Taiwan - Dongding Oolong

The history of tea in Taiwan is relatively recent and greatly influenced by the European, Chinese and Japanese tea trades.
One finds tea plants growing wildly in central an eastern Taiwan and it was from the 17th century that tea has been produced, but it is only starting with the arrival of seedlings from China that the taiwanese tea production takes off.
Then, in the mid 19 hundreds the Scottish merchant John Dodd founds the Dodd&co. company in the northern part of the island. Together with his Chinese partner, Dodd imports large quantities of tea seedlings, as well as craftsmen of the tea production from Xiamen in China. These craftsmen teach the local tea growers their knowledge concerning growing and producing tea. The famous "Formosa tea" is born and is being exported as a luxury good into the world. In 1869 the Dodd& co company ship more than 210'000 kg of Formosa-Oolong to New York city. During the fifty years of Japanese occupation, the growing and producing of tea is expanded and a system of quality control is introduced.
At the same time the Japanese government prohibits the export of taiwanese green tea, in order to reduce the competition for the japanese green tea.
In 1970 the Taiwanese tea production makes up 75-85% of the global output; only four years later the export figures drop considerably due to the economice development.