History of Tea in Taiwan
A Brief Summary
Taiwan's Tea Roots.
Over three hundred years ago, the first wild tea trees were discovered in Taiwan. However these trees which were found in the wild were not grown on an estate or grown specifically for consumption as most teas are nowadays. Despite its close proximity to both mainland China to the west and the southernmost Japanese islands to the east, Taiwan was a unique island with an aboriginal culture well into the 1500’s. But as European traders explored the South China Sea, everything soon changed.
Ilha Formosa.
In 1590, Portuguese explorers discovered an island with green mountains and volcanic springs, and immediately named it Formosa – the beautiful. Then, for nearly a century, very little happened, until in the 1660s, Taiwan’s history as a tea culture began.
When Did Formosa Become Taiwan?
Apparently, it was always called Taiwan. That is, until the Portugese came and dubbed the island “Formosa”.
There are dozens of stories about the origin of the name Taiwan, but none seem very definitive. However, one story does seem to be the most common. In 1624, the Dutch East India Company built a trading post called Fort Zeelandia and colonized Formosa to compete with Spanish merchants in the markets of Korea, Japan, and China. The indigenous people of the island, known as the Siraya called their island Taioan, so that’s what the Dutch called it.
The Han Bring Tea Seeds from China.
In 1662, Taiwan became part of China, and a wave of Han Chinese immigrants from the famous Fujian province arrived the following year. From their homes close to the Wuyi Mountains, these farmers brought new seeds and plants for their gardens. Soon, small tea trees were springing up so that the new arrivals could enjoy a refreshing cup. During the years of 1796-1820, Fujian tea merchants carried tea tree seeds to Taiwan and as the seeds took exceptionally well to the soil and climate in North Taiwan, Northern Taiwan began to plant and produce some of the finest tea trees in the world today.
Dong Ding Oolong is Born.
In the year 1855, Linfeng Chi removed Oolong tea trees from the Wuyi Mountains in the Fujian province of China and traveled to Dong Ding Mountain, which is in Lugu, Taiwan. Once he arrived in Taiwan, he replanted the tea trees, beginning the history of the Dong Ding Oolong, one of Taiwan’s most famous teas. During 1858, a British company at that time called Jardine Mantheson & Co. bought semi-finished Oolong tea from Taiwan, spreading it around the world.
Dong Ding is not very high at 1,000m (3,280 feet), but it is very steep. Tea gardens there receive intense sunlight in the morning, but are completely blanketed by fog in the afternoon, with strong winds. Dong Ding Oolong is known for its strong flavor and sweet finish.
Fully Integrated Tea Processing.
A Scotsman named John Dodd had been purchasing semi-finished Oolong in Taiwan, but had it processed in China. In 1868, Dodd decided to simplify the tea manufacturing process for Taiwanese teas, by hiring Chinese tea masters from the Fuijian province to process tea in his Taipei shop. This allowed him to process tea completely in Taiwan, eliminating the additional expense of transporting it to China.
Formosa Oolong.
In the next year, 1869, John Dodd began shipping Formosa Oolong tea to the United States. In fact, he shipped 127 ton of the Formosa Oolong, which was brand new and completely unheard of at the time to America where it became a great success and grew in such popularity that from that time on, Taiwanese tea was then exported to Europe and other countries around the world. Oolong tea was practically synonymous with Taiwanese tea in the late 19th century, and competitors in Ceylon sought a US market advantage by publishing materials emphasizing the use of human foot trampling during its production. This was countered by the mechanization of tea processing, publicized at the St. Louis Exhibition.
In 1895, the Japanese Empire occupied Taiwan and carried on where the British had left off, investing heavily in tea and introducing new cultivars. Farmers were also taught the secrets of Japanese tea production and new machinery was imported to increase production.
The Republic of China.
With the end of World War II, Taiwan was placed under the administrative control of the Republic of China by the Allies of World War II after 50 years of colonial rule by Japan. Chen Yi, the ROC Chief Executive of Taiwan, arrived on October 24, 1945, and received the last Japanese Governor-General, Andō Rikichi, who signed the document of surrender on the next day, which was proclaimed by Chen as “Retrocession Day”. This turned out to be legally controversial since Japan did not renounce its sovereignty over Taiwan until April 28, 1952, with the coming into force of the San Francisco Peace Treaty, which further complicated the political status of Taiwan.
Taiwan Tea Today.
By 1970, the unique relationship between Taiwan and mainland China led to a more inward-looking tea market, with farmers focusing on one variety beloved by the local Taiwanese. Oolong. Now, over 400 years since the first Portuguese sailor spotted this beautiful island, Taiwan has built a reputation as the producer of the world’s finest oolong teas.
Taiwanese tea production is really focused more on quality than quantity. This is in part because of its subtropical, stable climate and high mountains. Summer rain in the south and winter rain in the north, are just crying out to produce the very best of tea.
Taiwan is famous for its high grown teas. These grow slower due to the colder temperatures and smaller amount of sunshine caused by mountain fog. This leads to more minerals being available for each tea leaf, the leaves becoming a lusher, green colour, and because of the wet fog quite flexible in nature ideal for heavy oolong processing.
References:
- https://www.teavivre.com/info/the-history-of-taiwanese-teas.html
- https://www.teafromtaiwan.com taiwan_tea_history
- https://taiwanleaftea.com/info/history-of-tea-in-taiwan
- https://redblossomtea.com/blogs/re-blossom-blog/a-brief-history-of-taiwanese-teas
- http://www.valleyoftea.com/blogs/tea/history-of-taiwanese-tea