十九世紀中葉前後，台灣的茶葉便朝向以出口爲導向的道路上發展，並與糖、樟腦同爲台灣三大主要出口貨物。由於地理條件的因素，台茶的裁種傳統上都集中於海拔500公尺以下的北部丘陵地（特別是台北縣、桃園縣、新竹縣與苗栗縣）。不過，這樣的情勢隨著外銷市場的衰退、國內市場需求的增加與廉價茶葉的進口等因素，使得台茶在產銷上面臨嚴峻的形勢，更使得本省茶葉生產的空間結構出現劇列的變化。本研究首先從較大的範圍概述世界茶葉的起源、分佈、與生產狀況，並在此基礎上分析台灣茶葉生產的歷史過程與空間結構的變遷。
Of historical note, tea was one of the major item of Taiwan exports over past century. While tea was at that high level of development in this island, the governments had made great contributions to the tea industry.
Because of the geographical conditions, traditionally, foothill below 500m altitude in northern Taiwan (including Taipei, Tauyuan, Hinchu, and Miauli) was the place of tea plantation. Recently, the spatial distribution of tea plantation has changed dramatically, as tea exportation declined and the consumption increased in domestic. The article tries to explore the tea plantation from global scope and to discuss the changes and its development in Taiwan from different stage.
