History

 

In 1860, while Abraham Lincoln was elected President of the United States, in the same year, our forefathers deforested the hillside, cultivated the land and planted the tea seeds in the Northeastern part of Taiwan.  

 

Chin Shin Oolong, one of sinensis oolong cultivars, was first planted. The raw tea was pan-fried, dried over the charcoal fire, and delivered to Taipei for the final process of sorting, roasting and packaging before consigned to the American and European merchants for the export to New York and London.

 

Over 150 years, the passionate craftsmanship has been handed over to the 5th generations.

 

In the mid-17 century, the Dutch Eastern Indian Company started the export of Taiwanese tea.  And, in 1869, John Dodd, the Scottish merchant, shipped 12,860 kg of Formosa oolong tea by two fast-sailing clippers directly heading for the port of New York, where it became a great success for its distinctively lighter and fruitier flavor. 

 

Dodd's cargo was the first major direct shipment of tea after the port of Tamsui was open to foreign export in 1862 after Qing Dynasty signed the "Treaty of Tien-tsin" in June 1858, ending the first part of the Second Opium War (1856–1860).

 

The Formosa oolong became popular in the America and Europe, remained a world favorite and grew in popularity.  Since then, the word “oolong tea” has become practically synonymous with Taiwanese tea.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In the Japanese colonial period (around 1895), the famous fragrant Pouchong tea was developed in the North Taiwan.  Pouchong is initially a tea of floral blends.  The lightly oxidized oolong was first produced in Taiwan and then shipped to Fujian, China for the process of being scented with different types of flowers.  Rose, jasmine, and sweet osmanthus were all common types of flowers used at that time. 

 

Later, tea famers in Taiwan improved the production process of Pouchong, replicated the floral fragrance by a sophisticated process of oxidization without being physically scented by flowers.  Pouchong, with its unique floral aroma, became another hit of Taiwanese tea to the overseas markets, especially Southeast Asia.

 

The tradition, skills and technique of making such unique Pouchong fragrance is only kept and preserved in Pinling.

 

The production of black tea in Taiwan was initiated by the Japanese in 1903.  In 1926, the first Assam cultivar was introduced and planted around the Sun Moon Lake in Nantou County.  In recent years, there are two surprisingly beautiful new flavors developed, Ruby and Cicada Honey.  The production amount is quite small, and consumed mostly by tea connoisseur. Both have won many awards in world tea competitions and we believe they will be the tomorrow stars in Taiwan’s tea history.