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Taiwan Creates a “Napa Valley” of Teas 茶乡台湾

 

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（译注：Napa Valley是美国加州最具代表性的葡萄酒乡）

Taiwan, which has earned an international reputation as a tech design center, is quietly reinventing an ancient industry – tea 以科技设计重镇扬名全球的台湾，正悄悄复苏一项古老的行业：茶

 

The island of just 23 million people supplies the world with semiconductors and produces iPhones, laptops and GPS systems. But tea-loving Taiwanese have also applied their industrious minds to the refinement of the cent­­uries-old drink, blending tradition with newly developed methods of cultivation.

全台虽然人口仅二千三百万，却供应着全球所需的半导体，还是iPhone、笔记本电脑和全球定位系统的生产地。不过，如今爱喝茶的台湾人倒是勤奋地把脑筋动到有数百年历史的茶饮上，使之更精致化，并把传统和新研发的培育法融合在一起。

 

While its overall share of the world’s tea production is small – in 2004, it produced just 21 tons of tea – its quality has few rivals.­

台湾茶在产量上仅占了全球总量的一小部份而已，以二００四年为例，台湾茶产量仅二十一公吨，不过，在质的方面台湾茶却少有敌手。

 

“They take their tea-making seriously,” said Joe Simrany, president of the Tea Association of the U.S.A. “Their oolongs are rated among the best in the world. It’s one of the finest-tasting teas out there.”

「台湾茶业者对制茶相当认真看待，」美国茶业协会主席乔．西兰尼指出，「台湾生产的乌龙茶，质量居全球之冠，也是市面上最好喝的茶种之一。」

 

One reason Taiwan’s tea expertise has not drawn more international attention is because producers here have more than enough business from local tea connoisseurs eager to pay hundreds of dollars for small batches of the local produce.

台湾制茶的专业之所以尚未赢得全球注目的原因之一，是因为茶商光是应付本地品茶家就已经供不应求了，即使一小撮台湾茶就可能要价数百美元，茶客也毫不吝惜。

 

“Every day you get up and drink tea,” said Mark Lee, chairman of Taiwan’s largest tea company, Ten Ren Tea, founded 56 years ago. “At lunch, you drink tea. When friends visit, you drink the best-label tea. And before you sleep, you drink tea.”

「每天起床后，就得喝茶，」天仁茗茶董事长李明星表示，「午餐时，也要喝茶。朋友来拜访时，要喝最高级的茶。睡前，自然也不忘喝茶。」创立于五十六年前的天仁茗茶，是台湾规模最大的茶业者。

 

Lee has spent decades promoting the tea culture in the United States. Family-owned Ten Ren is one of the few Taiwan tea companies selling high-end brew in the United States.

李明星耗费了数十年时间，在美国推动品茶文化。家族企业的天仁茗茶是少数在美国销售高级茶种的台湾茶商。

 

Ten Ren’s growth in the United States reflects the fact that Americans are drinking more tea from Asia. Some believe it has health benefits; others simply like the flavors and more soothing caffeine experience compared to coffee’s jolt. In the past two decades, tea has grown from a $2 billion industry in the United States to about $7 billion today, according to Simrany. Sales of specialty teas, including those from Asia, have jumped from about $250 million a year to more than $1 billion.

天仁在美国市场的成长，其实也反映出一个现象，那就是美国人开始喝更多亚洲所产的茶，有些人是因为相信喝茶有益健康，有些人则只是因为喜欢茶的滋味，而且和刺激性高的咖啡相比，茶虽然也含咖啡因，但相对来说比较没那么刺激。据西兰尼指出，过去二十年来，茶在美国已经从一个二十亿美元的产业成长为约七十亿美元了；至于包括亚洲茶等特种茶的销售，则从每年约二亿五千万美元，跃升为超过十亿美元。

 

 

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industrious [ɪnˋdʌstrɪəs] adj. 勤勉的，勤奋的，勤劳的

brew [bru] n. 酿制饮料; 一次酿制的酒；一次冲泡的茶；一次煮成的咖啡

soothing [ˋsuðɪŋadj. 使人宽心的; 安慰的; 抚慰的

 

 

 

 

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Educating tea drinkers  教育茶客

 

“We emphasize the aroma, the taste,” said Chen Hsuan, deputy director of Taiwan’s Tea Research and Extension Station in Yangmei while sipping high-mountain oolong, the signature Taiwan tea.

「我们强调香气、口味，」杨梅的茶业改良场副场长陈玄边说，一边啜饮着高山乌龙茶这种台湾特产的茶。

 

The government facility, which employs some 60 researchers, contains tasting rooms, labs and small patches of land lined with neat rows of knee-high tea plants. In addition to providing the latest research on tea cultivation, government scientists are continually developing new strains of the crop.

