霜降Frost's Descent
金萱
Jīnxuān

Jinxuan

sourced
idjinxuan
jinxuan

TRES cultivar TTES 12, 臺農8號 × 硬枝紅心, named in 1981: vigorous, high-yielding, mid-season, with a natural milk aroma; Taiwan's second cultivar by area.

Botanical
Camellia sinensis
Kind
clonal cultivar
Origin
Taiwan

The plant behind the name#

Plant habit
Spreading shrub habit.
Leaf class
Small-leaf class; broadly elliptic leaves.
Parentage
Tainong No. 8 (seed parent) × Yingzhi Hongxin (pollen parent).
Naming
Named TTES No. 12 in 1981.

Naming is distinct from the earlier cross and selection work.

Also sold or written as 8#

Chinese variants
  • 臺茶12號Táichá 12 HàoTTES No. 12
  • 台茶12号Táichá 12 HàoTTES No. 12
  • 二七仔 / 2027 品系Èr qī zǎi / 2027 Pǐn xìEr Qi Zai / breeding line 2027Strain name (TRES).
Romanisations
  • Jin Xuan
Translations and trade names
  • TTES No. 12
  • Tai Cha 12
  • "2028"Name used by some farmers; TRES DNA tests show these plants are TTES 12.
  • TTES 12

Notes#

TRES found that plants farmers in Yilan (Datong, Dongshan), Pinglin and Zhushan call "2028" are TTES 12. It blames coded labels in the regional trials at Yangmei, Mingjian and Lugu. A 2014 Fujian trial (南安) grew it as 台茶12号; no Mainland variety registration was found.

Teas made from it#

台湾乌龙茶
Taiwan oolong Táiwān wūlóngchá
Grouping for Taiwan's partly oxidised teas, from strip Baozhong (about 8–25% oxidation per TRES) to Oriental Beauty (50–60%), mostly from Qingxin Wulong and Jinxuan.
sourced
高山乌龙茶
Taiwan high-mountain oolong Gāoshān wūlóngchá
Lightly oxidised, ball-rolled oolong from gardens at about 1,000 m or more in Nantou, Chiayi and Taichung; the threshold is a convention.
sourced
阿里山高山茶
Alishan high-mountain oolong Ālǐshān gāoshān chá
High-mountain oolong from Chiayi’s Greater Alishan tea area, including Meishan, Zhuqi, Fanlu and Alishan, mainly made from Qingxin Wulong and Jinxuan.
sourced
文山包种茶
Wenshan Baozhong Wénshān bāozhǒngchá
Lightly oxidised, twisted-strip (not ball) oolong from the Wenshan hills of New Taipei and Taipei, centred on Pinglin; floral and fresh.
sourced
金萱茶
Jin Xuan oolong Jīnxuān chá
Oolong made from Jinxuan, Taiwan’s TTES 12 cultivar. Suitable leaf and careful manufacture can bring out a natural milk-like aroma.
sourced

Sources#

What these sources support

  1. The institutional exhibit dates the naming of TTES No. 12 to 1981.

    Full text · Cultivar exhibit, item 2. · checked 2026-10-19

    Scope and limits: This is a naming date, not the date of the original cross. It does not resolve the different sprouting descriptions in TBRS records.

  1. Government and public institutionsaccessed 2026-10-18

    Archived TRES article listing parentage, aliases, naming years and suitable tea types for TTES 12, 13, 17, 19, 20 and 22.

  2. Government and public institutionsaccessed 2026-10-18

    Explains strains 2027/2028/2029 (application for naming on 民國70年4月10日), parentage table, and DNA tests showing farmers' so-called '2028' is really 臺茶12號. Cites 吳與楊 1982 and 徐與阮 1993.

  3. Government and public institutionsaccessed 2026-10-18

    Short trait descriptions of 青心烏龍, 青心大冇, 臺茶12/13/18/19/20/21, 四季春. Source of the TRES 'milk aroma' (牛奶香味) statement for 金萱 and the 'selected by Muzha farmers' statement for 四季春.

  4. Government and public institutionsaccessed 2026-10-18

    Introduction gives Taiwan's tea area (~1.2萬多公頃, >90% small-leaf) and ranks the main cultivated cultivars.

  5. Academic researchaccessed 2026-10-18

    Abstract only: a trial of 台茶12号 and 茗科1号 in Nan'an, Fujian (南安市丰州镇农业服务中心).

  6. Reference worksaccessed 2026-10-19