-- "Our first shop opened in Jimei School Village. As a child, I had no idea how hard it was for one small shop to support an entire family. I only came to understand how difficult things had been for my parents when I began running one myself," recalled Luo Yi’en, a second-generation entrepreneur born after 2000, at the Shui Zhi Fang (Aqua Square) tea shop in Xiang'an District, Xiamen. Last year, she officially took over the business her parents had built on the Chinese mainland over more than two decades. Starting with a brand-new community shop in Xiang'an, she is carrying forward a tea-drink legacy that spans the Taiwan Strait.
The First Shui Zhi Fang Tea Shop on Shigu Road, Jimei
Starting on a Shigu Road Corner and Keeping Prices Unchanged for 16 Years
In 1998, Luo Yi’en's father, Luo Runxian, came from Taichung to Xiamen as one of the first executives assigned there by a Taiwanese company. In 2010, Luo and his wife, Chen Xuan, opened the first "Shui Zhi Fang Pang Ge (Fat Bro) Drinks" shop on Shigu Road in Jimei.
"Back then, hand-shaken milk tea was new to everyone. People found it novel and lined up in long queues to buy it. At our busiest in those early days, we hired nine people," Chen recalled, still remembering the opening period vividly.
On the menu, a cup of signature lemon black tea costs between 6 and 10 yuan, while a winter melon tea ranges from 7 to 10 yuan. Most drinks still cost less than 10 yuan today. While much of the industry has raised prices in pursuit of higher profits, Shui Zhi Fang has kept its prices unchanged for 16 years.
"We have our own tea plantations and factory in Taiwan, so we supply all our key ingredients ourselves," Chen said as she opened a package of tea leaves, instantly releasing a fresh tea aroma. Genuine ingredients and traditional techniques have kept customers coming back, helping the brand expand from Jimei throughout Xiamen.
Reclaiming Mountain Wasteland and Partnering with Villagers for a 100-Mu Orchard
For a long time, Luo Yi’en was merely a bystander to the business. When did she decide to return home and take over? "While I was in college, my mother was developing a lemon-growing base in the mountains. Every time I came home for summer vacation, she was another shade darker from working in the sun. That was when I decided to come back and help after graduation."
It may sound hard to believe, but Chen decided to become a farmer herself in 2020. To end her business's reliance on outside lemon suppliers, she went up into the mountains of Tong'an, reclaimed a patch of wasteland, and set out to grow her own lemons. Seeing how hard her mother worked, Luo came up with a new idea: partnering with local villagers for contract farming to grow lemons.
At Luo's suggestion, Chen began reaching out to villagers in Lianhua Town. She offered guaranteed minimum purchase prices, promising that all the perfume lemons they grew would be supplied to the tea shops. Scattered small plots gradually joined together into a large-scale lemon orchard of around 100 mu (about 16.5 acres). Land in the valley that once lay idle and barren was completely brought back to life.
"There was an auntie in the village whose family had been struggling financially. After she began growing lemons, she gained a steady source of income," Luo said. She began to realize that this little tea shop could change many people's lives.
Building from the Ground Up and Serving Cross-Strait Flavors in Every Cup
Last year, Luo began running this community shop in Xiang'an. When it opened, the area was only just beginning to develop, with barely more than 40 households in the entire neighborhood. After Chen provided the initial startup funding, Luo managed everything else, including the shop’s renovation, plumbing and electrical work, decoration, and rent.
The Shui Zhi Fang Flagship Shop in Xiang'an, Run by Luo Yi’en
In Chen Xuan's eyes, this tough training was invaluable. "If I had handed over the Jimei tea shop directly to her, it would have been much easier for her, but I felt she needed to build a new shop through her own efforts so she would learn to cherish it."
A year later, the community had grown from a few dozen households to nearly a few thousand. With Xiamen's startup subsidies for young entrepreneurs from Taiwan, along with support from the local community and property management, the small tea shop gradually found its footing through consistent quality and word-of-mouth recommendations.
While still in college, Luo had envisioned a new “semi-direct-operation” model for the brand. Operators pay no franchise fee, but they must purchase and use Shui Zhi Fang’s key raw ingredients and follow strict product standards, with no corner-cutting or substitution of inferior materials.
For the brand's visual identity, she worked with her younger sister, a design student, to refine the shop's logo and packaging. They retained a cleaner, more minimalist style and introduced points-based reward vouchers to enhance customer interaction.
"After opening this shop, I felt truly connected with everyone for the first time. Often, neighbors come over just to chat with me, even if they are not buying anything," said Luo. The tea shop has become part of everyday community life, allowing her to experience the beauty of interpersonal connections.
In every signature lemon tea served at Shui Zhi Fang, two distinct flavors meet: the lingering aroma of Taiwan's mountain tea and the bright, fresh citrus notes of Xiamen's countryside. For Luo, taking up her parents' teacup means far more than serving a drink—it means inheriting warm, deep-rooted ties that span the Taiwan Strait. More than two decades of perseverance and heritage have allowed the deep bond between both sides of the Strait to gently blend in the aroma of tea, as a new cross-Strait story for the younger generation is being quietly written.
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Name: Lu Yu Hang
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Organization: Chinese Headline (Xiamen) Media Co., Ltd
Website: https://www.52hrtt.com/global/n/w
Release ID: 89199397
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