Season, oxidation family, processing steps, shaping, roast level, terroir, leaf lineage, and Japan's rare post-fermented teas — the "elements" that combine to produce every tea on the market. Scroll sideways on small screens. 季節、發酵家族、製作工序、塑形、焙火程度、風土、葉種親緣,加上日本罕見的後發酵茶,組合出市面上所有的茶。
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Suggested citation 建議引用格式: Chen, Y. (2026). Periodic Table of Tea-Making 製茶元素週期表. Formosa Phoenix Tea Farm 鳳凰單叢茶園.
Dark-tea sub-types note: raw (sheng) ages naturally over years; ripe (shou) uses pile fermentation (wo dui) to compress decades of aging into weeks, invented at Kunming Tea Factory in 1973; golden-flower (jin hua, Eurotium cristatum) is a different fungal route used in Hunan's Fu brick tea. 黑茶細分小註:生普靠自然陳化;熟普靠1973年昆明茶廠發明的渥堆技術,把數十年陳化壓縮到幾十天;金花菌則是湖南茯磚茶用的另一條黴菌路線。
Oolong aroma note: this progression tracks oxidation degree, roughly matching Baozhong (10–15%, clear-floral), high-mountain oolong (15–30%, floral), and Oriental Beauty (50–60%, ripe-fruit/honey) — but it's a guide, not a strict rule; cultivar and processing can shift the result. A fifth stage, rich caramel, sits beyond honey: Red Oolong (Taitung) pushes oxidation to oolong's upper limit and adds 20–60 hours of repeated roasting, so Maillard/caramelization notes stack on top of the fruit-honey base — officially still a "roast-fragrance ball oolong," not black tea, even though the liquor looks amber-red like one. 烏龍香氣層次大致對應發酵度:文山包種(10-15%,清香)、高山烏龍(15-30%,花香)、東方美人(50-60%,熟果蜜香),但這是參考方向,品種與工藝仍會影響實際結果。熟果蜜香之後還有第五階段——濃郁糖香:紅烏龍(台東)把發酵度推到烏龍茶的上限,再疊加20-60小時反覆焙火,梅納反應與焦糖化的甜香蓋在果蜜香底韻上,官方分類仍屬「焙香型球形烏龍茶」,不是紅茶,即使茶湯看起來一樣是琥珀橙紅色。
Roasting note: heat drives off residual moisture, triggers the Maillard reaction between sugars and amino acids (the source of caramel/nutty notes), and — per common tea-trade claims — reduces caffeine at high heat (partly sublimation, partly thermal decomposition; this specific mechanism isn't independently verified here). These are sequential/ concurrent chemical changes, not parallel categories, so they're described here rather than turned into grid cells. 焙火會去除殘餘水分、引發糖類與胺基酸的梅納反應(產生焦糖堅果香),業界也常說重焙會降低咖啡因(部分昇華、部分熱分解,這個機制細節未經獨立查證)。這些是有先後順序、同時發生的化學變化,不是並列分類,所以用文字說明呈現,不做成格子。
Roasting method note: infrared radiation isn't unique to any one method — any hot surface radiates it, charcoal included, more so at higher temperatures. What actually distinguishes these three is the heat source: charcoal is direct combustion (adds smoke/charcoal character); electric and far-infrared are both electrically powered, with far-infrared using a specific radiant-panel element rather than a plain resistance coil, claimed to give deeper, more even penetration. 焙火方式小註:紅外線不是任何一種方法獨有的東西——任何發熱體都會輻射紅外線,溫度越高輻射越強,炭焙當然也有。真正的區別在於熱源:炭焙是直接燃燒(帶有炭香/煙燻感);電焙與遠紅外線電焙都是電力驅動,差別在於遠紅外線用的是特定的輻射發熱板,而不是一般電阻線,號稱穿透更深、加熱更均勻。
Phenol-Amino Ratio Quick Reference 酚氨比速查
Phenol-amino ratio = total catechins ÷ total amino acids. Lower ratio → sweeter, mellower; higher ratio → more astringent, more body. 酚氨比 = 兒茶素總量 ÷ 胺基酸總量,比值越低越鮮甜柔和,比值越高越濃厚有澀感。
| Tea 茶類 | Oxidation 發酵度 | Catechin retention 多酚保留率 | Phenol-Amino tendency 酚氨比傾向 | Flavor 風味 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Green 綠茶 | 0% | 100% | Low 低 | Fresh, grassy 鮮爽帶青草 |
| White 白茶 | ~10% | ~90% | Low–Mid 中偏低 | Sweet, delicate 清甜柔和 |
| Baozhong / Light Oolong 包種茶／清香烏龍 | 8–25% | ~75–90% | Mid 中 | Floral, bright 花香清揚 |
| Dongding Oolong 凍頂烏龍 | 25–30% | ~70–75% | Mid–High 中偏高 | Mellow, lingering finish 醇厚回甘 |
| Tieguanyin 鐵觀音 | ~40% | ~60% | High 較高 | Rich, deep throat-feel 濃厚喉韻 |
| Oriental Beauty 東方美人 | 50–60% | ~40–50% | High 較高* | Honeyed, intense 蜜香濃郁 |
| Black 紅茶 | 100% | lowest, converted to theaflavins/thearubigins 最低,轉化為茶黃質/茶紅質 | Highest 最高 | Full-bodied, low bitterness 醇厚少澀 |
* Oriental Beauty is an exception: leafhopper-bitten leaves trigger extra biochemical changes, so its aroma intensity doesn't track the ratio alone. 東方美人是例外,小綠葉蟬叮咬會觸發額外的生化反應,香氣強度不能只用酚氨比解釋。
- Altitude 海拔 — high-mountain gardens (>1000m) lower catechins, raise theanine → lower ratio, mellower cup. 高山茶區降低兒茶素、提高茶胺酸,酚氨比下降,滋味更甘醇。
- Season 季節 — spring tends lower ratio (slow growth, more amino acids); summer tends higher (fast growth, more catechins). 春茶生長慢、胺基酸較高,酚氨比偏低;夏茶生長快、兒茶素較高,酚氨比偏高。
- Cultivar 品種 — e.g. TTES No.12 (Jinxuan) has a higher catechin baseline than Qingxin Oolong in raw material. 例如台茶12號(金萱)的兒茶素本底就比青心烏龍高。
- Terroir 產地 — even the same cultivar can vary catechin content nearly 3× across growing regions. 同一品種光是產地不同,兒茶素含量就能差到近3倍。