Hugosum and Food Forest Tea Garden Introduction
Sun Moon Lake Black Tea Returns to the World Stage Tea master Shih Chao-Hsing entered the "Tea Industry Training Institute" in 1949 to learn tea-making techniques. He was later assigned to work at "Chimu Black Tea Factory," where he inherited the Japanese tea-making techniques from senior tea masters and served as "Factory Director" until his retirement. His passion and dedication to black tea witnessed the rise and fall of the Sun Moon Lake black tea industry. Once, Sun Moon Lake black tea was extremely popular, flourishing from the early Japanese colonial period's cultivation to the prosperous tea-growing years of the 1960s. However, with significant changes in the tea industry and the influx of cheap foreign tea, the Sun Moon Lake black tea industry gradually declined. After six decades of planting and making tea, the veteran tea master held dear to the love for his land and hope for the industry. So, while others became wealthy from betel nut farming, he insisted on growing tea, believing that black tea would one day shine again. Currently, the second generation has inherited their father’s craftsmanship and tea-making skills. Besides focusing on crafting great tea, they are determined to ensure that good tea is recognized, recreating a new image for Sun Moon Lake black tea. In 2005, they established a tourist tea factory, providing a place to witness the historical and cultural development of the Sun Moon Lake black tea industry. This initiative not only helps more people understand the knowledge of the black tea industry but also contributes to the local cultural inheritance, further promoting the culture of Sun Moon Lake black tea to let the world see it.
