History of Formosa Oolong Tea
Oolong tea is the earliest type of tea made in Formosa and is the most famous Formosa tea in the world. Although skills of processing Formosa oolong tea are from Fuchien province, China, tea masters and professionals in Taiwan devote tremendous efforts in research and development via advanced technology, greatly improving tea processing skills. At present day, Formosa oolong tea has ranked the top quality tea in the world due to its unique aroma and delicate flavor.
Export of Formosa tea has been over a hundred years.
1867 English tea trader John Dodd started a tea company in Wanhua, Taipei city, and started to sell Taiwanese oolong tea to oversea markets under the name "Formosa Oolong".
1893 to 1918 Exported tea reached 7-9 million kilograms, and the major markets are the US, UK, and Australia, Canada, and Hong Kong, etc.
1918 Due to economy downturn, dumped sales of Indian and Ceylon Black Tea to the US impacted on export of Formosa tea.
1945 When Japan colonial period ended, no Formosa oolong tea was exported.
1949 After War World II in 1949, exported volume raised to one million. The main markets were the US and UK, but later on export diminished.
1980 Untill 1980, Formosa oolong tea was exported to Japan and gained back to one million kilogram exported volume and increased to 5.2 million kilograms in 1986.
After 1980 Due to appreciation of Taiwanese currency, most of Formosa teas are for domestic consumption. With well developed and creative oolong tea processing skills in conjunction with advanced agriculture technology and strict quality management, local consumers are able to enjoy premium quality of Formosa oolong tea.
Export of Formosa tea has been over a hundred years.
1867 English tea trader John Dodd started a tea company in Wanhua, Taipei city, and started to sell Taiwanese oolong tea to oversea markets under the name "Formosa Oolong".
1893 to 1918 Exported tea reached 7-9 million kilograms, and the major markets are the US, UK, and Australia, Canada, and Hong Kong, etc.
1918 Due to economy downturn, dumped sales of Indian and Ceylon Black Tea to the US impacted on export of Formosa tea.
1945 When Japan colonial period ended, no Formosa oolong tea was exported.
1949 After War World II in 1949, exported volume raised to one million. The main markets were the US and UK, but later on export diminished.
1980 Untill 1980, Formosa oolong tea was exported to Japan and gained back to one million kilogram exported volume and increased to 5.2 million kilograms in 1986.
After 1980 Due to appreciation of Taiwanese currency, most of Formosa teas are for domestic consumption. With well developed and creative oolong tea processing skills in conjunction with advanced agriculture technology and strict quality management, local consumers are able to enjoy premium quality of Formosa oolong tea.
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History of Bao Zhong Oolong Tea
Wenshan Baozhong tea is one of the most popular tea in Taiwan. Wenshan Baozhong, High Mountain Olong, and Dong Ding Oolon are categorized as light oolong, but they are different in their shapes- Wenshan Baozhong is twisted curled; Dong Ding Oolong and High Mountain Oolong are rolled into balls. After Taiwan was returned from Japanese colonial period in 1945, many China mainlanders immigrated to Taiwan, immigrants including tea masters who brought generations of tea processing wisdom to Taiwan (then called Formosa). The best tradition of making Wenshan Baozhong oolong tea is one of the examples.
The name was come from Anxi, Fujian in China 160 years ago. A tea maker, Wang Xi Cheng, loaded processed tea leaves with two layers of squared papers and packed into rectangular shape of pack in weight of 75 grams. The pack was stamped with names of tea and tea merchant. This is how the name " Baozhong" was from. "Bao" means "wrap" in Chinese; "Zhong" means " variety". "Baozhong" is homonymic to a phrase, meaning " luck out" in Chinese, so at present days, Baozhong tea becomes a gift of good luck.
The beginning of processing Wenshan Baozhong tea started from 1872 when export of Formosa tea was shrinking. Tea merchants shipped Formosa Oolong to Fujian, China and made into scented Oolong and develop new export markets for Formosa oolong teas. After 1881, to save shipment cost, tea merchants in Fujian came set up Wenshan Baozhong tea processing plants in Taiwan and Taiwan has become the home of Wenshan Baozhong tea since then.
