When travelers come to Luye, Taitung, many stop by A-Rong Natural Farm to buy the famous wood-fired dried pineapple. But insiders know the shop has more to offer than pineapple. The Chang family that runs A-Ron Natural Farm started from tea farming, and the second generation now cultivates and processes Red Oolong using natural farming methods. Their teas are clean, pure, and of exceptional quality. Building on this foundation of ecological tea, second-generation of the shop Chang Yi-Ming has gone beyond simply making and selecting tea. He founded a Flavor Academy and launched the TeaHof Select Series, introducing the concept of micro-batch Red Oolong, drawing in the attention of younger generations with lively and playful language.
On the corner of Longtian Village, A-Rong Natural Farm feels like a traditional Taiwanese grocery store, once carrying everyday staples like rice, oil, and salt, but now transformed into a hub for eco-friendly living. Whether selling their own farm produce or offering carefully chosen goods on consignment, the shop has quietly spread a philosophy of natural living for more than a decade, becoming a lifestyle landmark in its own right.
Years earlier, Chang Yi-Ming's father, Chang Cheng-Rong, returned home to farm, taking over the family's old tea garden. At the time, Luye's tea industry was collapsing under the pressure from imported teas. Many farmers abandoned tea altogether and replanted with pineapple. Refusing to uproot his old tea trees, Chang Cheng-Rong chose instead to pursue self-production and direct sales. He trained at the Tea and Beverage Research Station (TBRS), cultivating both tea and pineapple, and gradually shifted toward natural farming methods. This dual path became the backbone of today's A-Rong Natural Farm.
The family’s old grocery shop was transformed by Chang Yi-Ming’s father into a place store that carries on the warmth of community.
An Unexpected Journey into Tea
Seated behind a handcrafted wooden bar, surrounded by a space that reflects his parents' natural and unpretentious way of life, Chang Yi-Ming recalls the unlikely connections tea brought into his world.
In high school, an American once took a six-hour train ride just to visit his home and drink tea. Pulled in as an impromptu translator, Chang Yi-Ming realized for the first time that perhaps his family's tea was something special. After graduation, that same American later hired him to help source ecological teas in Hong Kong. Traveling through tea regions such as Longjing and Wuyishan in China, he unexpectedly became a tea trader.
After a year abroad, he returned to Luye with a fresh perspective on his hometown's tea. He began to appreciate the layered flavors of Red Oolong tea: the floral notes inherent in the variety, the honey aroma created by small green leafhoppers, the fruity tones drawn out through black tea rolling techniques, and the mellow character imparted by slow roasting. Together, they form an open-ended equation with infinite solutions, producing a spectrum of flavors, even rare woody notes not usually found in tea.
"The flavor of Luye's Red Oolong is unrestrained and free," he says. Like a vast, unexplored forest of tastes, he ventures in again and again, compelled to map the paths he discovers.
The door couplet reads: “Prosperity, prosperity, may abundance come; Sweetness, sweetness, ever so sweet.”
The shop interior, built with reclaimed wood and old furniture, radiates a homely warmth that draws in curious passersby.
Father and son turned their ancestral tea garden toward organic farming, making their self-produced, self-sold organic Red Oolong tea a small but recognized name in the market.
The nostalgic "ding" of the vintage cash register at checkout carries customers back to another time.
From Bar Counter to Classroom: A Red Oolong School for Gen Z
In his first years back home, Chang Yi-Ming worked hard to shape himself into a true "tea connoisseur and cultivator." To build his foundation, he apprenticed under his elders in tea farming and processing, studying the intricate links between terroir, technique, and flavor. At the same time, he enrolled in training courses at the TBRS, earning advanced certification in tea sensory evaluation, credentials that qualified him to sit as a professional tea judge.
Through countless competitions and evaluations, he steadily expanded his flavor library, tasting both raw and refined teas from across Luye. Over time, those experiences further honed his mastery of Red Oolong tea.
Next to the shop, Chang Yi-Ming later built a small café. Standing behind the bar there, his informal tea classroom quietly came to life. Curious visitors who stopped in for a cup of coffee or tea could also enjoy a mini lecture of Red Oolong tea. For those who wanted to dig deeper, his tea cabinet held carefully collected treasures from Luye's tea makers—rare micro-batches with distinctive flavors—turning the space into something like a private academy for tea seekers.
Beyond the physical shop, Chang Yi-Ming also runs an online "flavor lab" on social media, where he shares his tea-centered life. One of his projects is "Sample Monday," paired with a playful "Flavor Descriptor Trainer" he developed (link). Using light and engaging language, he invites younger generations to join him in exploring the practice of tea and in discovering the delight of Red Oolong.
Specializing in rare, micro-batch teas with unique character, Chang Yi-Ming’s tea cabinet feels like a private classroom for tea lovers, where one can taste the thousand nuances of Red Oolong tea in a single sitting.
Making Tea More Fun and Approachable
Approaching tea from the perspective of a taster rather than a conventional producer, Chang Yi-Ming chose not to follow the mainstream path. Instead, under the brand of A-Rong Natural Farm, he launched TeaHof, a curated line devoted exclusively to rare, small-batch teas.
One example is a Red Oolong made from the Qinyu cultivar, grown naturally and harvested only under the rare winter flush. In a good year, just 24–42 kgs can be produced. From that small yield, only teas showing a balance of floral, fruity, and woody notes are chosen: the fragrance of longan blossoms rising first, followed by the sweetness of peach, and finally a lingering resinous finish. These are flavors that cannot be forced, only found by chance.
In them, Chang sees tea's natural truth: "When I first learned to make tea, I tried to control every second, every detail, clinging to data. But later I realized tea cannot be confined to minutes and numbers. You must feel its state."
At the table, Chang Yi-Ming recounts his own tea journey, from "casual curiosity" to the realization that "tea is nature itself".
Even small details like pouring water for tea with a coffee pot hint that A-Rong Natural Farm doesn’t follow the traditional path.
By highlighting teas with “floral, fruity, and woody” notes, Chang shows that Red Oolong holds flavors far beyond expectation.
With his new series “TeaHof,” Chang launched “Sample Mondays” on Threads, using his self-designed flavor training tool to let people from afar learn to appreciate Red Oolong tea from their own homes.
Refusing the stiff, solemn rituals often associated with tea, Chang often dreams of throwing tea parties. As he puts it, "Tea is a medium. It can be close, it can be fun." Even the name TeaHof carries that spirit: a fusion of tea and the German word Hof ("courtyard"). An open, playful space for gathering, tasting, and sharing, that is the essence of TeaHof.
Having once worked as a tea merchant in Hong Kong, Chang returned to his hometown to study Red Oolong tea. He is not only a grower and maker, but also deeply passionate about the art of “telling tea’s story.”
Wild-Grown Aged Assam (100g)
Planted in 1960, these Assam tea trees thrive without fertilizers or pesticides. The tea carries notes of malt and citrus, enjoyable on its own or as a rich base for milk tea.
Red Oolong Loose Leaf (100g)
Layered with ripe fruit, honey, and subtle roasted notes. Full-bodied with a rounded sweetness that lingers on the palate.
Honey-Scented Black Tea (60g)
A bright, amber-red brew with delicate floral undertones and a hint of natural honey. Smooth, refined, and elegant in texture.
TeaHof Signature Selection (4 varieties, 10g each)
A curated tasting set showcasing four distinct expressions of Red Oolong tea, each highlighting a unique balance of aroma and flavor.
