(All photos courtesy of Tongluo Tea Factory’s website)

Chinese name: 銅鑼茶廠

Located in: Tongluo Township, Miaoli County

Located in Tongluo Township, Miaoli County, Tongluo Tea Factory is a well-known Hakka tea factory. The tea factory and its tea garden stand on the green hillside, surrounded by arc-shaped foothills on three sides. Looking out from the tea factory, you can enjoy the picturesque scenery of the garden in the four seasons and the hazy beauty of the clouds and mists in the distant mountains. Many tourists visiting the factory like to order a pot of good tea, sip tea slowly, forget their troubles, and look forward to the train that rushes through the tea garden and rice fields, which can help them relieve stress. Tongluo Tea Factory has unexpectedly become a holy place for tourists to relieve their stress and anxiety.

The good tea produced in Taiwan’s Hakka villages is known far and wide. It has been recognized and loved at home and abroad in the past 100 years. In recent years, domestic Hakka tea factories have actively introduced sightseeing and tourism to increase the added value of the tea they process. Tongluo Tea Factory is a model representative of the successful transformation of tea growing and processing businesses. It is one of the five tea factories of Taiwan Agriculture and Forestry Co., Ltd. located in the north, central and southern parts of Taiwan. Its main products are Oriental Beauty Tea, Honey Fragrant Black Tea, Green Tea, and Oolong Tea, among which Oriental Beauty Tea (called Peng Feng Tea by Hakkas) is best known because this type of tea produced in Tongluo Tea Factory has a strong honey and fruit aroma. It has won many awards at the Oriental Beauty Tea appraisal competitions whether in the county or in the country every year. The tea factory’s high-quality tea and well-designed packaging are deeply loved by consumers.

Tongluo Tea Factory covers an area of 30 hectares. The tea plantation is located on a hilly plateau. The local weather has a large temperature difference between day and night and high humidity. In addition, the soil is acidic red clay soil, so the tea produced is relatively thick in flavor. The tea leaves are also chemically changed due to the bites from the Jacobiasca formosana insects, so the leaves emit a unique aroma. Therefore, the tea garden does not spray any insecticidal pesticides in order to attract the Jacobiasca formosana to bite the leaves and produce a unique oriental beauty tea fragrance. For this reason, the various types of tea harvested here are particularly popular, especially because nowadays, people prefer organic and healthy products.

Apart from its staff picking and making tea each day, the Tongluo Tea Factory also opens its premises to visitors to experience tea picking and tea making in its tea garden. Many tourists wear tea picking outfits and become tea farmers for a day. They busy themselves picking and kneading tea leaves. In less than a day, they can make their own tea, and learn about tea farmers and tea makers' persistence in art of tea growing and processing. In addition, the tea factory’s transformation includes not only DIY experiences, it also offers a scenic tea garden trails, viewing terraces and other facilities which are convenient for visitors. As visitors sit and enjoy the beautiful scenery of Tongluo Shuangfeng Mountain (雙峰山), they can order a pot of tea, and enjoy sipping a cup of tea. When the hot water unfolds the tea, the rich fragrance of tea lingers in the air. Sipping the tea and gazing at a wide stretch of the tea garden, the old trees and the lush hills nearby and far, and seeing the train pass by, you will find that having a cup of tea in a Hakka village, and enjoying the beautiful view of the tea garden can indeed let you forget about your worries.