The beauty of Taiwan tea resides in the hardworking spirit of past generations to pioneer the golden age of Taiwan tea. The beauty of Taiwan tea resides in the consolidated wisdom of the present generation to jointly demonstrate the unprecedented elegance of Taiwan tea.

I. The History of Taiwan Tea The tea consumed by the Taiwanese was first imported from mainland China—primarily from the provinces of southern Jiangsu and Fujian—during the Ming and Ching dynasties. At that time, the majority of Taiwan’s tea drinkers were people with wealth, power, or scholarly backgrounds. During the Japanese occupation, Uji tea began to be imported from Japan, adding influential and wealthy Japanese to the list of tea consumers in Taiwan. After Taiwan’s retrocession to the Republic of China, mainland teas were available on the market, making it a drink for the masses. However, during the early stages, local Taiwan teas were produced mainly for export purposes, and it was not until the 1970s that the tea market slowly began to be turned inward to meet local demand.

Local Taiwan teas originated from plants growing in the wild. There were two main types whose primary difference lay in the color of their sprouts: Taiwan mountain tea, which had greenish or light-purple sprouts, and purplish-red sprout mountain tea, which had fuchsia sprouts. Taiwan teas held little commercial value at first, but this changed after improvements were made to Taiwan Tea No. 18, which was suitable for making black tea.

After the Treaties of Tianjin were ratified in 1860 and the port of Danshui was opened for trade, British tea merchant John Dodd began working with tea merchants and farmers to promote Taiwan tea, slowly developing it as an export item. Before long, tea ranked first among Taiwan’s top-three exports, ahead of sugar and camphor. The earliest teas exported during the Ching dynasty were oolong and baozhong tea, which began to be sold abroad in 1865 and 1881, respectively.

In 1906, during the Japanese occupation, black tea began to be exported alongside oolong and baozhong tea. At the same time, the Taiwan Governor’s Office began to assist private organizations, such as the Taiwan Tea Business-men’s Association, to introduce the beauty of Taiwan tea to the rest of the world through the establishment of teashops at international fairs. With the beautifully designed posters advertising Taiwan tea at those fairs, the elegant packaging of Taiwan tea products, and the refined and professional serving techniques of the salespeople, the global image of Taiwan tea was quickly elevated.

After Taiwan’s retrocession to the ROC, Tang Jishan introduced green teas to Taiwan’s existing exports of oolong, baozhong, and black teas. This included the introduction of fried green teas, such as zhu tea and mei tea, in 1949. In 1963, steamed green tea, or Sen tea, began to be exported to Japan, and by the time Taiwan tea exports had reached its peak in 1973, the largest export product was Sen tea. During this period, the government established the interministerial Taiwan Tea Improvement Organization to assist private tea enterprises. At the same time, the private sector was using the Taiwan Tea Manufacturers’ Association and the Taiwan Tea Exporters Association as its backbone for promoting Taiwan tea.

 At the height of Taiwan’s tea exports, the private sector began to realize the importance of the domestic market. In 1973, the Taiwan Tea Promotion Team headed by Lin Fuquan began to advertise teas for domestic consumption, and the following year, the Taiwan Provincial Government’s Department of Agriculture and Forestry sponsored a provincial tea exhibition in Xindian. Through the collaboration of county governments in tea-producing areas, farmers’ associations, and the mass media, a stable foundation was created for promoting tea on the domestic market. On August 14, 1977, the Chinese Kung Fu Teahouse, the forerunner of Taiwan’s modern teahouses, was established. Before long, teahouses were sprouting up everywhere like bamboo shoots after a spring rain shower, and throughout the 1980s, these local teahouses slowly organized into associations devoted to the promotion of tea culture.

Under the joined efforts of the government, tea farmers’ associations, tea manufacturers’ associations, teahouse associations, teahouses, and tea scholars, domestic tea consumption was gradually transformed into a contemporary and flourishing artistic tea culture. On ordinary days, these organizations and individuals worked hard at their own respective jobs. However, when it came time to host a cultural activity on tea, they would divide the labor, cooperate with each other, and work together to portray an image of the art of Taiwan tea that fully demonstrated its elegance. 

II. The Beauty of Taiwan Tea All aspects of the art of Taiwan tea—whether it’s the tea-flavor, tea water, tea sets, tea-serving techniques, tea connoisseurs, teahouses, tea refreshments, or tea feasts—have been developed to a consummate level in Taiwan. Thus, whether focusing on aesthetical theory or practice, every aspect of Taiwan tea can serve as a paradigm for both life and art. The beauty of Taiwan tea resides in the tea flavor, with aesthetic standards set by the clearness of its coloring, the purity of its taste, and the elegance of its aroma. Whether it’s baozhong tea, dongding tea, pengfeng tea, tieguanyin tea, dragon well tea, or black tea, each type has its own unique characteristics. Taiwan teas vary greatly in flavor, ranging from soft to charming and refined to strong. The most representative of Taiwan teas is the mildly fragrant oolong tea, a clear and odorous tea made from hemispherically shaped leaves. With its sweet scent and rich flavor, this tea embodies the essence of Taiwan’s mountains and rivers and is a condensation of fragrance and dew. It is a soothing tea unparalleled in this world.

Excerpt from information provided by Taiwanese Government Information Office