茶业改良场属于政府机构，雇有约六十位左右的研究员，场内有品茶室、实验室和栽种了一排排整齐的及膝茶树的小块土地。政府聘请的科学家除了提供有关培育茶的最新研究结果之外，也持续研发新茶株。

 

More than 16,000 Taiwan family farms grow tea, and the average plot size is no more than 2 1/2acres. Tea farms in other countries typically are at least 10 times larger, Chen said.

陈玄指出，全台共有超过一万六千座家庭式茶园，平均栽种面积低于二点五英亩，而其他国家的茶园面积一般至少会大上十倍。

 

Taiwanese were not always so high-minded about commercial tea production, which dates back hundreds of years to the early Qing Dynasty’s rule over the island. During the 1970s and ’80s, Taiwan transformed itself from an agricultural society to an industrial one.

台湾人对商用制茶并非一直都如此重视。茶在台湾已有数百年历史，最早可以追溯到清朝初期统治台湾的期间。一九七０年代和八０年代期间，台湾则从农业社会转型成工业社会。

 

Despite the shift to a high-tech economy, the government began promoting competitions to boost interest in the local produce and spur farmers to create quality tea. The tea industry, which struggled to compete with cheap teas from countries like Vietnam and Indonesia, invested in costly cultivation processes to grow crops that catered to the newly affluent citizens. Today, the more expensive oolong and paochong teas are picked and processed by hand.

虽然经济形态转向高科技为主，但政府开始推动各项比赛，以提高各界对本土农产品的兴趣，同时也激励农家制造出优质茶。原本必须和来自越南和印度尼西亚等国的低价茶辛苦竞争的台湾制茶业者，开始大成本投资在培育茶的制程上，以便种出能迎合新贵阶级口味的茶。如今，价格较贵的乌龙和包种茶，都是手工采茶，制茶过程也是以人工进行。

 

“There was a tea renaissance,” said Steven Jones, a Californian who relocated to Taipei years ago and is now a tea arts instructor at the LuYu Tea Culture Institute, which offers a certificate in master tea brewing that is honored around the globe.

「台湾出现了茶业复兴，」史帝文．琼斯表示，来自美国加州的他，在多年前移居台湾，如今担任陆羽茶艺中心的茶艺讲师，通过该中心茶艺相关检定考试所取得的泡茶师执照，在世界各地都备受认可。

 

Taiwanese drink tea much like Californians sip wine. They sniff for aroma, slurp for taste and carefully eye the color.

台湾人喝茶的方式，很像加州人喝酒一样，是小口啜饮的。品茶者会先闻闻茶香，然后口中作声地喝到口里尝尝味道，还会仔细观察茶汤的色泽。

 

 

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patch [pætʃ] n. 小块土地

neat [nit] adj. 整洁的；整齐的

plot [plɑt] n. 小块土地

competition [͵kɑmpəˋtɪʃən] n. 比赛，竞赛；赛会

honor [ˋɑnɚ] v. 尊敬，给以荣誉 to accept or pay as valid

sniff [snɪf] v. 嗅，闻

slurp [slɝp] v. 出声地吃（或喝）

 

 

 

 

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An upscale experience 高档的品茶经验

 

Cha Cha The, which fashion designer Shiatzy Chen recently opened, resembles a lounge. Customers show up for pricy afternoon tea meals and buy designer tea ware and other expensively packaged gifts.

服装设计师陈夏姿最近成立的采采食茶文化，空间设计得宛如休息室一样。顾客会上门来体验昂贵的下午茶餐点，也购买一些名牌茶具和其他昂贵的套装礼盒。

 

The invasion of coffeehouse on the island in recent years – led by Starbucks – has stirred worries that Taiwan’s rich tea heritage could be diluted by the gulp-and-go coffee culture. The new cafes offer Wi-Fi, pop music and cakes – the perfect place for students and young professionals to park their laptops.

近年来以星巴克为首的各家咖啡连锁店大举入侵台湾，也引发各界忧心那种大口喝完就上路的咖啡文化，是否对台湾浩瀚的茶传统造成冲击。新型咖啡店往往提供Wi-Fi无线上网，播放着流行音乐，也供应蛋糕──简直是学生和年轻的专业人士摆放笔记本电脑的绝佳去处。

 

It appears unlikely, though, that residents of the densely packed island will fall out of love with tea. Teens line up at colorful tea bars on virtually every corner. Workers use cocktail shakers to make zhen zhu nai-cha – known as pearl milk tea in California – a tea concoction with dollops of tapioca. The ever-expanding menu for adventurous tea fans includes green jelly tea, tea-infused pudding and ice cream drinks. There’s even wheat germ milk tea. They all sell for about $1 each.

