Picking, sorting, and sun drying of tealeaves all use traditional wicker implements. (Photo by Huang Chung-hsin)
The beauty of Taiwan tea resides in the hard-working 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
Lu Yü Brewing Tea by Chao Yüan (A.D. 1372) (The Collection of the National Palace Museum, Taiwan)
The tea consumed by the Taiwanese was first imported from China—primarily from the provinces of southern Jiangsu and Fujian—during the Ming and Cing 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.
Three artistic teapots by Jhang Ji-tao.(Photo by Huang Chung-hsin)
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.
In 1860, after China and Britain exchanged ratifications of the Treaty of Tientsin in Beijing, the port of Danshuei was opened for trade, British tea merchant John Dodd began working with local 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 both sugar and camphor. The earliest teas exported during the Cing dynasty were oolong and baojhong tea, which began to be sold abroad in 1865 and 1881, respectively.
High quality tealeaves come from high-altitude terraced fields. (Photo by Yeh Ming-yuan)
In 1906, during the Japanese occupation, Nitton black tea began to be exported alongside oolong and baojhong tea. At the same time, the Taiwan Governor’s Office began to assist private organizations, such as the Taiwan Tea Businessmen’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 Ji-shan introduced green teas to Taiwan’s existing exports of oolong, baojhong, and black teas. This included the introduction of fried green teas, such as jhu 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.
The art of tea includes the way tea is served and the etiquette involved. (Photo by Yeh Ming-yuan)
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 Fu-cyuan 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 Sindian. 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.
Long-handled teapots are designed to protect connoisseurs from boiling water. (Courtesy of Sinorama)
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 teaflavor, 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.
An elegant bamboo tray is one accessory in a full tea-making set. (Photo by Eugene Yen)
The beauty of Taiwan tea resides in the teaflavor, with aesthetic standards set by the clearness of its coloring, the purity of its taste, and the elegance of its aroma. Whether it’s baojhong tea, dongding tea, pengfong 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 semi-spherically 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.
The beauty of Taiwan tea resides in the tea water from which it is made. Since ancient times, Taiwan has been known for its natural spring water. The aesthetic standard for good tea water is that it must be sweet, fragrant, clear, and chilled. Clear implies clarity in color and is for satisfying the sense of sight; chilled means it is refreshingly cool and pleasing to the sense of touch; and sweet and fragrant refer to the senses of taste and smell, respectively. Lastly, the swish of roaring mountain streams and the bubbling of boiling tea water fulfill the sense of sound. Thus, Taiwan tea water is beautifully satisfying to all five senses.
Tea snacks are usually delicate, visually pleasant, sweet tasting and with a flowery aroma. (Courtesy of Sinorama)
The beauty of Taiwan tea resides in the tea sets used to serve it. Taiwan tea sets are refined, elegant, and colored in mild and tender hues; come in a countless variety of shapes and forms; are beautifully artistic and meticulously crafted; have many functions and uses; and are convenient and easy to handle. The skill required to make tea sets has already advanced to such a degree that it is no longer considered a craft, but rather, has been elevated into an art form.
The beauty of Taiwan tea resides in the tea-serving techniques. Tea-serving techniques possess charming poises and regal bearing; soft, graceful, and restrained gestures; traditional techniques; a dignified and solemn manner; and a warm and genial temperament. Depending on the situation or occasion, tea-serving techniques come in a variety of styles.
The beauty of Taiwan tea resides in the island’s tea connoisseurs. The typical tea connoisseur in Taiwan is affable and respectful, unassuming and modest, courteous and reverent, gentle and warm, and amiable and easy to approach. Whether the magnate of a tea enterprise, a venerable tea art expert, a tea specialist, or a competent authority in tea-related affairs, Taiwanese tea connoisseurs never put on airs and are always willing to help others.
The beauty of Taiwan tea resides in the setting of its teahouses. Private tea parlors in Taiwan have elaborate designs that cater to many different tastes. In general, most teahouses are meticulously decorated in a clear and distinct style. Outdoors teahouses emphasize the drinking of tea in a natural setting, combining mountains and rivers with tea drinking while lingering amongst nature. Park and garden teahouses, with their winding paths and corridors, are like stepping into a painting of a southern-style Chinese garden. Modern literati-style teahouses, serving as hidden retreats in large cities, deliver stillness and silence to those wishing to temporarily escape from the hustle and bustle of city life. British-style teahouses, which are warm, fragrant, clear, and attractive, capture the local flavor of the British countryside. Folk teahouses, passing on the cultural and historical relics of Taiwan, re-mold the memories of Taiwanese traditions. Modern teahouses, which are simple, clean, elegant, and refined, are in harmony with the pulse of the industrial economy. Educational teahouses consider tea education to be a long-term task and enthusiastically instruct tea drinkers without weariness. Agritourism teahouses transport people deep into the hilly tea fields to experience the true charm of Taiwan tea. Folk art teahouses, with their beautiful, fine-featured music and dance performances, emphasize the passing on of folk arts and culture. Salon teahouses, serving as gathering places for literary circles, host theoretical talks by elegant and refined cliques. In addition to these many types of teahouses, there are also temporary tea stations, which provide tea for the convenience of passers-by, and traditional tea tables, such as elders’ teashops. The diversity of teahouses in Taiwan has taken the culture of modern leisure and adorned it even further, making it more joyous, exuberant, colorful, and magnificent.
The beauty of Taiwan tea resides in the tea refreshments that accompany it. A wide variety of delicious delicacies are designed to be served with tea, even for large parties. Many dishes even use tea as the primary ingredient in their recipes, thereby expanding the use of tealeaves, such as tea moon cakes, tea wines, tea noodles, and other tea products. Taiwan’s culture of eating snacks with tea, after undergoing much meticulous research, has allowed Taiwan’s tea refreshments to step into the aesthetic world of food and drink.
The beauty of Taiwan tea resides in its tea feasts, whose spread and popularization can be attributed to its assimilation of many other different forms of art, such as literary art, the art of living, handicrafts, and the fine art of dining. Participants of such tea feasts, whether attending in the capacity of guest or host, can thoroughly enjoy tea drinking to its fullest, intoxicating themselves with tea and absorbing its implicit virtues. This use of “ancient knowledge for present day applications” allows modern day people to attain entry into the grand and treasured art of living.
