Taiwanese tea
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Taiwanese tea includes four main types:
Oolongs grown in Taiwan account for about 20% of world production.[2]
History
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According to
In 1855, Lin Fengchi (
After the
In 1867, Dodd started a tea company in Wanhua, Taipei, and started to sell Taiwanese oolong tea to the world under the name "Formosa Oolong". Aware of British plans to develop a tea industry in
After acquiring Taiwan the Japanese set out to turn their new colonial possession into “another
China was subject to trade
The government-supported Tea Research and Extension Station (TRES), established to promote Taiwanese tea in 1903, conducts research and experimentation.[9]
Production and cultivars
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The major tea growing areas in Taiwan are:
- Northern Taiwan: Includes Hsindian, Pinglin, Muzha, Shenkeng, Shidian, Sanhsia, Nangang, and Yilan.
- Mid-central Area: Includes Miaoli and Hsinchu.
- Eastern Taiwan: Includes Taitung and Hualien.
- South-central Taiwan: Includes Nantou, Pingtung, Chiayi, Taichung, and Yunlin.
- High Mountain Regions: Includes Alishan, Yu Shan, Hsueh Shan, and Taitung mountain ranges.
The major tea cultivars and varietals in Taiwan are:
- Qingxin 青心 (also known as high mountain, ruanzhi) – This is the most common cultivar (about 60%) in Taiwan and derives from the tea brought over by Fujianese settlers in the 1700s and 1800s. It is mainly made into oolongs.
- Jinxuan 金萱 (also known as #12, #27, "milk oolong") – A new cultivar developed by TRES through selective breeding. It is easier to grow and yields more tea per acre, but it is not well suited to high mountain cultivation. It is mainly made into oolongs.
- Sijicun 四季春 (4 season) – A varietal developed through crossbreeding by farmers in the Taipei area. It is cheaper to produce due to high year-round yields.
- Cuiyi 翠玉 (also known as #13, Jade oolong)
- Hongyu 紅玉 (also known as Red ruby, #18, Sun Moon Lake) – This variety is mainly processed into Sun Moon Lake black tea.
- Taiwanese Indigenous Mountain Tea 台灣原山茶 (also known as formosensis, mountain tea, shancha) – This is an indigenous wild varietal from Taiwan. It is made into oolongs, white teas and black teas.
- Ganzai 柑仔 – Mainly used to make Green tea like biluochun and longjing.
- Tieguanyin (正欉)鐵觀音 – Derives from tea brought to Taiwan from Southern Fujian settlers.
Oolong teas
Taiwan's climate, along with the development of tea technology, has contributed to the production of high-quality teas.
Taiwan is particularly known for its
Oolong is harvested five times per year in Taiwan, between April and December.[8] The July and August crops generally receive the highest grades.[8]
High Mountain (Gaoshan) oolongs
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Gaoshan, is a tea generally grown at altitudes of 1,000 meters or above. These oolongs may be processed with low oxidation and low roast (Qingxiang oolong), low oxidation and medium roast (Beixiang oolong) or heavy roast (Shouxiang oolong). High mountain oolongs are currently the most popular oolongs in Taiwan.
The most commonly named mountain regions which produce high mountain oolongs are: Alishan 阿里山, Lishan 梨山, Huagang 華崗, Dayuling 大禹嶺, Fushoushan 福壽山, Hehuanshan 合歡山, Yushan 玉山, Qilaishan 奇萊山, Shanlinxi 杉林溪.
- Alishan (阿里山)
This is the most widely known general name for lightly oxidized oolong tea, much of it picked in winter and therefore termed “winter tea”. Among the oolongs grown on Ali Mountain, tea merchants tend to stress the special qualities of the gold lily (Chinese: 金萱; pinyin: Jin Xuan; Wade–Giles: Chin-Hsuan) tea variety, which is the name of a cultivar developed in Taiwan in the 1980s. The oolong tea made with this cultivar has a particular milky flavor. However, in some regions, such as where Alishan zhulu tea is grown, the most prized are the ones made with the Qing Xin cultivar. Tea made with this cultivar has a floral and ripe-fruity aroma.
- Lishan (梨山)
Grown at altitudes above 2,200 meters, was the costliest Taiwanese tea during the 2000s, sometimes commanding prices of over $200 USD per 600 grams.[12]
- Dayuling (大禹嶺)
Grown at altitudes above 2,500 meters. Due to the limited production of this tea, the price per 500 grams is usually around $200 to $500 USD. Because of its popularity, there are unscrupulous businessmen selling fake/unqualified tea using Dayuling's brand name.
Dongding
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This tea, grown on Dongding (凍頂, Icy Peak) mountain in Nantou County, was brought to Taiwan during the 19th century from the mainland's Wuyi Mountains.[13] Its special qualities have been attributed to an almost continuous fog.[13] Teas harvested in the spring are entered in a competition and the winners go for premium prices, fetching US$2,000 for a 600-gram package during the 1990s.[13] Dongding oolong undergoes less oxidization than most oolongs.[2] A 40-minute roasting over charcoal contributes to its flavor, which also has "nutty, caramel, and chestnut" elements.[12][14]
Tongding Oolong tea is a semi-oxidized tea with a hemispherical shape, created through a baking process. The tea leaves are rolled into round balls through multiple kneading and undergo post-oxidization, resulting in a more pronounced flavor profile for Oolong tea.
Aged dongding tea is also a popular form of this tea.
Milk oolong
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/05/Jin_Xuan_oolong_tea.jpg/220px-Jin_Xuan_oolong_tea.jpg)
Oolongs made from the Jinxuan cultivar are generically called milk oolongs or just Jinxuan oolongs (金萱; pinyin: jīn xuān; lit. 'Golden Daylily'). They so called because they have a smooth and slight milky in taste and texture, with fruit, floral or cream notes.
