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.

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.

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.

(http://www.gio.gov.tw/taiwan-website/5-gp/culture/art_tea/)