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Savoring Tea with Hinoki and Poetry In recent years, the rise of Chiayi City’s “Hinoki Village” has drawn more visitors to experience the leisurely pace of this small city. Huoquan Humanistic Teahouse sits at the entrance of Hinoki Village, overlooking a serene lotus pond. Founded by Professor Fang from the Tea Culture and Business Management program at Tatung Institute of Technology, Huoquan has been in the village for over three years, offering travelers a quiet place to taste the sweetness of Taiwan’s high-mountain teas, experience the beauty of Eastern tea culture, and promote tea heritage. Between 2014 and 2016, Huoquan welcomed many foreign dignitaries, brewing centuries of tea history into warm pots of tea, letting guests feel the warmth of Huoquan’s hospitality. Stepping inside, delicate teaware and ceramics rest gently yet firmly in their places, like reclusive scholars untouched by worldly dust. Beyond the hinoki window lattices, the elegant lotus pond arrests the restless march of time, guiding guests to settle at wooden tables by the window and enjoy high-mountain tea with unhurried leisure. Huoquan’s “Romancing Tea” series offers handmade rose tarts, rainbow pastries, and butterfly-pea-flower tea. The tea-pounding experience lets guests choose a single-origin tea, then, using a Hakka-style method, grind the leaves in a ceramic bowl with a wooden pestle. The aroma rises; the powdered tea is added to a brewer, and a custom cold brew is ready. Paired with rainbow pastries, this small tea ritual writes a beautiful afternoon chapter. In an era of cheap, grab-and-go bubble tea, many have forgotten the beauty of Taiwanese leaves. Yet devoted tea lovers continue, gently yet resolutely, to safeguard Taiwan’s tea culture. Through industry-academia collaboration with Tatung’s Tea Culture program, Huoquan keeps promoting Taiwan’s precious teas. Recommended: Tea-pounding experience (any tea of choice) and rainbow pastries.