【茶的歷史】

清朝統治時期
台灣的茶葉，在1800年(嘉慶5年)以前，只有水沙連產野生茶，因產於深山，難以採收。柯朝從福建引入武夷茶種，種植於深坑，到1850年台灣已有深坑、坪林兩地產茶。

1866年，英國人杜德(John Dodd)引入福建安溪茶農、茶苗，給予貸款，在今三峽地區獎勵種茶之後，茶的種植日廣，台北到彰化間的丘陵台地，逐漸發展成台灣重要的茶產地。

1869年，杜德首次將台茶運到紐約，美國成為台茶的主要市場。由於台茶國外市場的擴大，出口量逐年增加。當時在台北大稻埕經營茶葉出口的外商，計有寶順、德記、怡記、水陸、和記等五家洋行，還有本地商人經營的大小製茶行150家。

茶葉是當時台灣生產活動中與西方經濟影響最直接的一環，但農民教育水平低，耕作技術並未有所改進。

日本佔領時期
日人治台後，在1910年於平鎮設茶樹栽培試驗場，從事茶樹育種、栽培及製造等試驗。並於1936年，設「魚池紅茶試驗所」，專門從事引進印度阿薩姆種的栽培試驗及育苗推廣的工作。

台灣的茶種，多由福建傳入，經過日本人的試驗比較，選出製茶品質優良的青心烏龍、青心大冇、大葉烏龍及硬枝紅心等獎勵推廣。初期的台茶出口，是以烏龍為主，1920年以後，烏龍茶出口日蹙，包種茶出口激增。1934年以後，紅茶異軍突起，出口量超過前二者而居於首位。茶在出口貿易總值所佔比例，在1913年以前常獨佔50﹪以上，之後因為糖、米、香蕉、鳳梨罐頭等農產品外銷增加，所佔比例因而降低，次於糖、米，居第三位，輸出到美、英、日、大陸、香港等地。

光復以後
戰後初期茶葉產量因戰爭的破壞而不復當年盛況。經過不斷的改進，到1973年已超過以往的產量。原來以出口導向的製茶業，因為大陸、東南亞及斯里蘭卡地區茶業的競爭，台茶的出口量逐漸減少。

但因台灣飲茶人口的增加及對品質的要求日高，台灣的茶業產生新的國內市場。在品種和栽培法的促進、茶葉製作技術的進步下，台灣個產茶區都有其著名的產品。而飲料業大量採用茶做為原料及賣點的新趨勢，更為茶葉的市場開拓另一個無限的商機。

資料來源：吳田泉著，台灣農業史，自立晚報。

【History of Tea】

Qing Dynasty tea Taiwan, in 1800 (Jiaqing 5 years ago), only water and sand production of wild tea, produced in the mountains, difficult to harvest. Ke Chao from Fujian to introduce Wuyi tea species, planted in the pit, to 1850 Taiwan has pit, Pinglin two tea.

In 1866, British Dodd (John Dodd) the introduction of Fujian Anxi tea farmers, tea seedlings, to give loans, in the Three Gorges region after the award of tea, tea growing wide, Taipei to Changhua hilly terraces, and gradually developed into Taiwan important Of tea origin.

In 1869, Dodd first Taiwan tea shipped to New York, the United States as a major market for tea. As the Taiwan tea market expansion, exports increased year by year. At that time in Taipei, DaTangCheng business tea export of foreign, including baoshun, DeJi, YiJi, land and water, Hutchison and other five foreign firms, as well as local businessmen operating the size of tea line 150.

Tea was the most direct link in the production activities of Taiwan and western economy, but the level of farmers' education was low, and the farming technology did not improve.

After the Japanese occupation of the Japanese rule in 1910 in the town of tea planting test field, engaged in tea breeding, cultivation and manufacturing and other tests. And in 1936, set up a "fish pond black tea test", specializing in the introduction of India Assam species of cultivation experiments and nursery promotion work.

Taiwan's tea species, more imported from Fujian, after the Japanese comparison of the trial, the election of good quality green tea Oolong, Green heart big, Oolong and hard-core red heart and other incentives to promote. Early Taiwan tea exports, mainly oolong, after 1920, oolong tea export date, including tea export surge. After 1934, black tea sprung up, more than the first two exports in the first place. Tea in the proportion of the total value of export trade, in 1913 before the monopoly of more than 50%, and then because of sugar, rice, banana, pineapple canned and other agricultural exports increased, the proportion of which decreased after sugar, rice, Bit, output to the United States, Britain, Japan, the mainland, Hong Kong and other places.

After the early post-war recovery tea production due to the destruction of the war and no longer grand occasion. After continuous improvement, to 1973, more than the previous output. Originally export-oriented tea industry, because the mainland, Southeast Asia and Sri Lanka tea industry competition, Taiwan tea export volume decreased.

However, due to the increase in the population of tea drinking in Taiwan and the increasing demand for quality, Taiwan's tea industry has created a new domestic market. In the promotion of varieties and cultivation methods, the progress of tea production technology, the production of tea in Taiwan has its own well-known products. The beverage industry, a large number of tea as raw materials and selling point of the new trend, more tea market to open up another unlimited business opportunities.

Source: Wu Tianquan, Taiwan's agricultural history, independent evening paper.