Alishan in January: fog, pickers, cold hands
The middle of the season, described without the sunrise.
The work
Picking starts at first light and stops when the fog gets too thick to see the branch. Pay is by weight, so a foggy afternoon is unpaid.
The pickers are mostly local and mostly women over fifty; the same crew moves farm to farm as the season descends the mountain.
Nobody photographs January. It is the month the coffee is actually made.
The cold
At 1,400 metres in January the mornings are 6°C and wet. Cherries picked cold hold up better; hands do not.
If you visit, bring gloves you can work in and do not offer to help with a camera in your hand.
Disclosure: this article contains no affiliate links. Prices and dates checked in October 2026. Our methodology.