高山茶
Term · Terroir
high-mountain tea
Literal meaning
high + mountain + tea
Definition#
In Taiwan, tea (above all lightly oxidized, ball-rolled oolong) from gardens at 1,000 m or more, the threshold used in the Tea and Beverage Research Station's (TRES) 2024 teaching material; main areas are Fuxing (Taoyuan), Jianshi and Wufeng (Hsinchu), Heping/Lishan (Taichung), Nantou, Yunlin and Chiayi (Alishan). TRES files it under its flavour-wheel class 清香型球形烏龍茶. It is an elevation class contrasted with lowland tea (平地茶), not a single origin.
Translation and usage#
| Language | Use | Alternatives & cautions |
|---|---|---|
| English | high-mountain tea Taiwan oolong from gardens at 1,000 m or higher translation |
Also acceptable
Avoid high-mountain (for any hill tea) in Taiwanese usage the class starts at 1,000 m |
| Deutsch | Gaoshan-Oolong taiwanischer Oolong aus Gärten ab 1.000 m pinyin with a gloss |
Also acceptable
|
| Русский | высокогорный чай тайваньский улун с плантаций выше 1000 м translation |
Also acceptable
|
| 简体字 | 高山茶 | |
| 繁體字 | 高山茶 | Regional usage
|
| 日本語 | 高山茶 |
Common confusions#
- The 1,000 m threshold is a Taiwanese convention (TRES); the name itself says nothing about which mountain or cultivar.
- Not a protected origin: Lishan (梨山茶) has its own origin label, whose area since 1 July 2016 excludes Dayuling (大禹嶺), although trade still calls Dayuling tea Lishan.