EU’s schemes of geographical indications and traditional specialties
To ensure the quality of tea from Taiwan, the supply of specialty teas can benefit from certain measures of protection, such as the three European Union schemes of geographical indications and traditional specialties. This scheme aims to protect the reputation of the regional foods and mitigate the effects of unfair competition faced by the producers. Once registered, tea producers in Taiwan will benefit from the right to market their products with the protected indication. Consumers in Europe will also be able to find authentic teas produced in Taiwan.
The tea culture of Taiwanese Hakka
Hakka tea culture is one of the most distinguished tea cultures in Taiwan. Hakka ground tea, Oriental Beauty, and Bitter Orange Tea all originated, developed, and preserved within the Hakka community. As a result, Hakka tea culture has a great potential to be protected by the EU’s schemes of geographical indications and traditional specialties.
Tea tours in Taiwan
Tea is produced in almost every corner of Taiwan. There are several routes with great tourism potential; however, most of the routes are not properly explored. Besides the Dadaocheng tea cultural route developed by Taiwan Tea Society, other potential routes are Sanxia green tea route, Zhu-Miao Hakka route, Lugu-Sun-Moon-Lake oolong and black tea route, Gao-Ping mountain tea and harbor tea route, eastern honeyish black tea and black oolong route, Wenshan Baozhong route, and Mutza tieguanyin route.
Tea knowledge translation and digitalization
There is a huge knowledge system underlying Taiwan’s tea culture and industry; however, most of the knowledge has not been systematically collected, sorted, translated, nor published. This situation has held back the tea culture inheritance in Taiwan and make it difficult for people to understand tea culture in Taiwan.
Based on the enormous amount of literature collected by the Taiwan Tea society and the expertise of its members, we plan to translate and digitalize tea knowledge in Taiwan, as well as supporting events and publications which can enhance the transmission of tea knowledge.
Wiki-maintenance Project
As the largest online encyclopedia globally, information on Wikipedia is crucial for people who are new to Tea from Taiwan. There is a lack of articles on Taiwanese tea, and the existing ones are mostly outdated. By editing and publishing articles on Wikipedia, knowledge of tea can be spread more easily. If you’d like to contribute, please write to us!
Cultural and Commercial Activities
Cultural and Commercial Exhibitions
While tea exhibitions have been popular, there are hardly any stakeholders from Taiwan participating in these events. We will hold and support cultural and commercial events, such as Berlin Tea Festival, to make the Taiwanese specialty tea culture flourish in Europe.
With Bellong Dining from London, we’ll blend concepts in Taiwanese tea tasting with fine dining. See how we dissect and synthesize Taiwanese tea culture through three-course finger food on Oct.29-30, 2022, at MK&G (Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe Hamburg).
Product Development
Tea Grinder
While there’s a growing interest in exploring different ways of tea brewing, there is no grinder on the market dedicated to tea. A tea grinder can solve this problem and stimulate the development of alternative tea brewing techniques.
Tea Tasting Set
While the existing tea tasting sets are similar to each other, they differ in various details such as size, materials, and design. Also, a commonly shared flaw among them is that the lid does not fit the cup well. We hope to develop a standard tea tasting set with high manufacturing standards for a better tasting experience.
Tea Aroma Kit
Subjective factors may affect the description of the tasting experience, making the communication between tasters less effective. A standardized tea aroma kit can serve as a common ground among tea tasters and be used for education purposes.
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