Exploring Emei, Hsinchu: The Home of Oriental Beauty Tea

The Taiwanese drama "Gold Leaf" portrays how tea merchants, in a difficult era, brought Taiwan's unique tea industry to the international stage, and the drama has once again drawn everyone's attention to "Hsinchu, China", the production area of Puff Tea featured in the show. Here there is not only the filming location from the drama, but also a cultural center dedicated to promoting tea across generations. The center displays many tea-making tools from the old days, and visitors can even try their hand at operating the machines. When you get tired of browsing, sit down and have a cup of tea while listening to the owner tell stories about tea. There is also a bakery here that incorporates local specialties and offers kiln-baking DIY, letting visitors experience what it feels like to be a baker for a day.

In the vast tea fields, tea farmers nimbly pick tea leaves, preparing to send them to the factory to be made into Taiwan's unique "Oriental Beauty Tea." Zeng Xianghong, owner of Fuxing Cultural Tea House, says: "(Hsinchu) is where the most famous one is made. Oriental Beauty Tea is also what is called Puff Tea, and some people call it Baihao Oolong." Walking into the Fuxing Tea Culture Center, the antique-style building makes people feel as if they have traveled through a time tunnel. A large tree leaning at an angle by the entrance is like their signboard, drawing visitors inside. As the hometown of Oriental Beauty Tea, Emei in Hsinchu has many old tea factories with long histories, and as times have changed, they have combined with tourism so that visitors can come here and explore the history of tea.

Zeng Xianghong, owner of Fuxing Cultural Tea House, says: "Taiwan's first fully automatic dryer." The center displays many traditional tea-making machines, and with the owner as a guide, it is like witnessing the development of a tea factory. But unlike ordinary exhibitions, here visitors can actually operate the rolling machine and experience the traditional tea-making process. Children try to turn the handle, and it is quite strenuous to operate; even adults have to use some strength to turn it, which lets visitors deeply feel the hardship of tea-making. A visitor says: "For an adult, I think this can be a workout." A visitor says: "I think it's so good to have electricity."

The owner leads everyone on a tour of every corner of the center. When you get tired of walking, sit down and have a cup of tea, savor the classic tea of an old-brand tea factory, and chat about the stories of tea. If that still isn't enough, you can go around to the side and try kiln-baked bread. A roaring fire keeps raising the temperature of the kiln, the prepared bread is placed inside, and everyone waits for the moment it comes out. This kiln-baked bread bakery is tucked away in an abandoned Catholic church in Emei. At first, through an unexpected turn of events, the owner began his bread-making career. Jiang Xinjun, owner of the kiln-baked bread bakery, says: "(I wanted to help) him (my neighbor) get out of depression, so we built the kiln. This is a bread kiln, and then I went to learn how to make bread."

Besides making bread yourself, DIY activities are also offered here. Knead, weave, and shape carefully, with the owner guiding closely, letting visitors become bakers for a day and experience the fun of kiln-baked bread. The baked bread, cut open with one slice, is crispy outside and soft inside. From having no experience at all to developing bread flavors on his own, the owner incorporated the local specialties Oriental Beauty Tea and tankan oranges to create flavors with Hsinchu characteristics. A visitor says: "There's the flavor of sourdough and the fragrance of tea leaves, and I think this environment is very comfortable." In your spare time, you can take a stroll around Emei and enjoy a journey filled with the fragrance of tea.