Our Story

Dae, a lifestyle tea brand, traces its roots back to 1918 when the family business first laid its foundation in Taiwan and opened their modest tea shop a few years later in 1923.

Better known as Hwa Gung Tea 華 剛 茶 業 in Taiwan, each succeeding generation of the family continued to build upon the previous through refining academia based methods of promoting hygiene, safety, quality control, and soil sustainability as well as expanding into new mountain regions and crafting new teas by extracting the most out of each region's terroir, much like fine wine.

As a result, Hwa Gung Tea has won several distinguished awards in Japan, China, and France, establishing itself as one of the finest teas in the world.

To build upon this legacy and preserve family traditions, fifth generation brothers Ben and Thomas are introducing high mountain Taiwanese tea in New York under the Dae brand.

The two grew up in America as their parents immigrated in the 1980s, however tea has always been home. They recall childhood memories at the tea shop with grandpa. Even in America (as they embraced hip hop and hoop dreams), a pot of tea was always brewing in the house and offered to family and friends who visited. Tea was a constant staple of everyday life that brought the family closer together. And for Ben and Thomas it’s a lifestyle that symbolizes growth at each stage of life and Dae is a vessel to share their family story one cup at a time.