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.
