On the factory floor, a tea master starts up an antique Jackson roller—nearly eighty years old—and its rumble fills the room, pulling the mind back to the era when Taiwan's tea exports were at their height. This old factory was the lasting witness to that glory.

In 1926, Japan's Mitsui Gōmei Kaisha established a modern tea processing facility in Daxi called the Kakubanzan Factory and launched the Nitto Black Tea brand, which found ready markets overseas. After the war, Taiwan Tea Corporation took over the factory, only to have its original buildings destroyed by fire in 1956. Local records note that President Chiang Kai-shek, passing through Jiaoban Mountain, ordered military engineers to assist in rebuilding, allowing the factory to continue operating. The 1970s brought a peak in Taiwan's tea export trade, with tea generating substantial foreign exchange earnings; the Daxi factory was a key production site during this period. After the 1980s, however, Taiwan's competitiveness in international tea markets steadily declined. The factory ceased production in 1995, and most of the surrounding tea gardens were converted to bamboo shoot farms. Younger generations grew up not knowing that Daxi had once been one of Taiwan's most important tea-producing areas.

From Industrial Base to Terroir Destination

With the rise of leisure agriculture in Taiwan, Taiwan Tea Corporation began reviving the long-dormant factory in 2010, relaunching it under the name Daxi Tea Factory. The company restored the tea gardens at Amuping in Daxi District, Taoyuan using natural farming methods—no chemical fertilizers, no heavy machinery—to cultivate tea leaves that express the distinctive terroir of the area. These tea leaves are then brought back to the old factory for processing. The factory retains its original ventilation and lighting structures, designed with tea production in mind: natural mountain breezes and sunlight allow the leaves to wither naturally, while the Japanese-era production methods have been carried forward to recreate the black tea character that earned international renown in earlier decades.

The factory buildings themselves have also been restored, preserving the original structure and the marks of age. Hinoki cypress trusses and blue-grey window frames give the space a spare, refined industrial beauty. Select areas have been adapted for visitors—the old tea storage warehouse, for instance, now houses a tea-and-books room where the scent of tea mingles with that of paper. The Daxi Tea Factory engages with the land through sustainable green tourism, and in the culinary sphere it has developed an approach of cooking and pairing with tea: a range of tea-infused pastries and light bites, from matcha pound cake to desserts incorporating brewed tea, so that tea becomes something not just to drink, but to taste and remember—a tangible expression of Daxi's terroir.

☛ Daxi Tea Factory has been selected as one of the Ministry of Culture's inaugural 100 Culture Bases.