Taiwan Governor-General Tea Research Station

The Taiwan Governor-General Tea Research Station traces its origins to 1902, when the Colonial Production Bureau (殖產局) of the Formosa Governor-General's Office established two experimental facilities: the Oolong Tea Cultivation Experiment Station (烏龍茶樹栽培試驗場) in Gueilunkou, Fengshukeng in February 1902, and the Anping Tea Manufacture Experiment Station (安平鎮製茶試驗場) in December 1902. The Anping station, completed in July 1903, became Taiwan's first semi-mechanized tea processing facility and commenced operations in October of that year.

During the Japanese colonial period (1895-1945), Taiwan's tea industry underwent significant modernization under the direction of this research institution. The station conducted systematic research on tea plant varieties suited to Taiwan's subtropical climate, developed improved processing methods for both oolong and black tea, and pioneered pest and disease control techniques. The Japanese colonial government recognized tea as a strategically important export commodity, and the station's work was instrumental in establishing Taiwan as a major tea-producing region in the global market.

The institution underwent several reorganizations reflecting changes in colonial administrative structure. In 1910, it was renamed the Pingzhen Tea Cultivation Experiment Station (平鎮茶樹栽培試驗場). In 1921, it became a branch of the Central Research Institute as the Pingzhen Tea Research Sub-station (中央研究所平鎮茶葉試驗支所). By 1939, it was reorganized under the Agricultural Experiment Station as the Pingzhen Tea Research Sub-station of the Governor-General's Agricultural Experiment Station (臺灣總督府農業試驗所平鎮茶葉試驗支所).

After Japan's surrender in 1945, the Republic of China government assumed control of the facility. It was merged with the Yuchi black-tea branch and the Linkou tea training institute to form the Taiwan Tea Experiment Station in 1968, which became the Council of Agriculture's Tea Research and Extension Station (TRES) on July 1, 1999. In August 2023, following government organizational reforms, it became the Tea and Beverage Research Station (TBRS) under the Ministry of Agriculture. The station continues to operate on its 20-hectare campus in Yangmei District, making it the longest continuously operating tea research institution in Taiwan.

The facility's legacy includes the development of numerous tea cultivars that define Taiwanese tea today, including the famous Taiwan Tea No. 18 (Ruby Black Tea) and Jin Xuan (Taiwan Tea No. 12). The nearby Pushin Story House (埔心故事館), a former employee dormitory from the Japanese era, was designated a Taoyuan City Historical Building in 2015, preserving the colonial-era architectural heritage of the tea research complex.