Wenshan Baozhong tea is one of the most popular tea in Taiwan. Wenshan Baozhong, High Mountain Olong, and Dong Ding Oolon are categorized as light oolong, but they are different in their shapes- Wenshan Baozhong is twisted curled; Dong Ding Oolong and High Mountain Oolong are rolled into balls. After Taiwan was returned from Japanese colonial period in 1945, many China mainlanders immigrated to Taiwan, immigrants including tea masters who brought generations of tea processing wisdom to Taiwan (then called Formosa). The best tradition of making Wenshan Baozhong oolong tea is one of the examples.
The name was come from Anxi, Fujian in China 160 years ago. A tea maker, Wang Xi Cheng, loaded processed tea leaves with two layers of squared papers and packed into rectangular shape of pack in weight of 75 grams. The pack was stamped with names of tea and tea merchant. This is how the name " Baozhong" was from. "Bao" means "wrap" in Chinese; "Zhong" means " variety". "Baozhong" is homonymic to a phrase, meaning " luck out" in Chinese, so at present days, Baozhong tea becomes a gift of good luck.
The beginning of processing Wenshan Baozhong tea started from 1872 when export of Formosa tea was shrinking. Tea merchants shipped Formosa Oolong to Fujian, China and made into scented Oolong and develop new export markets for Formosa oolong teas. After 1881, to save shipment cost, tea merchants in Fujian came set up Wenshan Baozhong tea processing plants in Taiwan and Taiwan has become the home of Wenshan Baozhong tea since then.
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History of Jin Xuan Milky Oolong
Jin Xuan is invented and only grown in Taiwan. Back to Japanese colonial period in 1938, development in new variety of tea trees has been started. In 1945, Father of Formosa Tea, Zhen Duo Wu, took over the research and development work. He carefully selected from 5 thousands or so breeds and cultivated them. Tai Nong No. 8 was selected as maternal plant and Hard Stalk Red Heart variety was chosen as male parent. The whole experiment takes him 43 years, and finally in 1981 he successfully breeded the first breed, named after his mother's name "Jin Xuan". Its local name "2027", came from its trial number during experiment. Also, it is named Tai Cha No. 12 because it is the 12th Taiwanese invented tea variety.
Jin Xuan tea tree grow outward. The shape of leaves is oval (bigger than Qing Xin Da Mo) and thick but tender with green luster. Its tender buds are green full of tiny hairs. Due to its strong adaptability and stability, it can be grown from plains to high mountain zones in the height of 1600m. Growing area of Jin Xuan tea tree is the second largest than plant of Qing Xin Oolong. The main areas of Jin Xuan growing district are Jia Yi and Nantou County.
Traditionally, Jin Xuan is processed to Pouchong tea and Oolong tea and characterized of its creamy aroma, but this processing method is only used in spring and winter harvest. In order to improve tea utilization, tea farmers discover that summer harvest Jin Xuan Oolong tea is more astringent due to higher catechin, but summer harvest Jin Xuan made into black tea is not astringent at all. Especially tea leaves fed by jassid create a unique honey aroma for black tea. Therefore, Jin Xuan tea tree is widely processed to black tea in Taiwan.
Jin Xuan is invented and only grown in Taiwan. Back to Japanese colonial period in 1938, development in new variety of tea trees has been started. In 1945, Father of Formosa Tea, Zhen Duo Wu, took over the research and development work. He carefully selected from 5 thousands or so breeds and cultivated them. Tai Nong No. 8 was selected as maternal plant and Hard Stalk Red Heart variety was chosen as male parent. The whole experiment takes him 43 years, and finally in 1981 he successfully breeded the first breed, named after his mother's name "Jin Xuan". Its local name "2027", came from its trial number during experiment. Also, it is named Tai Cha No. 12 because it is the 12th Taiwanese invented tea variety.
