STiR coffee and tea magazine

STiR coffee and tea 15 The Tea and Beverage Research Station (TBRS) of the Ministry of Agriculture in Taiwan recently announced the launch of a new tea cultivar, dubbed "Tai Cha #26" or "Feng He". The Tai Cha #26 cultivar is a robust plant with high output volume and straight-standing growth ideal for mechanized harvesting. These traits, along with the cultivar's bold flavor and rich aftertaste, make it the perfect candidate for meeting the increasing demand for tea leaves in Taiwan's booming markets for bottled tea and tea beverages, which have exploded in popularity among younger generations of tea drinkers. TBRS director Su Tsung-Chen noted that while the development of past cultivars emphasized interesting fragrances and unique flavors, newer cultivars are being selected for their higher yields and heartiness. This facilitates mechanized production and makes them better suited to face the looming challenges of labor shortages and climate change. In 2008, TBRS began testing various possible cultivars that could achieve these results. It finally selected strain number 5313 for its potential in making green and black teas, officially designating the cultivar Tai Cha #26 on June 11, 2024. The secondary name Feng He (豐鶴), meaning "bountiful crane", was later selected through public voting based on a list of 10 potential names and announced on August 5. TBRS identified several advantages of Tai Cha #26. Regarding fresh leaf production, Tai Cha #26 plants develop large and dense crowns that generate roughly double the growth output of the popular green tea cultivar Chin Shin Gan Zai. Mechanized harvests in the summer, autumn, and winter of 2023 yielded an average of 3.3 tons per hectare per season. The cultivar's straight growth patterns pair well with mechanized harvesting. A team of two operating a riding harvester can harvest 1 to 1.5 hectares per Taiwan's New High-Yield "Tai Cha 26" Tea Cultivar Tai Cha #26 is the first new cultivar specially geared towards commercialized production, and is expected to drive new development in Taiwan's tea industry. Photo courtesy the Tea and Beverage Research Station day, and a three-person team operating a two-person tea plucker can cover 0.5 hectares per day. This is equivalent to 90 individuals harvest- ing by hand, which addresses rising labor shortages in the Taiwanese tea industry and reduces production costs. The cultivar's leaves also remain fresh and supple long after harvest- ing, and the relatively lengthy picking period offers ideal conditions for making high-quality commercial green and black teas. TBRS believes that Tai Cha #26 is well equipped to meet the needs of various markets, and has developed new processing technologies to create commercial quick-brew green and red teas suited for both hot and cold brewing. TBRS describes the infusions as bold in flavor, with a rich aftertaste that improves the experience offered by the cultivars currently used for green tea production. Analyses of the tea's chemical composition reveal that Tai Cha #26 boasts a high concentration of catechins and caffeine, allowing fewer tea leaves to create an equally strong and satisfying cup of tea while also reducing costs for businesses. By Seth Griffin Tea Report

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