Pinglin Tea Farmers Insist on Organic Methods to Protect Water Source, Favoring 'Non-Standard' Process Flavors
For 18 years, Jing-Yuan Tea Farm in Pinglin, New Taipei, has collaborated with farmers, insisting on organic cultivation to protect the water source of the Feitsui Reservoir. Tea master and farmer Liao Hsien-kang states that although organic tea yields are lower, the natural processes result in richer, non-standardized flavors that break free from conventional aesthetic frameworks.
📋 Article Processing Timeline
- 📰 Published: May 13, 2026 at 16:48
- 🔍 Collected: May 13, 2026 at 17:02 (13 min after Published)
- 🤖 AI Analyzed: May 13, 2026 at 19:35 (2h 32m after Collected)
(CNA, New Taipei, 13th) For 18 years, Jing-Yuan Tea Farm in Pinglin, New Taipei, has collaborated with local farmers, insisting on organic cultivation to protect the soil and water sources. Liao Hsien-kang, a tea master and farmer, stated that the flavors presented by organic tea through natural processes are richer and more diverse, not limited by the standard aesthetic framework.
Most of the land in Pinglin, New Taipei City, consists of hills and slopes, with tea being the main cash crop. However, as the area is located in the catchment of the Feitsui Reservoir, pesticides, chemical fertilizers, and herbicides could not only affect water quality but also cause soil erosion from exposed topsoil, leading to reservoir sedimentation.
The Tse-Xin Organic Agriculture Foundation launched the 'Jing-Yuan Project' in 2007 to promote the transition of tea gardens in the Feitsui Reservoir's water source area to organic farming, aiming to protect the soil, drinking water sources, and ecology. In 2008, they established a dedicated organic tea processing facility to prevent cross-contamination between conventional and organic tea making. In recent years, they have also created the 'Organic' Island Tea' brand to actively expand into the youth market.
Yesterday, the Tse-Xin Foundation held a media tour for the '18th Year of the Jing-Yuan Project,' inviting the foundation's CEO Su Mu-jung, farmers Yu San-he, Chen Lu-he, Chan Cheng-te, and tea master Liao Hsien-kang to a panel to share their organic farming experiences, followed by a visit to a tea garden to explain the tea harvesting process.
Su Mu-jung recalled that the transition to organic was not easy. To persuade farmers to adopt organic practices, he traveled extensively, understanding their concerns about yield and quality and finding solutions together. He is very grateful to the farmers for their courage in embarking on this transformation journey with him.
Su Mu-jung said that when the project started in 2007, only one organic tea farmer joined. Today, there are 36 farmers, and the area of organic tea gardens has grown from 5 hectares to 57 hectares, placing Pinglin at the forefront of organic tea promotion.
Yu San-he was one of the first farmers to cooperate with Jing-Yuan Tea Farm. Deeply aware of the damage caused by conventional farming, he insisted on organic methods to protect the land and water, developing a 'wild-release tea' style with minimal human intervention—no fertilizing, no pruning, no watering. He has been honored as a National Model Farmer and an Environmental Hero.
Farmer Chen Lu-he, known as the 'Frog Prince,' shared that he returned to Pinglin to grow organic tea after retiring 20 years ago. One day, he found many Feitsui tree frogs in a bucket next to his tea garden and has since dedicated himself to their conservation, turning his garden into a safe habitat for endangered species. It has also attracted muntjacs, pangolins, Taiwan blue magpies, and Swinhoe's pheasants as regular visitors.
Young farmer Chan Cheng-te comes from a traditional tea family. Initially, he and his father had major disagreements over cultivation and management methods. The older generation's conventional approach involved using herbicides to clear weeds, believing they compete for nutrients. However, Chan believed that leaving weeds enriches the soil's organic matter and makes the tea plants healthier. Through persistent communication, he persuaded his father to allocate a specific area for his 'organic experiment,' gradually earning recognition with his results.
Liao Hsien-kang, originally a sommelier, entered the tea industry by chance and learned his way up to become the chief tea master at Jing-Yuan Tea Farm. Liao said that a conventional tea garden can produce about 400 catties of fresh tea leaves per 'fen' (approx. 969.9 sq meters), while a high-yielding organic garden produces only about 200 catties. His own garden yields just 100 catties.
