Story of the founder, Famous tea maker from Taiwan

I never thought that selling tea would be my primary business. When I was a child, my father and grandfather would spend all their energy planting and baking tea from dawn to dusk every day. I always wondered, “Will this be my future?”  Little did I know that - not after an accident that turned my thoughts 360 degree and has shaped me into the man I am today.

          Being heavily involved in the family business as a kid, I felt impatient with the lengthy tea baking process. One day, I deliberately pulled an iron chain on one of the machines, thinking that it would speed things up, next thing I knew I got my fingers jammed in the chain and ended up losing the top phalanges of my middle and ring fingers. The accident still haunts me to this very day.The accident caused a rift between my father and grandfather, and had distanced me away from tea.

One day, my grandfather brewed me a pot of tea and told me no one in Taiwan had had tea like this, not even the President. I took a sip and asked, “Is it that special?” He replied, “Only one person in the world can brew tea this well.” I joked, “It must be dad.” He shook his head and said, “When you grow up, I will tell you who the real tea master is.”

        Not long after I got married, my grandfather asked if I remembered the tea master he spoke of when I was a kid. “Of course!” I said, “Where is he?” He then put my left hand on his face and said, “When that tea master was young, he tried to brew tea his own way, but accidentally lost his fingers. Yet, the first pot of tea he brewed afterwards was the best I ever tasted." Those words have stayed with me ever since.

          Established in 2006, I don’t just sell tea. It is part of my family history. If you brew a good pot of tea, savor the taste,warmth, and memories. Enjoy the moment.

- TeaTop Founder/CEO David Yang