全通翻譯/翻譯社

Refined Tea — A Century of Brewing

As Lunar New Year approaches, Dihua Street becomes the go-to place for New Year shopping. A look at its teeming hordes is enough to convince visitors of its fame. What you may not know is the reason this street in the historic area of Dadaocheng became so prosperous: tea.

Dadaocheng was once the principal trade and export center on the Danshui River. From 1869, Taiwan's Oolong Tea was exported to New York, marking the start of direct sales to the European and American markets.

During the Japanese occupation era, the tea industry became the chief source of foreign exchange revenues in Taiwan, and tea shops sprung up around Dadaocheng. Founded in 1890 in Xiamen, Wang Tea set up shop in Dadaocheng in 1907. Still thriving, this fourth generation establishment serves as a living witness to the history of Taiwanese tea. Located near the Chaoyang Tea Park, Wang Tea specializes in processing crude tea. Owner Wang Lien-yuan says the company prides itself on providing high-quality refined tea at reasonable prices, regardless of origin.

Wang's traditional dry roasting technique is a guarantee of quality. In the roasting room, the baking basket is gently roasted over a charcoal fire for 24 hours. Only after such a painstaking process is a batch of finely made tea ready for discriminating consumers.

走過百年──精製茶這一行

隨著農曆年的到來，迪化街成了採購年貨的必到之處。看到擠得水洩不通的人潮就足以讓造訪者對其響亮名聲感到信服。不過你可能不知道大稻埕歷史名勝區裡的這條老街會如此繁榮全是因為：茶。

大稻埕曾是淡水河主要的貿易與出口中心。自一八六九年起，台灣的烏龍茶就外銷至紐約，開啟台製茶直銷歐美市場的大門。 日據時期時，茶產業成為台灣外匯收入的主要來源，大稻埕的茶行如雨後春筍般地出現。一八九○年於廈門創立的有記名茶在一九○七年開設了大稻埕的店面。有記傳承四代仍舊興旺，成為台灣茶歷史的鮮明見證。有記名茶座落在朝陽茶公園附近，專營毛茶加工。老闆王連源表示，不論茶出自哪個產地，有記都以提供價位合理的高品質精製茶而自豪。

有記的傳統旱焙技術是品質的保證。在焙窟間裡，焙籠以炭火慢慢烘焙24小時。唯有在如此費心的製作過程後，一批批精製茶才能送到具鑑賞力的消費者手中。

資料來源：biz 互動英語