At age 17, he graduated from the hard work of cultivating tea plants to become a businessman, establishing his first venture, Tenren Tea. It was the first, and at that time the only, major tea brand in Taiwan.
17 歲那年，李瑞河從辛苦的茶農轉成四處交陪的茶商，一手創建天仁茗茶，並使之成為台灣茶產業第一、也是唯一的品牌。