insects that live and breed in the tea leaves. The bugs deposit their egg sacks in a sticky goo, which is harvested and brewed with the tea leaves. This gives the tea its unusual scented flavour, like an Earl Grey but earthier and more robust. All Oriental Beauty is organically grown, otherwise the insects would die, and the unique tea would be just another warm drink.

I have a question for Mr. Lee, the tea vendor: did Queen Elizabeth know about the bugs? He doesn’t know. My guess is, she had no idea. On the other hand there is a certain humour involved in serving the Queen of England a cup of tea flavoured with bug spit.

Still, the tea-dwelling insects are highly regarded in Taiwan, and even bug-napping is not unheard of. Yes - tea growers have tried to smuggle the bugs out of their native Hsinchu county, but the little insects won’t stand for it. Apparently, they can’t live anywhere else.

Mr. Lee is evangelical about his tea, and is pretty wired besides, presumably hopped-up from a lifelong love affair with the caffeine-laden leaves. At one point he holds up a clear glass of tea. Look at the leaves, he declares: It looks like a dancing beauty in the glass!

Mr. Lee isn’t the only tea aficionado to veer into hyperbole. Tea analogies are apparently a way of life in Nantou county. Dongding oolong is said to be like a newly married woman, fully mature yet tender and delicate. Other teas are like graceful orchids, or flying birds, or good friends, or possessive women who grab hold and won’t let go.

Oriental Beauty is famous and expensive - US$90 for 600 grams - but it is not my favourite tea. As usual, I unerringly choose the most expensive drink: the delicious, mild, and soul-enhancing Lishan oolong.

Lishan oolong has a pedigree longer than a French poodle: no chemical fertilizer is used, it’s picked just twice a year (compared with five for Dongding oolong), and it can be brewed up to 10 times. It is grown on the slopes of Lishan (Pear Mountain), at an altitude above 2,200 metres. It is a risky business, growing tea at that altitude, because a sudden mountain freeze can wipe out an entire crop.

A vendor prepares a pot of Lishan oolong, and pours me a cup of the golden liquid. The Lishan is delicate and refined, and it floods body and soul with well-being. This is a tea that can lift the spirits. Under its spell, even Frozen Peak doesn’t seem so cold any more. As it tingles my palate, the vendor holds forth on its many virtues. Price isn’t one of them: Lishan oolong costs at US$250 or more, for 600 grams.

As good as they are, Lishan oolong and Oriental Beauty are outsiders in Lugu, carpetbaggers from neighbouring counties. The tea that really counts around here is Dongding oolong.

Like all quality teas, the Dongding oolong undergoes lengthy curing, and visitors can observe the process in one of the many curing sheds. The leaves are softened in the sun for two hours, then rolled for 20 minutes. This bruises the leaves and brings the juice to the surface. The juice oxidizes when it makes contact with the mountain air, a process known as fermentation. This lasts three hours, after which the leaves are heated again, to stop the fermentation.

It is this partial fermentation that distinguishes oolong from green tea, which is not fermented, and black tea, which is fully fermented. Timing is everything: if the leaves ferment too long, it becomes black tea, fit only for the English. Too short and it’s green tea, beloved by the Japanese. But this is oolong, partly fermented, the queen of teas and the drink that made Nantou famous.

Next the leaves are packed into bags and rolled vigourously, until they are pressed into hard little kernels. The kernels are dried overnight, and cooked over a charcoal fire for 40 more minutes. This imparts a smoky aftertaste that is one of the tea’s hallmarks. It’s a long and thirsty process, but judging by the nationwide popularity of the local Lugu leaf, it’s worth the trouble.

Nantou county is defined by its tea, but its other famous attractions include Sun Moon Lake and the Hsitou bamboo forest. Sun Moon Lake was originally two lakes – one shaped like a sun and the other like a moon – but it was dammed in 1939, and the two lakes became one.

Like the tea of Nantou, Sun Moon Lake is a subtle pleasure that takes time to enjoy. It is the most beautiful lake in Taiwan, filled with sparkling water and set against a magnificent mountain backdrop. The 720-metre elevation guarantees a cool climate most of the year. The lake is an old-school attraction, once favoured by Chiang Kai-shek and the mainlander generation, that has been re-discovered by the young urbanites of Taipei.

Like other attractions in Nantou, Sun Moon Lake also benefited from the 1999 earthquake. The epicentre of the earthquake was just 10 km from the lake, and as a result many cheap hotels and other ugly old buildings crumbled, and have been replaced by well-designed modern ones.

The Hsitou bamboo groves are just as peaceful, and almost as popular, as Sun Moon Lake. Hsitou is a mountain park that is thickly forested with groves of fir and bamboo, and filled with a network of walking trails. Both Sun Moon Lake and Hsitou are excellent places for a cup of tea.

Nantou county, just two hours by road from Taipei, has recovered from the earthquake, and reclaimed its place as one of the top tourist areas on the island. The earthquake undeniably helped tourism, but nobody around here wants an encore. Nantou will keep the tea, the lake and the bamboo groves: somebody else can have the next earthquake.

Read more travel writing by Brent Hannon