アジア茶産業の現状と課題

宇治とヌワラエリヤを事例に

抄録

Tea is the world’s most consumed drink after water, and thus Asia, where tea drinking has become an inseparable part of the daily lives of Asian people, has become the largest consumer of tea. Asia is not only the largest consumer but also the biggest producer of tea in the world, with China and India being known as the biggest tea growers, as well as being producers of high quality teas. The continuous increase in climate change occurrences will directly affect the tea production quantity as well as altering the quality characteristics of the tea products. Because of the unique climate, soil, topography, cultivars, as well as the practices of the local tea cultivation processes, the tea products which are cultivated in Nuwara Eliya and Uji possess high-quality characteristics in the flavor, aroma and color. Utilizing the Terroir framework, the relationship between the climate, soil, topography, cultivar factors and the local cultivation processes can be further analyzed to understand how these influence the quality characteristic of the tea products. Through the Terroir framework not only a comprehensive climate change adaptation approach can be constructed, but also the available terroir information will help the general public to understand more about their tea preferences in relation to each of the tea growing regions.