Pill takes on Taiwan's tea drinkers

Tea consumption is rising in Taiwan

By Michael Bristow In Taipei

The green, hilly suburb of Mucha, on the outskirts of Taipei, is packed at weekends with day-trippers out to sample some of Taiwan's finest teas.

From the scores of hillside teahouses that dot the area, visitors can sip the island's most popular drink while gazing at the city spread out below them.

Mucha's popularity shows just how important tea drinking is in Taiwan - a tradition brought to the island about 200 years ago by Chinese settlers from the mainland, where tea had been drunk for hundreds of years before that.

The pills contain ground tea leaf

But the tradition could now be under threat as a research institute has just developed a tea pill - something that provides all the goodness of tea without having to put the kettle on.

The pill has been produced by the Taiwan Tea Experiment Station, a government-funded institute set up to promote the island's tea industry.

Scientists say tea, especially green tea, contains powerful antioxidants that could help prevent cancer and heart disease.

The tablet is made by grinding freshly-picked tea leaves into a fine powder. This is then mixed with other ingredients, to provide flavour and extra health properties, before being moulded into shape.

Healthier option?

The pills come in three types, which can be chewed, swallowed straight away or simply left on the tongue to dissolve.

Lin Mu-lien, director of the tea station, said busy people, or those away from home and unable to make a fresh cuppa, were the product's potential buyers.

He said the tiny pill was even better for you than tea brewed in water.

Tea lovers scoff at the idea of the pill

"If we brew tea, we don't eat the tea leaf so we lose some of the nutrients. But because the tea pill is made of tea powder, the whole thing is still inside, so it's better for us," said Mr Lin.

But tea in Taiwan is more than just a refreshing drink. Tea houses are a place to relax and chat with friends while nibbling on peanuts or playing mah-jong.

And there is a whole series of rituals and traditions associated with making tea, which has led to debate about such things as how long the drink should be brewed for.

So, predictably, there are many who do not think tea pills will catch on, including Jackson Huang, Taipei-based tea trader and long-time tea lover.

"You can say that tea is equal to Taiwan," he said. "Before a meal people drink tea, after a meal drink tea, while talking with friends drink tea, at ceremonies drink tea. We drink a lot of tea in Taiwan.

"Even instant tea is not accepted. People like to see the leaf, use their nose to smell them, their mouth to sip the tea and their throat to taste the tea. That's tea culture in Taiwan."

Ordinary people on the street were equally sceptical about the tea pill, with most saying they would not be interested in buying it.

But not even Mr Lin believes tea pills, which have a slightly bitter taste, will ever replace tea drinking.

He said they would merely give consumers more choice in an expanding market. Tea consumption in Taiwan has risen from 0.34 kg per capita a year in 1980 to 1.25 kg per capita today, with Oolong the favourite brand.

He said two companies had already contacted the tea experiment station to inquire about marketing the pills, which are currently not for sale.

Still, Taiwan's tea drinkers might need some convincing.