臺灣特色茶喜好度分析與其對人體心理效益之評估

茶僅次於水，為全世界第二被廣泛消費的飲品。茶不僅是解除可渴的飲品，許多研究指出茶有抗氧化、抗癌、抗菌及消炎等功效，故被視為保健飲料。　　台灣茶產業擁有良好的栽培茶樹的生態環境，專業的製茶技術與茶園管理制度，多樣且優質的茶葉，並研發出地區特色化的台灣特色茶。目前對茶葉的研究多為成分分析及生理保健效果，而較少文獻以科學實驗探討茶葉對人體心理及精神的影響。因此本研究透過品茗特色茶的方式，瞭解台灣民眾對特色茶之喜好度，再探討不同國籍與性別者對飲茶的心理效益。心理效益之評估方式藉由分析飲茶前後的心跳(Heart rate)、心率變異參數 (Heart rate variability, HRV) 及腦波 (Brain Wave) 的變化，瞭解茶對人體紓壓療癒的作用。在喜好度問卷結果顯示，民眾對文山包種茶的喜好度最高，其次依序為阿里山高山烏龍茶、凍頂烏龍茶、東方美人茶、蜜香紅茶、GABA 茶、三峽碧螺春綠茶和日月潭紅茶；此外，以年紀而言，對茶品的喜好有年紀越大越喜好發酵度較高的茶品之趨勢，年輕人較喜好清香型的文山包種茶或高山茶，中年人較喜好蜜香型的東方美人茶，年長者較喜好有韻味型凍頂烏龍茶。心理效益研究結果顯示：大部分的受測者在飲東方美人茶的過程中，正常心跳間期的標準偏差 (Standard deviation of all NN intervals, SDNN)、總功率 (Total Power, TP) 值上升且低高頻功率比值 (LF/HF)下降的最多，達到身心放鬆又有活力的狀態; 而木柵鐵觀音茶提升 high α 波、low β 效果最好，達到注意力集中; 。至於降低 high β　波代表減輕焦慮，則以凍頂烏龍茶、日月潭紅茶和蜜香紅茶的效果較佳。依國籍及性別分開探討心理效益的結果顯示：提升活力方面（SDNN、TP 上升），韓國人飲蜜香紅茶，台灣人飲東方美人茶，男性飲東方美人茶，女性飲凍頂烏龍茶的效果最好; 心情放鬆方面（LF/HF 下降），韓國人飲高山茶，台灣人飲東方美人茶，男性飲東方美人茶，女性飲高山茶的效果最好; 提高專注力方面（high α 波、low β 上升），韓國人飲鐵觀音茶，台灣人飲三峽碧螺春綠茶，男性飲三峽碧螺春綠茶，女性飲凍頂烏龍茶和鐵觀音的效果最好，減輕焦慮方面（high β 下降），韓國人飲蜜香紅茶，台灣人飲凍頂烏龍茶，男性飲凍頂烏龍茶，女性飲日月潭紅茶的效果最好。

關鍵字

台灣特色茶；佳葉龍茶；心理效益；心率變異

並列摘要

Tea is the second most widely consumed beverage in the world after water. Like water, it rehydrates, but it also has other health benefits, including being anti-cancerous, anti-bacterial, anti-inflammatory, and an anti-oxidant, making it the a popular health drink. Taiwan has a strong tea industry because of its good ecological environment for cultivating tea plants, its tea-producing technology, and the high standards that are applied to the production of tea. Hence, a wide range of regional specialty teas has been developed. This dissertation studies customer preferences and the psychological and spiritual benefits of these specialty teas, which have not received much attention in the literature, in contrast to their chemical composition and physiological benefits. It aims to provide the Taiwanese tea industry with a reference point for its marketing strategies and consumers with guidelines when they purchase tea products. This dissertation consists of three chapters: ．Chapter 3: Preference analysis of Taiwan’s specialty teas. ．Chapter 4: Taiwan’s specialty teas and their psychological benefits on the human. ．Chapter 5: Do gender and nationality affect the efficacy of the psychological benefits of Taiwan’s specialty teas? Chapter 3 investigates the public’s preference for specialty tea products. Taiwan currently has many regional specialty tea products, but research on age and gender preferences for specialty teas is quite limited. This research used the tasting method—asking participants to confirm their preferences for different teas after tasting them. The results indicate that the participants exhibited the highest preference for Wenshan Baozhong Tea, followed by Alishan High Mountain Oolong Tea, Dongding Oolong Tea, Oriental Beauty Tea, Honey-scented Black Tea, GABA Tea, Sanxia Biluochun Green Tea, and Sun Moon Lake Black Tea. The results also show that people tend to prefer more fermented teas as they become older—young people preferred tea with a fresh aroma (for example, Wenshan Baozhong Tea and Alishan High Mountain Oolong Tea), middle-aged people preferred Honey-scented Black Tea, and elderly people preferred Dongding Oolong Tea, which has the most fermented aroma of all the options. In addition, men preferred teas with a roasted aroma compared to women, while both liked teas with a fresh aroma. In our sample, men preferred Wenshan Baozhong Tea and Dongding Oolong Tea, while women preferred Wenshan Baozhong Tea. Chapter 4 looks at the psychological benefits of Taiwan’s specialty teas using a method that is widely used in autonomic nervous system experiments: analyzing participants’ heart rate, brain waves (α, β, γ, δ, θ), and heart rate variability (HRV), including the standard deviation of all NN intervals (SDNN) and total power (TP) and the low and high frequency power ratio (LF/HF). The participants were continuously measured before, during, and after drinking nine different specialty teas, and the measured data were analyzed using a one-way ANOVA test. The results indicate that different tea products have different stress-relieving and healing effects. To be specific, Oriental Beauty Tea had the most stress-relieving effect by reducing LF/HF the most. It also had the most vitalizing effect by increasing SDNN and TP more than the other teas. Muzha Tieguanyin Tea was the best at increasing high α and low β waves, which means it helps people to concentrate. As for reducing anxiety (i.e., lowering high β waves), Dongding Oolong Tea, Sun Moon Lake Black Tea, and Honey-scented Black Tea were all effective. Chapter 5 assesses whether the psychological benefits of Taiwan’s specialty teas are affected by nationality and gender. Four different psychological benefits of tea products—boosting vitality, mood relaxation, enhancing concentration, and reducing anxiety—were tested on two groups: 1. A group of Taiwanese and a group of Koreans and 2. A group of men and a group of women by measuring heart rate, brain waves, and HRV, as in Chapter 4. The results show that the experience of these benefits is highly heterogeneous among different groups. For boosting vitality (increased SDNN and TP), Oriental Beauty Tea was the most effective for the Taiwanese group and the male group, while Honey-scented Black Tea was the most effective for the Koreans and Dongding Oolong Tea for the women. For mood relaxation (decreased LF/HF), Oriental Beauty Tea was the most effective for the Taiwanese and the men, while Alishan High Mountain Oolong Tea was the most efficacious for the Korean group and the women. For improving concentration (increasing high α and low β waves), Muzha Tieguanyin Tea had the greatest positive effects for the Koreans, whereas Sanxia Biluochun Green Tea had the greatest positive effects for the Taiwanese and the male group. Dongding Oolong Tea and Muzha Tieguanyin Tea were best at increasing concentration in the female group. For reducing anxiety (high β decreases), Honey-scented Black Tea was the most effective for the Korean group, while Dongding Oolong Tea was the most efficacious for the Taiwanese and male groups and Sun Moon Lake Black Tea for the women.