The History of Taiwan’s
Tea-derived Soap
Taiwan’s Little-Known Past
Modern Taiwan is known as a key player in the global semiconductor industry and is making substantial progress in the field of AI, with numerous initiatives fostering a thriving AI ecosystem.
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What you may not know is that, 130 years ago, when Taiwan just started developing, many people were struggling to obtain soap.
Taiwanese farm workers carrying and sifting rice on a street.
Taiwan high-mountain tea farm in Mt. Alishan.
The Discovery of Tê-Khoo
The unique terrain* and suitable weather have made Taiwan one of the best tea cultivation regions around the world. At that time, instead of making silicon chips, Taiwanese people were harvesting a lot of top-quality tea and tea oil.
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​It was at that moment that the local farmers discovered a byproduct that could be used to wash their hands and body. They named it “Tê-Khoo”, meaning Tea Bricks in Taiwanese, and used it to replace soap for over a hundred years.
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*Taiwan sits at the boundary of two tectonic plates.
Exploring the Ancient Wisdom
George and Joshua, the co-founders of Teatergent, are scientists and designers who grew up in Taiwan. On one rare occasion, they learned about the history of this ancient soap Tê-Khoo and decided to study the mysterious cleaning habits of Taiwanese ancestors.
Tea Bricks, also known as Tê-Khoo
Taiwanese ancestors washing clothes with Tê-Khoo by a creek.
Scientific Research of Tea
Unlike the petrochemicals they encounter every day in their lives, George and Joshua found that these tea bricks are completely natural yet have superior cleaning abilities. It turned out that there was a secret ingredient in Camellia sinensis (tea plant) that decomposes oils and kills bacteria.
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However, the ancient way of using this natural soap was extremely inconvenient and impractical.
And That’s How We Started
With the advanced manufacturing technique in Taiwan, we were able to extract and concentrate this unique ingredient from Camellia sinensis plants, making it the main ingredient in all of our products.
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We aim to provide our customers with biodegradable food-grade products that are thoughtfully designed.
