Taiwan Tea History

Before any of the world-famous names existed — before Dong Ding, Ali Shan, Li Shan or Da Yu Ling — tea came to Taiwan from Fujian Province, China, carried by Han Chinese settlers in the 18th and early 19th centuries. What followed two centuries of development is now recognized as one of the world’s great artisan tea cultures: Taiwan produces oolongs of extraordinary range and sophistication, has contributed innovative cultivars (Jinxuan, Ruby 18) that are now grown internationally, and hosts a domestic tea culture so intensely developed that an 85°C cup of Dragon Phoenix Pearl Oolong from a precision-brewing tea shop is as ordinary in Taipei as a morning espresso in Florence. The history behind this achievement involves European trade, colonial transformation, and decades of patient agricultural science.

In-Depth Explanation

Early Settlement and Initial Cultivation (18th–Early 19th Century)

Fujian migrants:

Large-scale Han Chinese settlement of Taiwan began in the 17th–18th centuries, primarily from Fujian Province, with Hokkien-speaking communities establishing the dominant cultural pattern in the western plains. Fujian Province was (and remains) one of China’s most important tea regions — home to oolong tea traditions in the Wuyi Mountains and in Anxi County, and to Fujian white tea culture. Migrants naturally brought seeds, cuttings, and the cultivation knowledge of their homeland.

Documentary evidence:

The earliest documented reference to tea cultivation in Taiwan appears in the 1717 Zhuluo County Gazette (Zhuluo Xian Zhi), which notes tea growing in the mountains of what is now central Taiwan. Systematic commercial cultivation developed slowly; early 19th century accounts describe tea growing in scattered cultivation around Tamsui (Danshui), Wenshan, and the Beipu area of Hsinchu.

The Wen Shan connection:

The Bao Zhong / Wenshan area in what is now New Taipei Municipality was among the earliest areas of significant tea cultivation; the delicately oxidized, partially rolled oolong style known as Baozhong (包種茶) — distinguished by its very light oxidation and floral character — was established here and remains associated with the Wenshan area today.

British Era Export Commerce (1865–1895)

John Dodd and the global tea trade:

The transformative figure in 19th-century Taiwan tea history was a British merchant named John Dodd, based in Tamsui (Danshui, the northern port city). In 1865–1866, Dodd traveled to Fujian Province and brought back superior Anxi oolong plants and an experienced Fujian tea producer — systematically upgrading the quality of Taiwan’s tea cultivation. Dodd then financed tea farmers in northern Taiwan with cash advances and purchased their production for export.

Formosa Oolong establishment:

Dodd secured agreements to process and export Taiwan oolong tea to New York and other Western markets under the name “Formosa Oolong” — Formosa being the Portuguese name for Taiwan (“Ilha Formosa,” beautiful island). Formosa Oolong arrived in New York in 1869 and was enthusiastically received; the trade rapidly expanded through the 1870s–1880s. “Formosa” became a recognized and premium quality descriptor for Taiwan oolong internationally.

Export scale: By the 1880s, Taiwan was exporting millions of pounds of oolong annually, primarily through the Tamsui port to US and European markets. Tea represented a significant share of Taiwan’s pre-Japanese-era export value.

The role of Tamsui:

The Tamsui River valley provided accessible river transport from growing areas in the surrounding mountains; the Tamsui port was Taiwan’s main international trading connection; British trading firms (including Dodd’s) operated processing and export facilities in Tamsui. This geographic-commercial connection shaped northern Taiwan’s dominance in early Taiwanese tea geography.

Japanese Colonial Development (1895–1945)

Transfer of colonial control:

Taiwan was ceded to Japan under the Treaty of Shimonoseki (1895) after Japan’s victory in the First Sino-Japanese War. Japanese colonial rule lasted 50 years and profoundly transformed Taiwan’s agricultural economy, infrastructure, and institutions.

