Hugosum Confectionery and Tea Estate Introduction
Sun Moon Lake Black Tea has returned to the world stage with artisan Shi Chaohsing. In 1949, he entered the "Tea Industry Training Institute" to learn tea production techniques and was later assigned to work at the "Chimu Black Tea Factory," inheriting the tea-making skills from senior Japanese craftsmen as the factory supervisor until his retirement. His passion and dedication to black tea witnessed the rise and decline of the Sun Moon Lake black tea industry. Once, Sun Moon Lake black tea was incredibly popular, flourishing from the early Japanese occupation in the cultivation era to the prosperous tea-filled years of the 1960s. However, as the tea industry's situation changed and cheap foreign tea flooded the market, the Sun Moon Lake black tea industry gradually declined. After a lifetime of planting and producing tea, the old tea master, holding onto his affection for the land and hope for the industry, chose to continue growing tea instead of switching to profitable betel nut farming, believing that black tea would one day experience a renaissance. Currently, his second-generation descendants have inherited his artisan spirit and tea-making skills, and are not only committed to crafting excellent tea but also determined to showcase it, creating a new image for Sun Moon Lake black tea. In 2005, they established a tea factory for tourism, providing a venue to witness the historical and cultural development of the Sun Moon Lake black tea industry. This initiative aims to enhance understanding of the black tea industry, contribute to local cultural heritage, and further promote the culture of Sun Moon Lake black tea to the world.
