A Tea Master’s Eye for Possibility

When Wu Chiu-Ling receives a batch of raw tea, she cannot wait to brew it, like a child with the anticipation of discovering hidden treasures. Nearly forty years into her tea journey, her passion and sensitivity toward tea remain undiminished. Precision selection is where Buo-Ya Tea's strength lies. When the raw teas arrive, barely one tenth meets the required standard. As Buo-Ya Tea's flavor director, Wu plays multiple roles: as a green leaf seeker sourcing the finest lots from the origin, and a master roaster bringing out the tea's hidden aroma and elevating it to an art form.

For seven years in a row, Buo-Ya Tea has earned the highest three-star rating for Superior Taste Award from International Taste Institute (formerly ITQI), an equivalent of the Michelin Guide of consumer food and beverage products. This year, they once again secured the honor of the highest rating. Their growing collection of gold medals is approaching ten, placing them at the forefront of Taiwan's tea industry.

As the driving force behind Taitung Red Oolong, Wu Chiu-Ling has revealed a new frontier in the industry. For a long time, it has been said that teas grown at high altitude are better than the ones grown at lower altitude because they produce superior flavor. But the rise of the roasting craftsmanship in eastern Taiwan has challenged this long-standing belief. Through roasting, Buo-Ya Tea's Red Oolong achieves a captivating taste that rivals those high-altitude teas.

 

 

The Courage to Fail: How Mistakes Led to Mastery

Born to a tenant-farming family in Chiayi, Wu Chiu-Ling worked part-time while completing her studies at the National Chiayi Institute of Agriculture. In 1986, she moved with her husband to Luye, Taitung, where they founded Buo-Ya Tea. Around the same time, the Taitung Branch of the Tea and Beverage Research Station (TBRS) was established. Wu began working there, immersing herself in both the technical and economic aspects of tea.

After 1991, Luye's tea industry came under pressure from both imported teas and the rise of high-mountain varieties, causing it to decline rapidly. In response, Wu Sheng-Shun, then Director of the Taitung Branch of the TBRS, pioneered the development of Red Oolong in hopes of reviving the local industry. However, Red Oolong was not well received in its early days, and few experienced tea makers were willing to give it a try.

However, Wu Chiu-Ling saw the potential in Red Oolong. To support this drive for tea innovation, she began to research roasting techniques. She bought a small tea roasting machine and practiced at home.

"I've ruined more tea than I can count," she recalls. There is a fine line between too little and too much. What should be aromatic and sweet could turn flat and bitter in an instant. "But that kind of foolish courage is necessary. You just have to try again and again. That's how you begin to understand how tea changes."

 

Roasting as a Tug-of-War

With every batch of raw tea, Wu Chiu-Ling records a precise flavor analysis, her initial roasting plan, and the subtle changes in taste after each round of roasting and the ways to adjust— these are all meticulously written down in her notebook.

Her method of roasting is a delicate tug-of-war with time and flavor, a patient exchange of forward and back. Crafting a single tea can take more than a month, followed by two more months of resting to let the charcoal smell from repeated roasting wears off and allows the tea to regain its essence. Each roast lasts several hours, and the same batch of tea usually undergoes three to four rounds of roasting. Every round is spaced a week apart, during which the moisture in the tea leaves would redistribute to the surface. She then roasts again, sometimes twice, sometimes four times— each time further refining the brew. Forward, backward, again and again, that strips away unwanted flavors and leads to a tea of perfect smoothness.

But roasting is only part of her craft. Her other secret lies in the raw leaf. To elevate its quality, she makes bold investments—working closely with farmers to explore better cultivation methods while guaranteeing full purchase of all contracted harvests. Her uncompromising standards in both quality and flavor are the key to Buo-Ya Tea's globally recognized excellence.

 

Toward a More Sustainable Future

The second generation of Buo-Ya Tea, Wu Chiu-Ling's son Jian Jui-Hong is recognized among Taiwan's "Top 100 Young Farmers", but also brought modern business management to the brand.

Under the leadership of Jian Jui-Hong, Buo-Ya Tea transitioned into a fully structured company, establishing dedicated teams for tea garden management, professional tea production, brand marketing, overseas development, and in-house design. The company now oversees 16 hectares of self-owned and contracted tea gardens. Through stable purchasing agreements, it not only supports the livelihoods of tea farmers but also upholds a commitment to sustainable farming methods. To meet the needs of different markets, Buo-Ya Tea produces both premium hand-picked teas and commercial-grade machine-harvested teas.

Jian also ventures into cross-industry collaborations, developing Red Oolong snacks, candies, and bottled teas. His commitment to carbon footprint reduction has earned Buo-Ya Tea a Dun & Bradstreet (D&B) ESG Registered badge, hoping to nudge the industry toward a more sustainable path.

 

Behind every brew of Buo-Ya Tea is not a farmer or a vendor, but a "tea interpreter", one who sees promise in thousands of raw teas, who draws the essence of every brew through time and experience.