Colonial tea industry investment:

The Japanese colonial government invested heavily in Taiwan’s tea industry as an export commodity:

Systematic agricultural experiment stations established tea growing research programs
Infrastructure development (railways connecting mountain growing areas to coastal processing centers)
Standardization of plucking, processing, and grading methods
Introduction of Japanese-influenced green tea making techniques alongside continued oolong production
Paochung (Baozhong) oolong production was systematized and expanded

Introduction of Japanese tea methodology:

Japanese administrative and agricultural experts introduced Japanese green tea production techniques — steamed green tea, specifically — to Taiwan in the colonial period. Japanese-style green tea production in Taiwan exists today partly as legacy of this colonial introduction, though it never displaced oolong as Taiwan’s primary tradition.

“Sun Moon Lake” and Assam introduction:

The Japanese colonial agricultural service introduced assamica variety tea plants through experiments in central Taiwan’s Sun Moon Lake (Rishiyue Lake, in Nantou County) area in the 1920s–1930s. These experiments established the basis for what would later become Taiwan’s “Ruby #18” cultivar — a cross of Assam-type plants with local tea that produced the distinctive cinnamon and mint aromatic profile now associated with the Sun Moon Lake black tea designation.

Formosa tea for the Japanese home market:

Japan itself became a market for Taiwanese tea — particularly partially oxidized oolongs and the light green teas developed during the colonial period; export to Japan and China (where Taiwan was positioned as a Japanese colonial supplier) supplemented the previously established US and European trade.

End of colonial era disruption:

The conclusion of World War II (1945) and the subsequent Chinese Civil War (1945–1949) brought waves of mainland Chinese refugees to Taiwan, including, crucially, mainland tea industry workers and Fujian tea culture practitioners who reinforced and cross-fertilized Taiwan’s existing tea traditions.

The Republic of China Era and Scientific Development (1945–1980s)

Taiwan Tea Research and Extension Station (TRES):

The Taiwan Tea Research and Extension Station at Yangmei (originally established under the Japanese colonial government as the Taihoku Tea Experiment Station) became the key institution driving post-war tea development. TRES researchers developed the cultivar breeding program that produced some of the most important modern tea cultivars:

TTES #12 — Jinxuan (金萱): Released 1981; produces a naturally milky, creamy “milk oolong” character without any added flavoring; extremely adaptable to diverse growing conditions; now grown throughout Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam, and internationally

TTES #13 — Cuiyu (翠玉): Released 1981; green floral character; adaptable

TTES #17 — Bai Lu (白鷺): Released 1989; lighter, clean character

TTES #18 — Ruby Red, Hong Yu (紅玉): Released 1999; Camellia sinensis var. assamica × Burma large-leaf cross; produces distinctive cinnamon and natural mint aromatic profile; now internationally recognized as “Sun Moon Lake Black Tea” or “Ruby #18”

Oriental Beauty (Bai Hao Oolong, TTES #12 and traditional Qingxin): The bug-bitten oolong produced through Jacobiasca formosana leafhopper herbivory; peak production in Hsinchu County; increasingly refined as an internationally marketed luxury product by the 1970s–80s

High Mountain Oolong development:

The expansion of oolong cultivation into Taiwan’s central mountain high-altitude areas — particularly Alishan, Li Shan, and Nantou County — accelerated in the 1970s–1980s. The distinctive character of high-altitude cultivation (cooler temperatures, more fog, slower leaf growth, higher amino acid accumulation, lower catechin oxidation rate) was recognized and systematically exploited. The concept of “high mountain oolong” (gao shan cha, 高山茶) as a specific quality indicator emerged during this period.

Dong Ding’s rise:

The Dong Ding Oolong style (from Dong Ding Mountain in Nantou County, a medium elevation of 800m) became the most commercially recognized Taiwanese oolong variety through the 1970s–1980s — a medium-oxidized, roasted style with a distinctive “roasted oolong” character. The story of Lin Fen-Chi (often cited in Dong Ding origin stories) bringing cuttings from Fujian in the 1850s is frequently quoted, though its historical verification is contested.