Jin Xuan tea tree grow outward. The shape of leaves is oval (bigger than Qing Xin Da Mo) and thick but tender with green luster. Its tender buds are green full of tiny hairs. Due to its strong adaptability and stability, it can be grown from plains to high mountain zones in the height of 1600m. Growing area of Jin Xuan tea tree is the second largest than plant of Qing Xin Oolong. The main areas of Jin Xuan growing district are Jia Yi and Nantou County.
Traditionally, Jin Xuan is processed to Pouchong tea and Oolong tea and characterized of its creamy aroma, but this processing method is only used in spring and winter harvest. In order to improve tea utilization, tea farmers discover that summer harvest Jin Xuan Oolong tea is more astringent due to higher catechin, but summer harvest Jin Xuan made into black tea is not astringent at all. Especially tea leaves fed by jassid create a unique honey aroma for black tea. Therefore, Jin Xuan tea tree is widely processed to black tea in Taiwan.
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History of Oriental Beauty Oolong Tea
In the world, only Taiwan produces authentic Oriental Beauty tea. Tea jassid, little leafhopper, only feeds on tea leaves without any pesticide, and only this kind of tea leaves can be made into Oriental Beauty tea since Jassids' precious bites induce tea leaves to activate its natural healing response, some special chemical reaction which leads an increase of tea alkaloid and tea tannin ( substances making tea flavoral), and this unique mechenism naturally creates a dinstinctive aroma for Oritental Beauty tea.
Oriental Beauty was one of the famous exported Formosa Oolong teas back to the end of 19th century. A British tea merchant presented a sample of this tea to either British Queen Victoria or Queen Elizabeth II, she named this tea "oriental beauty".At that time, tea was mostly harvested at low altitude in the plains of northern Taiwan or in the Wenshan forest. Tea farmers sold their harvests to foreign tea agents (e.g., John Dodd or Jardine Matheson) for export to the West. The better the quality, the higher the price they would get. In summer, tea farmers are suffered by swamps of jassids infesting on their tea trees and almost no one harvets the leaves because tea farmers think those tea leaves can hardly be made into high quality tea. One farmer in Xin Zhu county (current geagraphy including Xin Zhu, Miao Li, and Tao Yuan) tried making teas by using those infested tea leaves. Unexpectedly, it is sold in a high price to John Dodd. The farmer proudly told his friends about that, and people doubted his words. Thus, people named the tea "Pong Fong Te", a local dialect pronunciation, meaning "Braggar's tea".
In the world, only Taiwan produces authentic Oriental Beauty tea. Tea jassid, little leafhopper, only feeds on tea leaves without any pesticide, and only this kind of tea leaves can be made into Oriental Beauty tea since Jassids' precious bites induce tea leaves to activate its natural healing response, some special chemical reaction which leads an increase of tea alkaloid and tea tannin ( substances making tea flavoral), and this unique mechenism naturally creates a dinstinctive aroma for Oritental Beauty tea.
Oriental Beauty was one of the famous exported Formosa Oolong teas back to the end of 19th century. A British tea merchant presented a sample of this tea to either British Queen Victoria or Queen Elizabeth II, she named this tea "oriental beauty".At that time, tea was mostly harvested at low altitude in the plains of northern Taiwan or in the Wenshan forest. Tea farmers sold their harvests to foreign tea agents (e.g., John Dodd or Jardine Matheson) for export to the West. The better the quality, the higher the price they would get. In summer, tea farmers are suffered by swamps of jassids infesting on their tea trees and almost no one harvets the leaves because tea farmers think those tea leaves can hardly be made into high quality tea. One farmer in Xin Zhu county (current geagraphy including Xin Zhu, Miao Li, and Tao Yuan) tried making teas by using those infested tea leaves. Unexpectedly, it is sold in a high price to John Dodd. The farmer proudly told his friends about that, and people doubted his words. Thus, people named the tea "Pong Fong Te", a local dialect pronunciation, meaning "Braggar's tea".
