Chen Tian Lai was born in 1872 (Second Generation) in Nan’an, Fujian, and moved to Taiwan with his father Chen Zeli (the First Generation).
After he came to Taiwan, he managed the charcoal business and used it for tea roasting. Chen Tian Lai followed his father’s side to help with shop and business, and in 1891, he opened the Gen Kee Tea House in Dadaocheng.
During the Japanese Occupation, Gen Kee Tea Company mainly engaged in the manufacture and sale of Oolong tea and Baozhong tea. Later, the tea was also sold all over the world.
Chen Tian Lai successfully operated the tea business in Dadaocheng and became the president of the Tea Merchants Association in 1927.
Chen Tian Lai’s career is extremely varied. He established Dadaocheng Kindergarten in 1920, invested in Taipei Penglai Pavilion Restaurant and other businesses in 1923, and was also enthusiastic about public welfare. He has made great contributions to the humanities and art of Dadaocheng. In 1935, he built the two major theaters Yongle Zuo and the First Theater in Dadaocheng.
The Gen Kee Tea House on Guide Street in 1923 was an important testimony to the peak of Chen Tian Lai’s career.
In 1939 after the death of Mr. Chen Tian Lai, the third son Chen Qingbo (Third Generation) served as Chairman of Gen Kee Tea House Company.
Now 130 years later, in 2021, Albert Chan (Fifth Generation), the son of Chan Shau Chi (Fourth Generation), is redeveloping the new generation tea company, and the new look presents a century of history, with the inheritance of a century of good tea following the ancestor’s tradition.