In a commercial context, the use of the term "wild tea" (野生茶 / yěshēng chá / ㄧㄝˇ ㄕㄥ ㄔㄚˊ) is often problematic and inaccurate, being commonly and easily conflated with naturally-grown teas (野放茶 / yěfàng chá / ㄧㄝˇ ㄈㄤˋ ㄔㄚˊ). Wild teas should be rightly described as teas that have been harvested from bushes or trees in their natural habitat that have emerged without human assistance (uncultivated and left untouched). In reality however, most of the commercially available and so called wild teas should instead be labeled as naturally-grown teas, as they are using mostly endemic tea cultivars that are harvested from bushes or trees in an untended but still cultivated environment (garden-type or arboreal tea plantations) without the use of inputs of any sort (fertilizers and pesticides), with the promotion and preservation of the biodiversity in mind.
Wild and naturally-grown tea: land of misnomers
Wild and naturally-grown tea: land of…
Wild and naturally-grown tea: land of misnomers
In a commercial context, the use of the term "wild tea" (野生茶 / yěshēng chá / ㄧㄝˇ ㄕㄥ ㄔㄚˊ) is often problematic and inaccurate, being commonly and easily conflated with naturally-grown teas (野放茶 / yěfàng chá / ㄧㄝˇ ㄈㄤˋ ㄔㄚˊ). Wild teas should be rightly described as teas that have been harvested from bushes or trees in their natural habitat that have emerged without human assistance (uncultivated and left untouched). In reality however, most of the commercially available and so called wild teas should instead be labeled as naturally-grown teas, as they are using mostly endemic tea cultivars that are harvested from bushes or trees in an untended but still cultivated environment (garden-type or arboreal tea plantations) without the use of inputs of any sort (fertilizers and pesticides), with the promotion and preservation of the biodiversity in mind.