Mr. Chen Nen Yu is a tea grower in the district of Nantou.
What lead you to work in the world of tea?
How and when did you begin? Do you come from a teagrowing family tradition?
I was born into a family of tea growers. Both my grandfather and my father were growers. I learned from them how to cultivate tea, to manage a garden and to process the leaves. I also received state-sponsored training in the tea industry. It has now been 17 years since I took over the family business.
Do you have a large tea garden? How big is it?
My tea garden covers 2 hectares [5 acres].
How much tea do you produce annually?
Do you have employees?
I produce about 5,000 kilos [ 11,000 pounds] of tea per year. In addition to the 30 pickers that I need during harvest time, I have three full-time employees who take care of the garden and five other seasonal employees who work in the processing plant.
Do you have your own store to sell your tea?
No, I don't.
To whom do you sell your tea? To the local or international market?
I sell most of my tea on the local market.
What kind of tea do you produce?
I produce Qing Shin wulong tea in Lugu as well as a little Jin Shuan, I also have two gardens in Shan Lin Xi.
Have you noticed changes in the industry and in your clientele since you started out?
Yes, in my father's and grandfather's time, the garden was small, the business was small, salaries were lower and almost all production was done by hand. Now we have high-tech equipment that allows us to manage a bigger garden and produce a lot more tea. The tendency in the industry now is toward specialization in a specific area, either cultivation, processing or trading tea.