Despite the low yield and difficulty in preventing pests and diseases, Liao remains fond of the uniqueness of organic tea. He said that current high-mountain or competition teas are like beauty pageants, where cultivation and processing strive to match the judges' preferred tastes, resulting in very similar final products. 'But organic tea is not confined by this aesthetic framework.'
Liao gave an example: while general farmers use gas for hot-air withering, they use sun-drying. The variations and richness brought by the changing cloud cover and sunlight intensity at different times of the day offer more diversity and showcase non-standardized flavor characteristics. (Editor: Lin Shu-hui) 1150513
Most of the land in Pinglin, New Taipei City, consists of hills and slopes, with tea being the main cash crop. However, as the area is located in the catchment of the Feitsui Reservoir, pesticides, chemical fertilizers, and herbicides could not only affect water quality but also cause soil erosion from exposed topsoil, leading to reservoir sedimentation.
The Tse-Xin Organic Agriculture Foundation launched the 'Jing-Yuan Project' in 2007 to promote the transition of tea gardens in the Feitsui Reservoir's water source area to organic farming, aiming to protect the soil, drinking water sources, and ecology. In 2008, they established a dedicated organic tea processing facility to prevent cross-contamination between conventional and organic tea making. In recent years, they have also created the 'Organic' Island Tea' brand to actively expand into the youth market.
Yesterday, the Tse-Xin Foundation held a media tour for the '18th Year of the Jing-Yuan Project,' inviting the foundation's CEO Su Mu-jung, farmers Yu San-he, Chen Lu-he, Chan Cheng-te, and tea master Liao Hsien-kang to a panel to share their organic farming experiences, followed by a visit to a tea garden to explain the tea harvesting process.
Su Mu-jung recalled that the transition to organic was not easy. To persuade farmers to adopt organic practices, he traveled extensively, understanding their concerns about yield and quality and finding solutions together. He is very grateful to the farmers for their courage in embarking on this transformation journey with him.
Su Mu-jung said that when the project started in 2007, only one organic tea farmer joined. Today, there are 36 farmers, and the area of organic tea gardens has grown from 5 hectares to 57 hectares, placing Pinglin at the forefront of organic tea promotion.
Yu San-he was one of the first farmers to cooperate with Jing-Yuan Tea Farm. Deeply aware of the damage caused by conventional farming, he insisted on organic methods to protect the land and water, developing a 'wild-release tea' style with minimal human intervention—no fertilizing, no pruning, no watering. He has been honored as a National Model Farmer and an Environmental Hero.
Farmer Chen Lu-he, known as the 'Frog Prince,' shared that he returned to Pinglin to grow organic tea after retiring 20 years ago. One day, he found many Feitsui tree frogs in a bucket next to his tea garden and has since dedicated himself to their conservation, turning his garden into a safe habitat for endangered species. It has also attracted muntjacs, pangolins, Taiwan blue magpies, and Swinhoe's pheasants as regular visitors.
Young farmer Chan Cheng-te comes from a traditional tea family. Initially, he and his father had major disagreements over cultivation and management methods. The older generation's conventional approach involved using herbicides to clear weeds, believing they compete for nutrients. However, Chan believed that leaving weeds enriches the soil's organic matter and makes the tea plants healthier. Through persistent communication, he persuaded his father to allocate a specific area for his 'organic experiment,' gradually earning recognition with his results.
Liao Hsien-kang, originally a sommelier, entered the tea industry by chance and learned his way up to become the chief tea master at Jing-Yuan Tea Farm. Liao said that a conventional tea garden can produce about 400 catties of fresh tea leaves per 'fen' (approx. 969.9 sq meters), while a high-yielding organic garden produces only about 200 catties. His own garden yields just 100 catties.
Despite the low yield and difficulty in preventing pests and diseases, Liao remains fond of the uniqueness of organic tea. He said that current high-mountain or competition teas are like beauty pageants, where cultivation and processing strive to match the judges' preferred tastes, resulting in very similar final products. 'But organic tea is not confined by this aesthetic framework.'
Liao gave an example: while general farmers use gas for hot-air withering, they use sun-drying. The variations and richness brought by the changing cloud cover and sunlight intensity at different times of the day offer more diversity and showcase non-standardized flavor characteristics. (Editor: Lin Shu-hui) 1150513