TTES No. 5 is a cultivar developed by the Tea Research and Extension Station and officially named in 1974. Selected from open-pollinated offspring of Fuzhou maternal origin, it is an early-maturing cultivar well-suited for green tea production.
TTES No. 5 Tea Cultivar
Selected from open-pollinated offspring of a Fuzhou maternal line, with hybridization occurring between 1931 and 1940. It was officially named alongside TTES No. 6 and No. 7 in 1969.
Excerpt from National Cultural Memory Bank: TTES No. 5 possesses several outstanding characteristics, including being early-maturing and resistant to dieback disease. Yields fall between Qingxin Damao and Qingxin Oolong. It has high bud density (ranked 4th among 16 strains), long downy bud hair, and delicate slender buds. Its most distinctive feature is the beautiful appearance of the processed tea. It is exceptionally well-suited for Sencha-style green tea (ranked 1st among 16 strains) and Oolong tea (top 2 among 16 strains), while also yielding high quality when made into Biluochun green tea. Other traits include moderate growth vigor, a semi-erect bush form, lanceolate leaves with small surface area, dark green leaves, fine and dense serrations, and strong leaf recurvature.
In short, TTES No. 5 is an early-maturing cultivar known for its dense tea buds with long downy hair, delicate slender buds, elegant appearance, and suitability for Sencha-style green tea, with yields falling between Qingxin Damao and Qingxin Oolong.
Our Observations on TTES No. 5
The second batch of registered Taiwan Tea cultivars (Nos. 5–7) was developed during the boom era of green and black tea exports. TTES No. 5 was specifically suited for green tea production, but it is rarely cultivated today. The photo shows TTES No. 5 at Wenshan Farm in Xindian District, New Taipei City, taken in early April. It features beautifully delicate leaves, vigorous growth, and an appearance similar to Qingxin Oolong.