Today I’m sharing one of the places I’ve visited while exploring Taipei. The Sin Hong Choon Tea House is a beautiful and historic building in the Datong District of Taipei. It has a total of 3 floors and the first two floors are open to the public. It is an old tea house and factory that is now a museum where you can walk around and learn about the tea culture in Taipei. On the bottom floor there are areas to learn about different types of tea profiles and read about the the process and history of making tea. While some of the displays are only in Mandarin there are many areas with English as well. I was also able to use google translate on my phone for some of the areas that were Mandarin only.
The day I wandered inside there was a volunteer working that spoke English. He gave me an introduction to the tea house and explained some of the exhibitions and history of the building. He was eager to answer questions and share his knowledge.
In one exhibition area, you’ll see the machines that separated tea leaves from stems and sorted them by size. You will also see how and where tea leaves were prepared for long periods over warm coal until they were ready for use.
Once you explore the exhibits downstairs you can make your way up to the second level. Here, you can watch short videos and read about the historic building’s restoration. There is also a quaint shop where you can buy books and of course, tea.
The museum isn’t huge but it is a fun place to go, especially if you like tea and want to know a little more about the history and production of tea in Taipei. It is also free entry. It is well worth the visit to see something a little off the beaten path.