TeaHQ

Bi Yu

A Taiwanese numbered release from the group that came after Jin Xuan and Cui Yu, and one of several attempts to repeat what those two achieved: a cultivar with a distinctive aroma of its own, high enough yielding to be worth planting, and easy enough to grow to survive contact with an actual smallholding. Very few releases manage all three, which is why Taiwan’s planted area is still dominated by a plant selected long before any of them.

碧玉Camellia sinensis var. sinensisTRES No. 19TaiwanAlso called TRES No. 19Also called Taicha No. 19Also called Jade

Where it sits in the botany

Bi Yu is recorded under Camellia sinensis var. sinensis, the variety group one level above cultivar. It is associated with Taiwan, which is where it was selected or is most widely planted rather than the only place it grows.

Registration code: TRES No. 19. A breeding or registration code identifies the selection in an institutional register and is often the name a grower uses when the trade name is not.

Also transliterated as: bi yu, biyu.

Where it came from

Released within Taiwan’s numbered Taicha series for oolong production.

How firm this is: Inferred rather than taken from a primary breeding or registration record. The designation is genuine; the release year and parentage were not verified against a primary source.

What the plant is like

Planted in small quantity relative to Qing Xin and Jin Xuan. The gap between what a research station releases and what growers adopt is the recurring story of the Taiwanese series.

What it is usually made into

The categories this cultivar is typically processed into. It is a statement about common practice, not a limit — processing decides the category, and a cultivar can be taken down more than one route.

  • Oolong — Partially oxidised teas, bruised deliberately and often roasted — the widest-ranging category in tea.

Other cultivars in Camellia sinensis var. sinensis

Sources

  • TeaHQ editorial synthesis — TeaHQ

This page is TeaHQ’s own synthesis throughout. No breeding register or institutional record stands behind the account above, which is why the origin note carries its confidence in the open rather than reading as a citation.

How TeaHQ handles sources