A Proper Cup of Tea Receives a Proper Label

大吉嶺茶 打名稱保衛戰

By Jim Yardley

DARJEELING, India – Among connoisseurs, few teas surpass Darjeeling. The smooth and mellow taste commands a premium price, and the name itself evokes a bygone era when the British first introduced Chinese tea plants here in the Indian foothills of the Himalayas.
對行家來說，大吉嶺茶是最頂級的，少有敵手。滑潤和醇厚的口感為它博得頂級價格，而它的名稱也讓人憶起過往，那個英國人最初把中國茶種在印度喜馬拉雅山腳下的時代。

To Anil K. Jha, the superintendent of the Sungma Tea Estate, all this would be good for business, except that much of the tea sold as Darjeeling is not grown here. Foreign wholesalers often put the name on a blend of the real stuff and lesser teas. And in some cases, growers elsewhere simply slap on a Darjeeling label.
對桑格馬茶園的總管安尼爾．賈來說，這些都是生意上的利多，只不過，很多打著大吉嶺名號銷售的茶葉，都不是在這裡種植的。外國批發商常把正品和次級品混在一起賣。有些情況是，其他地方的茶農直接標上大吉嶺字號。

So Mr. Jha and other Darjeeling rowers have followed the example of Scottish whiskey distillers and French wineries, winning legal protection for the Darjeeling label under laws that limit the use of certain geographic names to products that come from those places.
因此，賈先生和大吉嶺的其他茶農遵循蘇格蘭威士忌酒廠和法國葡萄酒莊的前例，援引限定某些地名僅可用於當地產品的法律，為大吉嶺茶葉這個名號取得法律保護。

In a decision this year, the European Union agreed to phase out the use of “Darjeeling” on blended teas. Now, just as a bottle of Cognac must come from the region around the French town of Cognac, a cup of Darjeeling tea will have to be made only from tea grown around Darjeeling.
歐盟今年決定同意分階段禁止混裝茶使用大吉嶺這個名稱。如今，正如一瓶干邑白蘭地必須產自法國干邑一帶，一杯大吉嶺茶日後也非以產自大吉嶺一帶的茶葉製造不可。

“That flavor, that uniqueness that comes from here – it is nowhere else,” Mr. Jha said as he stood among tea bushes on a hillside about 1,500 meters above sea level, near the border with Nepal. “People have tried to replicate it, but have failed,” he said.
賈先生站在靠近尼泊爾邊界、海拔1500公尺山丘上的茶樹間說：「那種風味，只有這裡才有，獨一無二。」他說：「有人想複製這味道，都失敗了。」

The uniqueness of Darjeeling as a place certainly seems beyond dispute. On clear days, the white peaks of Kanchenjunga, the world’s third-highest mountain after Everest and K2, floats over the hilltop city like an ethereal fortress. Beyond the clamor of the city, many of the steep surrounding foothills are carpeted with tea estates, some planted more than 160 years ago when a British surgeon found that tea bushes thrived in the region’s alpine setting.
大吉嶺不消說是個獨特的地方。在晴朗的日子，世界第三高峰，僅次於珠穆瑪朗峰和K2峰的干城章嘉峰的白色山巔，高懸在這個山頂城市的上空，有如空中堡壘。喧囂的城市外，環繞四周的許多陡峭丘陵遍布著茶園，有些在160多年前開始種植，當時一位英國外科醫生發現在此地區的高山下，茶樹生長茂盛。

Reaching down to pluck a leaf from a tea bush planted more than a century earlier, Mr. Jha gestured toward the surrounding foothills. “Here, we are not doing anything,” he said. “It is all God-gifted.”
賈先生彎下身來，從一株一百多年前種植的茶樹上摘下一片葉子，指著四周的丘陵說：「這兒，我們什麼都沒做，全是上帝的恩賜。」

The mountainous terrain, however, limits production. India produces almost a billion kilograms of tea annually, more than any other country, but Darjeeling accounts for only about 1 percent of that. The Darjeeling district has 87 certified tea gardens, as they are locally known, producing about nine million kilograms of tea every year, and the potential for expansion is almost nil.
不過，這片多山的高地限制了產量。印度每年生產近10億公斤茶葉，比任何國家都多，不過，大吉嶺茶大約只占了百分之一。大吉嶺區有87家獲認證的「茶園」，當地人都這麼稱呼（指tea garden一詞），每年約生產900萬公斤茶葉，而且幾乎沒有擴充的可能。

That is why local tea growers grew annoyed that as much as 40 million kilograms of tea were being sold as Darjeeling on the global market each year.
無怪乎當地茶農對於全球市場每年有4000萬公斤茶葉打著大吉嶺的名號銷售，感到火大。

To fight back, the Tea Board designated Darjeeling as a “geographical indication” for tea that is recognized by the World Trade Organization. Indian tea officials negotiated agreements with various countries to ensure the status of the Darjeeling name was respected. A deal was struck in 2012 to phase out blended Darjeeling in Europe within five years.
為了反擊，茶葉局把「大吉嶺」指定為獲世界貿易組織承認的茶葉「地理標示」。印度茶葉主管官員已與多國商訂協定，確保大吉嶺名稱的地位受到尊重。根據2012年達成的一項協定，混裝的「大吉嶺」茶葉將在五年內分階段在歐洲禁售。

“In the case of Darjeeling tea, it was accepted that there was specificity that is unique – and geographically based,” said João Cravinho, the European Union’s ambassador to India. “Tea produced anywhere else will have different characteristics.”
歐盟駐印度大使克拉文荷說：「大吉嶺茶這個案例，我們接受它有獨具的特色，並且有特定產地，其他地方出產的茶葉特色不同。」

原文參照：
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/17/world/asia/darjeeling-tea-growers-get-protection-from-european-union.html

Slideshow：Preserving the Darjeeling Name
http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2012/12/16/world/asia/20121216DARJEELING.html

2013-01-01聯合報/G9版/UNITEDDAILYNEWS 田思怡譯 原文參見紐時週報六版上