Hong Yu (Tai Cha

Hong Yu — registered as Tai Cha No. 18 (台茶18号) — is a hybrid Taiwanese tea cultivar developed by the Tea Research Extension Station to revive the country's red-tea industry. The cross is between a Burmese Camellia sinensis var. assamica strain (B-729 as mother) and a wild Taiwanese Camellia sinensis (B-607 as father). It produces a clear ruby-red liquor with the cultivar's signature mint and cinnamon notes — a profile not found in mainland Chinese red teas. Concentrated in the Sun Moon Lake area of Yuchi Township, Nantou.