What is terroir in tea?

Terroir is the environmental and human signature of a place where tea grows: soil, altitude, climate, sun exposure, cultivar choice, and the people who tend the leaves. All of these shape the leaf's chemistry before processing. Two teas from the same cultivar but different terroirs taste different.

Why does region matter for tea?

Region carries cultivar, climate, soil and tradition. A Mengku sheng puer tastes different from a Yiwu sheng puer because the trees grew in different soils, at different altitudes, with different microclimates, picked and processed by different hands. Region is shorthand for all of that.

How does altitude affect tea?

Higher altitude means cooler temperatures, slower growth, denser leaves with more complex aromatic compounds. High-mountain oolongs from Ali Shan or Lishan in Taiwan are often more floral and slow-developing than lower-altitude teas of the same cultivar.

Where does specialty tea grow?

The major tea-producing countries are China, Japan, Taiwan, Korea, India, Sri Lanka, Kenya, Vietnam, and Nepal. TEAKI covers all of these with editorial regional profiles plus a country-by-country lens you can switch into.

What are the most important tea-growing regions to know?

For Chinese tea: Yunnan (puer), Wuyi (yancha), Fujian (white, oolong, black), Anhui (green, dark), Zhejiang (Longjing). For Japan: Uji, Shizuoka, Kagoshima. For Taiwan: Ali Shan, Lishan, Dong Ding, Wenshan. For India: Darjeeling, Assam, Nilgiri. For Sri Lanka: Nuwara Eliya, Uva. For Korean tea: Boseong, Hadong, Jeju Island. For Kenyan tea: Kericho, Nandi Hills, Mount Kenya. Each shapes the leaf differently.

How does climate affect tea?

Rainfall, sun exposure, humidity and seasonal temperature swings all shape the leaf. Tropical regions like Yunnan grow large-leaf varieties (Camellia sinensis var. assamica) suited to heat and rainfall. Cooler subtropical regions like Wuyi or Uji grow small-leaf varieties (Camellia sinensis var. sinensis) suited to cool foggy mountains. Climate constrains which cultivars work and how the leaf develops.

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Where tea grows

Soil, elevation, climate, cultivar and craft all make the leaves in your cup. We map the world's tea regions through two lenses: region and character.