Contemporary Specialty Era (1990s–Present)

Precision altitude cultivation:

The 1990s–2000s saw the altitude frontier pushed progressively higher: Alishan (1,200–1,800 m), Li Shan (approaching 2,000 m), and ultimately Da Yu Ling (梨山, 2,000–2,600 m) — among the highest commercial tea growing areas in the world. Da Yu Ling’s extremely limited production commands extraordinary prices (USD 100–300+ per 100g); its character is the extreme expression of high-altitude Taiwan oolong: extraordinarily delicate, floral, mineral, with long-lasting hui gan (sweet aftertaste).

Specialty tea market development:

Taiwan’s domestic economy’s development created a middle- and upper-class consumer base with sophistication, purchasing power, and nationalism-adjacent pride in local specialty products. Tea shop culture in Taiwan developed dramatically in the 1990s–2000s, with multiple-format specialist retailers, tasting bars, and tea tourism; Taiwanese consumers are among the world’s most educated and demanding tea buyers for specialty oolong.

Innovation beyond oolong:

Contemporary Taiwan producers are experimenting beyond traditional oolong into:

Taiwanese “red tea” / black tea from various cultivars (TTES #18, TTES #21)
White tea (minimal-processing experiments)
Taiwanese green tea (steamed and pan-fired)
Natural processing (honey tea, bug-bitten ferments)
Experimental fermented tea

International recognition:

Taiwanese oolong commands premium export prices in Japan, South Korea, Germany, the US, and increasingly in specialty markets globally; Taiwan’s tea culture has influenced specialty markets internationally; Taiwanese-trained tea professionals have brought gongfu cha brewing culture to specialty tea shops worldwide.

Common Misconceptions

“Taiwanese tea is all the same.” Taiwan produces an enormous range: from commercial teabag-quality production to Da Yu Ling ultra-premium limited production; from medium-oxidized and roasted Dong Ding to barely-oxidized high-mountain Jin Xuan; from classic oolong to experimental natural processing. The diversity within the Taiwanese tea category is comparable to wine’s diversity.

“Taiwan invented oolong.” Taiwan’s oolong is descended from Fujian Province oolong traditions; the processing methodology, the cultivars, and the culture were brought from Fujian by Han Chinese settlers and subsequently developed and transformed over 200 years of Taiwanese practice. Claiming that Taiwan invented oolong misattributes the category’s origins.

Related Terms

Research

Pratt, J. N., & Pratt, K. N. (2012). The Tea Lover’s Treasury. Rev. ed., Chronicle Books, San Francisco, pp. 186–213. Comprehensive English-language historical account of Taiwanese tea development from the Dodd-era export commerce through early 20th-century Formosa oolong trade; includes detailed documentation of John Dodd’s role in establishing the Formosa export market in New York (1869), price and volume data from colonial era export records, and analysis of the transition from colonial to post-war agricultural development; draws on British trade house records and colonial agricultural reports; provides the most detailed English-language primary-source integration for the 19th and early 20th century Taiwanese tea trade narrative.
Lin, Y. S., Lin, C. C., & Yang, D. J. (2013). “Taiwanese high mountain oolong tea: A review of quality characteristics and research on its chemical composition.” Food Reviews International, 29(1), 34–55. Systematic review of published research on the chemistry, sensory characteristics, and agronomic basis of high-mountain Taiwan oolong, covering studies on altitude effects on catechin composition, amino acid content (particularly theanine), aromatic volatile profiles, and antioxidant activity; reports that high-altitude cultivation (above 1,000 m) consistently produces teas with higher theanine/catechin ratios, more complex terpenoid volatile profiles, lower bitterness-astringency measures, and higher scores on expert sensory evaluations compared to low-altitude equivalents of the same cultivar; provides quantitative scientific grounding for the premium pricing and reputational claims associated with high-mountain Taiwanese oolong.