Taiwan Black Tea Research and Development Center Introduction
Walking into the Taiwan Black Tea Industry Cultural Museum is like opening a historical scroll that carries a century's worth of memories. Here, the remarkable journey of Taiwanese black tea, from its budding stage to flourishing, transitioning from a local industry to the international stage, is witnessed. During Japanese rule, due to the rise of the global black tea market, the Governor-General's Office encouraged farmers in Hsinchu Prefecture (now the Taoyuan, Hsinchu, and Miaoli area) to actively expand tea plantations, focusing on the production and export of black tea, swiftly making Guanxi a major hub for black tea production. In this prosperous period of tea, the Luo family became pioneers in promoting the tea industry in Guanxi. The Luo family tea business, supported by over 200 acres of self-operated tea gardens, produced black tea that was renowned across Taiwan for its high quality and affordability, winning the top honor at the "Island-wide Specialty Product Popularity Poll" in 1935, becoming a representative of Taiwanese agricultural products at the time. However, during this period, the black tea industry faced challenges regarding insufficient refining capabilities. A large amount of Guanxi black tea had to be refined through foreign trading firms in Dadaocheng, Taipei, or Japanese trading companies before being exported overseas. To solve this bottleneck, Mr. Luo Bi-yu led family members and local gentry to establish the "Taiwan Black Tea Co., Ltd., Guanxi Refining Factory" in 1937, ushering in a new era of direct export for Guanxi black tea and solidifying Taiwan Black Tea Company's historical status in the Taiwanese tea industry. The establishment of the Taiwan Black Tea Industry Cultural Museum symbolizes the fusion of culture and industry; the museum not only preserves the history and tea-making techniques of the tea factory but also carries the important mission of transmitting tea culture. The exhibition space utilizes the idle areas of the tea factory, which continues to produce tea during the tea season. This unique model of coexistence of production and display makes the cultural museum the best place to dynamically showcase Taiwan's tea culture, allowing visitors to deeply understand the value and characteristics of Taiwanese tea industry from production, refining, to marketing. On a cultural level, the stories of the Taiwan Black Tea Industry Cultural Museum are even more rich and diverse. Mr. Luo Hsiang-tsai, the second-generation leader of Taiwan Black Tea Company, served as president of the Guanxi Tao Society (a poet society established over a century ago) for a decade, symbolizing one of the important aspects of Taiwan's literature and art. With his outstanding leadership and enthusiasm, Luo Hsiang-tsai closely intertwined the black tea industry with literature and art, creating a story of interdisciplinary cooperation. The third generation, Mr. Luo Ching-shih, is the initiator of Taiwan's Hakka San Hang Poetry, promoting innovative development of Hakka culture, showcasing profound cultural connotations, and becoming a vehicle for transmitting emotion and culture. This has made the Taiwan Black Tea Industry Cultural Museum an excellent place where poetry and the aroma of tea blend, attracting literary figures to linger and reminisce. Now entering the fourth generation, the management of the cultural museum upholds a more open attitude, committed to inheriting the feelings and dreams of ancestors, actively striving to make the Taiwan Black Tea Industry Cultural Museum a cultural and artistic exchange center in the local area, injecting new vitality into the community and culture. The museum houses many artifacts and stories related to tea and the historical trajectory of how Guanxi black tea reached the international stage, establishing the important position of Taiwanese tea industry internationally. The Taiwan Black Tea Industry Cultural Museum is a profound cultural story co-written by the Luo family and the Guanxi region. Here is a platform connecting the past and the future, a bridge that transmits Taiwan's tea culture to the world, and the best testament to the rich cultural heritage and the spiritual power passed down through generations of this land.
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