High-Mountain Tea in Alishan: Envisioning a Cultural Economy for a Sustainable Future

Written by Hong Jiang. Taiwan’s renowned Alishan high-mountain tea sector faces critical environmental and market challenges after nearly five decades of growth. This article explores how local farmers are actively cultivating a sustainable future. By embracing nature-based farming, prioritizing quality over quantity, and integrating tea art with tourism, these producers are building a vibrant “cultural economy” of nature, culture, and care to safeguard their livelihoods and heritage.

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The Lure of Jinxuan (金萱):  Following a Tea Cultivar Bred in Taiwan Across Places, Names, and Tastes

Written by Junhong Ma. This article follows the journey of Jinxuan, Taiwan’s celebrated tea cultivar, tracing how it acquires new names, meanings, and sensory identities across Taiwan and beyond. Combining ethnographic fieldwork with historical inquiry, it shows how cultivars circulate through agricultural science, markets, translation, and taste, revealing tea as a living assemblage shaped by plants, people, technologies, and transnational cultural exchanges.

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The Politics of Taiwanese Tea Terroirs

Written by Pauline Harlay. Drawing on ethnographic research in Taiwan’s tea industry, this article examines how the concept of terroir (風土) has been reinterpreted as both a commercial strategy and a political project. It argues that defining the distinctive tastes of Taiwanese tea is not merely about marketing quality or origin, but also about asserting national identity, territorial distinctiveness, and economic resilience amid intensifying cross-Strait geopolitical tensions.

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Taiwanese Tea Art Beyond the Lens of Tradition

Written by Thiago Braga. This article explores Taiwanese Tea Art, challenging its view as a static or “invented” tradition. Instead, the author frames it as a dynamic, evolving practice deeply intertwined with Taiwan’s modern history, from geopolitical shifts and economic miracles to democratisation and identity reclamation. Tea art serves as a sensory canvas reflecting Taiwan’s ongoing sociocultural and political transformations.

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Taiwan Tea

Written by Chen Chih-hao. This article traces the historical evolution of Taiwan tea from its introduction by migrants from Fujian and Guangdong to its emergence as a globally recognised cultural product. It argues that Taiwan tea was shaped not only by environmental adaptation and technological innovation but also by interethnic collaboration, shifting global markets, and changing domestic consumption, revealing tea as a material expression of Taiwan’s social resilience and cultural identity.

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From Poppies to Tea Gardens: How Taiwan’s Tea Took Root on Thailand’s Northern Borderland

Written by Po-Yi Hung. Taiwan’s tea is often associated with its mountain landscapes, but its influence extends far beyond the island. This article traces how Taiwanese tea varieties, cultivation techniques, and agricultural expertise transformed the former opium-growing borderlands of northern Thailand. It reveals tea as more than an agricultural commodity, as a vehicle of diplomacy, territorial governance, and cross-border mobility that quietly reshaped the Golden Triangle.

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