TEA IN TAIWAN

 

Taiwan produces a wonderful oolong tea known by Taiwan’s ancient name, Formosa.  Portuguese sailors were impressed by the beauty of the island and called it Isla Formosa meaning “beautiful island.”  The tea growing areas today are prime examples of its natural beauty, however, the first tea consumed by the Taiwanese was imported from China and limited to those with wealth, power or scholarly backgrounds.  In the 1800’s oolong production spread to Taiwan, then a part of the Fujian province of China.  Taiwan teas originated from plants growing in the wild and held little commercial value until improvements were made.  During the Japanese occupation and World War II, the production of tea was greatly expanded and exported to supplement demand.  After Taiwan’s retrocession to the Republic of China and the collapse of the international market, the tea market began to turn inward to meet local demand.  Today most of the oolong tea produced in Taiwan is for local consumption where the art of tea includes the way tea is served from the water used to its teahouse setting and the etiquette involved.

 

Taiwan has a thriving tea culture due to its perfect growing conditions, their economic booms since the 1970’s and demand for finer quality teas at home, plus its hard working and creative tea producers who are always refining their skills.  Taiwan is famous for their Formosa Oolong (also spelled wulong or wu long) teas that are produced by their tea masters who are artisans trained by numerous years of practice and apprenticeships passed down from one generation to the next.  The varied characteristics of oolong teas are created by closely monitoring of the length of oxidation, careful bruising of the leaf, rolling of some types and proper drying.  Every minute aspect of production is under the control of the tea master’s watchful eye. 

The quality of teas in Taiwan is affected by the year and season, growers and areas of production.  Taiwan is renowned for their high mountain oolongs which are grown in a region in the center of the small island and are harvested only three times a year.  The altitude and climactic conditions cause these teas to grow more slowly.  Nantou, the only landlocked county in Taiwan, is the largest producer of high mountain oolong teas.  Tung Ting (pronounced Dung-Ding) is one example of Nantou’s tea and is considered the greatest of all oolong teas and yields superb flavor and multiple infusions.  Taipei county in the northern growing region has an abundance of rain fall and high humidity and produces a large leaf pouchong which are not rolled and have fruit tones that are light and remarkably refreshing.  The majority of Taiwan tea estates are unique in that their teas are grown a very low altitudes of less than 1,000 feet and are harvested up to six times a year.  These are located in Miao Li and Hsinchu counties on the northeast coast of the island and are darker with deep body, smooth character and hints of peach.

 

TEA-TIME TRIVIA
Tea competitions are held in Taiwan
on a regular basis and
winners can receive extraordinary
prices for their crop

 

 

 

“Taste and see that the Lord is good;
blessed is the man who takes refuge in him.”

Psalm 34:8