不过，在这座人口密集的岛上，居民似乎不太可能会停止他们对茶的热爱，理由无他，放眼望去，几乎每个角落都可以看到青少年在色彩缤纷的茶店外排队等候，店员用调酒器来制作加州人称之为pearl milk tea的珍珠奶茶，亦即混合了树薯粉制成的珍珠的茶饮，而迎合富于冒险精神的茶迷的茶饮种类，更是应有尽有，包括绿茶冻、加了茶的布丁和冰淇淋饮料，甚至还有小麦胚芽奶茶，每杯价格都在一美元左右。

 

Convenience stores  便利商店

 

The ubiquitous 7-Eleven and other convenience stores offer an array of chilled tea drinks, from oolong in a bottle to cartons of sugared green and black teas. Young people drink them on trains heading to and from school every day. Restaurants serve fried tea leave snacks, beef noodle tea dishes and cakes made with tea. There are tea arts shows on television.

无所不在的7-11和其他便利商店则提供了琳琅满目的清凉茶饮，从瓶装乌龙茶，到利乐包的甜绿茶和红茶都有。年轻人每天上下学时喜欢在通勤列车上饮用这些饮料。也有餐厅供应酥炸茶叶点心、牛肉面茶餐，和茶蛋糕等等。电视上也可以看到茶艺节目。

 

On any Sunday, when [locals] hit the streets with friends and families, tea stores are full of young people sitting on stools and sampling teas – with no pressure to buy. “When people come here, they are not like customers. They are friends,” said Sheng-Ru Wang, whose family operates the venerable Wang’s Tea, which processes its own tea in its shop.

一到周日，许多民众都会和亲朋好友上街，只见茶行里挤满了坐在凳子试喝茶的年轻人，而且他们不会感受到被强迫买茶的压力。「民众来店里时，并不像是客户，而是像朋友一样，」王圣茹表示，其家族开设了有记名茶，是在店内自行制茶的知名店家。

 

－by John Boudreau

 

 

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show up 出现, 露面; 揭露; 出席 to put in an appearance; arrive

stir [stɝ] v. 打动;激起，激发(强烈的感情)

fall out of love with 与..不再相爱 to stop being in love with

gulp [gʌlp] v. 狼吞虎咽地吃；大口地饮

virtually [ˋvɝtʃʊəlɪ] adv. 几乎，差不多

concoction [kənˋkɑkʃən] n. 调制; 烹制

tapioca [͵tæpɪˋokə] n. 树薯粉，木薯淀粉

wheat germ 麦芽精；小麦的胚芽

carton [ˋkɑrtn] n. 纸盒

black tea 红茶

stool [stul] n. 凳子；搁脚凳

venerable [ˋvɛnərəb!] adj.（因年代久远或具有重要历史价值）令人仰慕的

 

 

 

 

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expertise [͵ɛkspɚˋtiz] n. 专门知识；专门技术 a high level of knowledge or skill

connoisseur [͵kɑnəˋsɝ] n.（尤指艺术品的）鉴赏家，行家 a person who knows a lot about and enjoys one of the arts, or foods, drink, etc. and can judge quality and skill in that subject

jolt [dʒolt] n. 震惊；令人震惊的事 an unpleasant shock or surprise; an emotional shock

specialty [ˋspɛʃəltɪ] n. 特制品，特产，名产 relating to a product of a distinctive kind or superior quality

signature [ˋsɪgnətʃɚ] adj. 为(某人)所特有的;体现个体特征的 closely associated with or serving to identify something; a distinctive mark, characteristic, or sound indicating identity

strain [stren] n.（动植物的）种，品种 a plant that is only slightly different from other plants of the same type

high-minded [ˋhaɪˋmaɪndɪd] adj. 情操高尚的; 品德崇高的 having elevated feelings or thoughts about something; noble

affluent [ˋæflʊənt] adj. 富裕的 obviously rich

renaissance [ˈrenəsɑns] n. 复活, 复兴, 文艺复兴 a new growth of activity or interest in something, especially art, literature or music

dilute [daɪˋlut] v. 削弱；降低 to reduce the strength of a feeling, action, etc

dollop [ˋdɑləp] n. 块；团；份 a small amount of something soft, especially food

ubiquitous [juˋbɪkwətəs] adj. 到处存在的，普遍存在的 seeming to be everywhere

 

 

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