Some sellers might claim the teas were steamed or steeped in milk, but the milky aroma of this tea is natural. However, some producers might artificially add milky scents or flavorings to enhance the milk flavor of the tea, though this is generally frowned upon by enthusiasts.
Pouchong (or Baozhong)
Pouchong oolong, also called light oolong, is a lightly oxidized tea, twist shape, with floral notes, and usually not roasted, somewhere between green tea and what is usually considered oolong tea, though often classified with the latter due to its lack of the sharper green tea flavours. Pouchong refers to its paper wrapping.[15]
Bug bitten oolongs
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White tip oolong is very fruity in taste and got the name "
Another bug bitten oolong is Guifei (honey concubine, honey oolong). This oolong is usually more heavily roasted than oriental beauty.
Iron Goddess (Tie Guanyin)
This variety originated on the mainland, and is associated with a legend in which a tea grower found a unique tea plant near an iron statue of
Taiwanese Muzha Tieguanyin (木柵鐵觀音) is processed in the traditional method. This means it is roasted longer than the lighter and greener Tieguanyin from Anxi province (which is more popular in the mainland). As such, Taiwanese Tieguanyin has a stronger taste and a roast nutty character with a reddish brown liquid.
Red oolong
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Red oolong (紅烏龍) or Gui Fei Oolong is a new style which is rolled and crushed before fixing, making it much more heavily oxidized. It is tightly rolled into balls. It procudes a light reddish liquor when brewed.
Scented oolongs
Taiwan also produces scented teas, including osmanthus oolong scented with osmanthus flowers. The tea is also packaged with some flowers added after the scenting process. This tea is roasted, with floral and warming notes.
Jasmine scented oolongs are also made in Taiwan, along with Orange blossom oolong and Pomelo blossom oolong.
Black tea
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Black Jade Taiwan Tea
Sun Moon Lake Black Tea
Grown in the Sun Moon Lake region of Nantou County, this tea is famous for its unique flavor character, which reveals hints of cinnamon and mint. Although it is a relatively new representative of Taiwanese tea, it has quickly gained popularity. [18]
Green tea
Taiwanese Green tea, in styles such as Dragon Well (Longjing tea) and Green Snail Spring (Biluochun), are grown in Sanxia District, New Taipei City.
White tea
White teas are produced in Taiwan, though in lesser quantities than others. They include: Hongyu white tea, Wuyi white tea, and Taiwan indigenous white tea (made from the indigenous mountain tea cultivar).
Bubble tea
Bubble tea originated in Taiwan during the 1980s and is now popular worldwide.[19]
See also
- Taiwanese tea culture
- Tea Research and Extension Station Taiwan TRES
- Fo Shou tea
- Heike Matthiesen: „Taiwanesischer Tee. Teesorten, ihre Anbaugebiete sowie die jüngere Entwicklung des Teemarktes.“ Berlin 2005, 1. Auflage August 2020, grin.com: ISBN 978-3-346-21602-1(Buch).
References
- ISBN 978-0-8047-2272-8
- ^ a b "Agriculture - sectors". Government of Taiwan. Retrieved 2011-03-19.
- ^ "The Art of Tea". Retrieved March 17, 2011.
- ISBN 978-1-59420-138-7. Retrieved 16 March 2011.
- ^ a b Marcus Bourne Huish (1903). Fifty years of new Japan (Kiakoku gojūnen shi). Smith, Elder, & Co. p. 542. Retrieved 16 March 2011.
- ^ Cheung, Han. "Taiwan in Time: Taiwan's Darjeeling". taipeitimes.com. Taipei Times. Retrieved 23 June 2022.
- ^ ISBN 978-1-59420-138-7. Retrieved 16 March 2011.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-312-14099-1. Retrieved 16 March 2011.
- ^ "Tea Research and Extension Station". Tea Research and Extension Station. Archived from the original on 2012-07-20. Retrieved 2011-03-17.
- ISBN 978-0-684-81870-2. Retrieved 16 March 2011.
- ISBN 978-0-7611-4597-4. Retrieved 19 March 2011.
- ^ ISBN 978-1-4262-0145-5. Retrieved 16 March 2011.
- ^ a b c "Lost in the Fog:Touring Tungting Oolong Country". Academia Sinica. Retrieved 2011-03-18.
- ISBN 978-1-58008-804-6. Retrieved 18 March 2011.
- ISBN 978-0-8351-2194-1. Retrieved 17 March 2011.
- ISBN 978-0-8048-3724-8. Retrieved 17 March 2011.
- ^ a b "Morphological Comparisons of Taiwan Native Wild Tea Plant (Camellia sinensis (L.) O. Kuntze forma formosensis Kitamura) and Two Closely Related Taxa Using Numerical Methods" (PDF). Taiwania, 52(1): 70-83, 2007. Retrieved 2011-03-18.
- ^ "Taiwanese Tea: In-Depth Exploration". Tea Jewel. 2023-11-15. Retrieved 2023-11-26.
- ISBN 978-0-252-07673-2. Retrieved 18 March 2011.
18. ^ Heike Matthiesen: „Taiwanesischer Tee. Teesorten, ihre Anbaugebiete sowie die jüngere Entwicklung des Teemarktes.“ Berlin 2005, 1. Auflage August 2020, grin.com:
External links
- 台北市茶商業同業公會
- 預見,行銷全球的未來!- 以Formosa 之名行銷農產品於世界,農訓雜誌,2006,23(7): 22-25
- Taiwanese Oolong Tea
- Han Cheung (12 June 2022). "Taiwan in Time: Taiwan's Darjeeling". Taipei Times. Retrieved 12 June 2022.