(Photo credit: Taoyuan City Government)
Chinese name: 福源茶廠
Located at: Taoyuan City (Northern Taiwan)
Year of Establishment: 1949
English Address: No. 56, 590 Lane 325, Zhulong Road, Longtan District, Taoyuan City
After experiencing the
rise and fall of Taiwan's tea production industry, the hundreds of tea
factories established in Taoyuan City’s Longtan district during the heyday shut
down and their land was put up for sale. Today, there are only a handful of tea
factories left. Fuyuan Tea Factory is representative of the local old tea
factories. After the rise and fall of the tea industry, it has been passed down
to the 5th generation and transformed from a traditional tea factory to a
sightseeing tea factory, providing people with tours and experiences. Other
than continuing the century-old tea production, it is passing down the local tea
culture, and uses sightseeing to help Taiwan’s tea industry find innovative new
export channels.
(Photo credit: Taoyuan City Government)
Fuyuan Tea Factory has a
history of more than 90 years. It was the earliest company during the period of
Japanese colonial rule to acquire tea from tea farmers, sell it to the
refineries of Dadaocheng (in Taipei), and then sell it to the world through
foreign firms or Japanese trading companies. The founder established the
factory in 1949, introduced Western tea production equipment, and mechanized
the small-scale production into mass production. Nowadays, the antique European
tea-making machines are still running.
(Photo credit: Taoyuan City Government)
Huang Cheng-wei, the
fifth-generation successor who took over Fuyuan Tea Factory, originally planned
to devote his life to the electronics industry, but the tea factory had to go
to the United States to participate in an exhibition and lacked manpower, so he
decided to quit his job and take over the family business. Huang Cheng-wei used
youthful thinking to seek the transformation of the traditional tea factory. He
personally guides tourists visiting the factory, tells the old story of the tea
factory, and provides people with a chance to experience DIY activities such as
tea picking, rolling tea wrapped into a cloth ball, rolling black tea, grinding
tea powder, and learning about tea culture from tea-making masters. Visitors
can try their hand at making tea, and amidst the healing fragrance of tea,
release the pressure from their busy life.
(Photo credit: Taoyuan City Government)
Fuyuan Tea Factory not
only produces raw tea, but also provides tea to well-known manufacturers to
produce tea beverages. It also cooperates with breakfast shops, food and
beverage outlets, beverage stores and other channels to expand the market for
its tea. For instance, the Japanese-style green tea of the famous Taiwanese
beverage brand “Cha Li Wang” (茶裏王King of Tea) is produced in Fuyuan Tea Factory.
In 2015, Fuyuan Tea
Factory earned three excellent stars in the tea plant environmental health and
safety evaluation. It is also recommended by the city government to foreign
visitors. It provides high quality tea such as Oriental Beauty Tea (東方美人茶), Baozhong tea (包種茶) and Red Jade Black Tea (紅玉紅茶) as well as other exquisite
tea for domestic and foreign tourists.
(Photo credit: Taoyuan City Government)
Walking along the historic trail to Fuyuan Tea Factory, you will see the natural scenery of the hills, tea picking ladies, wearing bamboo hats wrapped in Hakka flower cloth and carrying a bamboo tea basket, bent over picking tea leaves, creating a leisurely tea garden style painting. In recent years, the tea factory has also been included in the government’s Taiwan Romantic Route 3 for exploring the charming side of Taiwan. The factory is making efforts in accordance with the government policy to promote the branding and added high value of the local tea industry. It is hoped that the Fuyuan Tea Factory will make Longtan the best place for a trip to a small tea town.